Ecuador and Senegal enter into a straight shoot-out for qualification for the knockout stages of the World Cup on Tuesday.
Ecuador are tied with the Netherlands on four points in Group A, with Senegal narrowly behind on three, and with the Dutch likely to defeat the already eliminated Qatar, it will almost certainly come down to which of these two gets the win.
Here’s all you need to know about this one.
Ecuador vs Senegal H2H Results (All Time)
Current Form (Last Five Games)
Ecuador team news
Enner Valencia’s continued battle to shake off the injury he picked up against Qatar on opening night took a rough turn as he left the Netherlands game on a stretcher… only to be seen walking after full-time anyway.
Local media reports have suggested Valencia will be fine to face Senegal, and with so much on the line here, don’t be surprised if the veteran striker forces himself out on to the field.
Ecuador Starting 11 (4-4-2): Galindez; An. Preciado, Torres, Hincapie, Estupinan; Plata, Mendez, Caicedo, Ibarra; Valencia, Estrada.
Bench: Dominguez, Ramirez, Arboleda, Arreaga, Pacho, Porozo, Palacios, Gruezo, Cifuentes, Franco, Sarmiento, Ar. Preciado, Mena, Reasco, Rodriguez.
Senegal team news
Bolstered by the return of defender Abdou Diallo, Senegal were no match for Qatar last time out and have no concerns heading into this crunch clash.
Senegal Starting 11 (4-2-3-1): Mendy; Sabaly, Koulibaly, Cisse, Diallo; Gueye, Mendy; Sarr, Dia, Diatta; Diedhiou.
Bench: Dieng, Gomis, Mendy, Ballo-Toure, Jakobs, N’Diaye, Gueye, Loum, Ciss, Name, Sarr, Kouyate, Ndiaye, Jackson, Dieng.
Senegal have to go for this. With the Netherlands sure to pick up three points against Qatar, anything less than a win will see the African champions eliminated.
That gung-ho approach should make for a fun showing against an Ecuador side who have done their best to play positively this winter as well. Sitting back and inviting pressure from Senegal could be disasterous, so the South Americans should try to take the game to their opponents as well.
There might not be much in it, but Senegal’s all-out attack could come back to bite them.
Prediction: Ecuador 1-0 Senegal
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