Senegal took their revenge on the fate that deprived them of the round of 16 in 2018. Aliou Cissé’s team beat Ecuador 2-1 to clinch 2nd place in a group A won by the Netherlands, easy once morest Qatar (2-0).
As a tribute, this 2nd ticket in the history of Senegal for the knockout matches is composted two years to the day following the death of Papa Bouba Diop, hero of the 2002 World Cup that the Lions had completed in the quarter-finals .
Beaten at the opening by the Netherlands, the Senegal of 2022 is not there yet, but with six points in pool, it improves the best passing time by one unit. And this same deprived of Sadio Mané, his best player, injured and forfeited.
Koulibaly, this hero
A relief that Cissé’s men owe in large part to their captain Kalidou Koulibaly, author of his 1st international goal to put Senegal back in front (70th), while Ecuador, finally out of their reserve, had just equalized by Caicedo (67th).
Previously, Sarr had allowed an African champion still imprecise offensively to open the scoring by causing and then converting a penalty (44th). The only downside to this festive outcome, the Lions will have to do without Gueye, still warned and suspended for the next match.
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