The Netherlands saved the ballot, which already has 15 group stage matches without losing in a World Cup, although its streak of seven consecutive victories was cut short by an Ecuador that deserved much more than the draw with which the curtain fell on the duel in the remodeled Khalifa Stadium.
Van Gaal's team did not measure up, which maintained the same gray line of his debut with another exercise that, far from catching the public, drove them away. Quite the opposite of the Ecuadorians, a cheerful team that dances to the tune set by Enner Valencia, the new top scorer in Qatar after scoring the equalizer at will. As happened at the opening, the Fenerbahçe striker suffered physical problems in his right leg but this time, due to the buzzer, he was forced to leave the pitch on a stretcher. The cheers of his fans reached Quito.
Despite everything, no alarm should be raised in the Dutch ranks. With a mere draw against the already eliminated Qatar they would be mathematically in the round of 16. For Ecuador, on the other hand, a beautiful battle awaits against Senegal, although they will play with the advantage that a draw would give them the passport.
It is curious the block that has formed a Louis van Gaal who hardly appears in the technical zone, preferring to remain seated next to his staff. He has drawn a team with almost no stars, with many Eredivisie players little known to the general public, but his commitment is firm and he continues to trust them. Although despite his attempts, glimpsing some kind of memory of bygone times, always better, in the Oranje is quite a challenge. Only Pinocchio would be able to achieve it.
Frenkie de Jong is lost, trying to become a beacon for his team, but all the light bulbs he finds are out. Neither to the left nor to the right does the Catalan find a partner to turn on the light in a selection that does not carbureate at all. What he cannot be denied is that he is accurate in front of goal as he already demonstrated against Senegal. His first shot against Ecuador, signed again by Gakpo, found the net. But from then on, the orange went to nothing and Alfaro's team grew and grew, generating all the danger of the game. Khalifa shouted the equalizer when Porozo beat Noppert but a positional offside frustrated that happiness.
Already in the second part, Valencia would not fail with a shot at will, sealing his sixth goal in five appearances in a World Cup. His Shakespearean idyll. In the last half hour, the old Netherlands dedicated itself to defending and Ecuador to dreaming of victory, but the crossbar deprived Plata of being a hero in his country.
1- Países Bajos: Noppert; Timber, Van Dijk, Ake; Dumfries, Koopmeiners (De Roon, m.80), De Jong, Blind; Klaassen (Berghuis, m.69), Bergwijn (Depay, m.46), Gakpo (Weghorst, m.79)
1- Ecuador: Galindez; Preciado, Hincapié, Towers, Porozo, Stypiñan; Caicedo, Mendez; Plata (Ibarra, m.90), Estrada (Sarmiento, m.74), Valencia (Rodriguez, m.90)
Goals: 1-0, m.6: Gapko; 1-1, m.49: Valencia
Referee: Mustapha Ghorbal (ALG), admonished the Ecuadorian Méndez
Incidents: Group A match of the first phase of the Qatar World Cup played at the Khalifa stadium in Al Rayyan before 44,833 spectators.
