Doha (Qatar), Nov. 29 (AP): The World Cup expedition led by Enner Valencia and the young Ecuador ended in Qatar with a defeat against Senegal.
Ismaila Sarr and Kalidou Koulibay signed the two goals with which the African champions beat La Tri 2-1 on Tuesday to qualify for the round of 16 of the World Cup.
Senegal, who suffered the loss of their top star Sadio Mané due to injury shortly before the World Cup, advanced as second in Group A with six points, behind the Netherlands, who in the other game defeated Qatar 2-0 to seize first place. of his area with seven units.
Ecuador, with four units, said goodbye after having debuted with a 2-0 victory over the host and a 1-1 draw against the Netherlands. The Ecuadorian team will regret having missed the victory against the Dutch, as they had them on the ropes in the second half.
It was a painful outcome for Ecuador, which only needed to get a draw to access the round of 16 for the second time in four World Cup appearances. La Tri featured Valencia, author of three goals in the first two games. The captain came out to play on the last date despite a sprained knee.
This is the second time the Africans have made it past the group stage in their three World Cup appearances. 20 years ago, in Korea and Japan, they surprised by defeating then defending champions France in the first round and reaching the quarterfinals.
Sarr put Senegal ahead with a penalty goal in the 44th minute after taking a foul from defender Piero Hincapié. Moisés Caicedo matched at 67, but Koulibaly put up final figures just three minutes later.
It was not the night for Valencia, who had been the charm of the Ecuadorians in the first two games by scoring the double in the victory against Qatar in the opening game and the draw against the Netherlands 1-1.
Eager for victory to continue in the tournament, Senegal immediately took the initiative and in a few minutes the African champion generated two dangerous arrivals, in one of them the striker Boulaye Dia wasted the first by shooting wide in front of Hernán Galíndez a nice pass from Youssouf Sabaly.
Alfaro's team, which advanced with a tie, had problems in the early stages to control the ball and come out playing against some Africans who kept hammering on the door defended by Galíndez, who gradually became a key figure.
Unlike the first two duels, Valencia did not have any goal action. Michael Estrada and Gonzalo Plata, the other attack men, did not appear on the scene either.
When the first part was dying, Hincapié knocked down Sarr when he was heading towards the goal. The Senegalese winger fooled Galindez with a low shot that hit the goalkeeper's left post. The goal did some justice to a more determined team that attacked more in the first half.
Down on the scoreboard and seeking an equalizer, Alfaro added more attacking pieces after the break. Jeremy Sarmiento, the 20-year-old forward from Premier League Brighton, came on and the Ecuadorians began to press.
Parity came from a corner kick that Félix Torres combed towards the far post, where Caicedo was alone to push it to the bottom. But the joy was fleeting. Three minutes later Senegal's second fell, which was generated from a free kick that first hit Valencia's leg and the rebound went to Koulibaly, who nailed it first for the second.
Senegal was closer to third than Ecuador was to the tie.