World Cup 2022: Netherlands secure first place – Senegal throws Ecuador out

Gakpo also scores in the third game

The Netherlands also qualified for their tenth group stage at a World Cup, while Qatar are the weakest hosts in World Cup history. In the final group game, the Oranje selection with former Bayern coach Louis van Gaal came to a lackluster and unspectacular 2-0 (1-0) on Tuesday in front of 66,784 spectators and ended the preliminary round with seven points. In the round of 16 on Friday it is against England, the USA, Iran or Wales.

World Cup hosts Qatar, whose end was already certain before kick-off, lost their third group game after losing 2-0 to Ecuador and 3-1 to Senegal and bowed out without a point in their first World Cup appearance. The team entered the tournament as the Asian champions. The state had invested a lot of money in building the team since the World Cup was awarded twelve years ago. Prior to Qatar, only South Africa were eliminated as hosts in the group stage in 2010. The “Bafana bafana” had landed at least one victory and scored four points.

Cody Gakpo from PSV Eindhoven scored the 1-0 for the Netherlands for the third time in the third game (26th minute). Only the Italian Alessandro Altobelli had previously managed to do this in 1986. Frenkie de Jong (49th) followed up after the break. Van Gaal had brought the two Barcelona stars Memphis Depay and de Jong. Depay had come into the tournament ailing, fighting his way through 30-minute appearances against Senegal and 45 minutes against Ecuador. This time he stayed on the pitch until the 66th minute. The two Bundesliga professionals Mathijs de Ligt (FC Bayern) and Jeremie Frimpong (Bayer Leverkusen) sat outside again. While de Ligt was in the starting XI in the first game, Frimpong finished the first round without a match.

On the second anniversary of Diop’s death: Senegal as in 2002 in the World Cup round of 16

In an emotional way, Senegal made it into a World Cup round of 16 for the second time since 2002. On Tuesday, the team in Al-Rajjan won the decisive group game against Ecuador 2-1 (1-0), even without the injured top star Sadio Mané. On the second anniversary of the death of the 2002 World Cup hero, Papa Bouba Diop, Ismaïla Sarr (44) from Watford FC converted a penalty kick that Bayer Leverkusen’s Piero Hincapié had caused by getting in too violently. In addition, captain Kalidou Koulibaly (70th) from Chelsea scored in front of 44,569 spectators just 152 seconds after the interim equaliser.

For the this time disappointing Ecuadorian “La Tri”, which would have been enough, the goal of England’s Pofi Moisés Caicedo (68th) was not enough for the round of 16. The Senegal team dedicated their progress to their idol Diop, who died on November 29, 2020 at the age of just 42 from the nervous disease ALS.

“Rest his soul in peace, he was always important to us. I hope we can give him the honor he deserves. He’s always in our thoughts,” national coach Aliou Cissé said before the game. Captain Koulibaly also laced up with an armband depicting Diop’s former number 19. Diop scored Senegal’s 1-0 winner in the 2002 World Cup opening game against reigning world champions France. The West Africans then stormed through to the quarter-finals. Diop played all five tournament games, scoring three goals. Cissé was captain of the Senegalese selection at the time.

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