Ecuador will be hoping to reach the knockout stages of the World Cup for only the second time in their history when they face Senegal in a crucial clash at the Khalifa International Stadium on Tuesday evening.
La Tri have impressed in their opening two games in Qatar by first brushing aside the hosts in the opening game of the tournament before earning a 1-1 draw with group-favourites Netherlands.
With a first-ever match with African opposition at a World Cup ahead of them, Ecuador know a point will be good enough to secure passage to the last 16 for the first time in the competition since 2006.
Head coach Gustavo Alfaro has received plenty of praise on how he has set up his team against Qatar and especially in that stalemate with the Dutch, with the 60-year-old having lost just eight of his 34 games in charge of the national side since taking charge in August 2020.
Ahead of this winner-takes-all clash, Sports Mole looks at some reasons for Ecuador to be confident of beating Senegal and reaching the knockout stages.
Talismanic figure
© Reuters
When former West Ham United striker Enner Valencia put two goals past helpless hosts Qatar as this World Cup kicked off over a week ago, many fans of the Premier League felt a sense of nostalgia over the player - a feeling which often comes whilst watching lesser-followed nations at major tournaments.
If before this month Valencia was a distant memory, then now he is at the forefront of every football fans' mind, as the Fenerbahce man leads the goalscoring charts at the tournament alongside Frenchman Kylian Mbappe with three strikes.
The 33-year-old is now his nation's record scorer at World Cup finals with six goals and became the first South American to score six consecutive times in the competition, highlighting what a talent Ecuador have at the top end of the pitch.
Valencia was stretchered off in the latter stages against the Dutch on Friday but has reassured supporters of his fitness ahead of Tuesday's crunch match, with Brighton & Hove Albion's Jeremy Sarmiento waiting in the wings if the ex-Everton man is unable to recover in time.
In a group where Senegal have suffered without Sadio Mane and Netherlands have been unable to fully utilise star man Memphis Depay due to injury, Ecuador have a player in Valencia that can get them an important goal when games are tense and cagey.
Senegal's South American struggles
© Reuters
Although this is the first time Ecuador and Senegal have met in a World Cup, the Lions of Teranga have been unable to pick up maximum points either time they faced South American opposition on football's biggest stage in the past.
Four years ago Senegal were beaten 1-0 by Colombia due to a second-half Yerry Mina goal - a result which knocked Aliou Cisse's men out of the tournament at the expense of Japan who boasted a better disciplinary record in the group stages.
A six-goal thriller was played out when Senegal met Uruguay in Suwon during the 2002 World Cup, with Cisse captaining his side that day when they came up against a young Diego Forlan who netted in the second half as the South Americans staged a three-goal comeback.
Like Tuesday's matchup, both of Senegal's previous handlings with South American teams at the World Cup were in the final game of the group stage, and if Ecuador manage to follow their continental counterparts by avoiding defeat they will advance to the knockout stages for the first time in 16 years.
Unbeaten run
© Reuters
Although Ecuador will be looking to top Group A ahead of Netherlands, Alfaro's primary aim will be to ensure his side do not taste defeat at the Khalifa International Stadium, with their current unbeaten run boding well for avoiding a loss.
That Valencia equaliser against the Dutch extended La Tri's unbeaten run to nine games, with Ecuador only conceding to Louis van Gaal's men and Argentina in a period stretching back to March.
Although Senegal found their shooting boots against a defensively-weak Qatari team, Alfaro's men will be a completely different proposition and without the trickery of Mane it would not be a surprise to see Hernan Galindez keep a second clean sheet of his tournament.
It must be said that six of those nine matches unbeaten have ended in draws by either 0-0 or 1-1 scorelines, but with only a point needed for qualification to the last 16, such a result against Senegal would not be met with disappointment from the Ecuadorians.
Read more on Ecuador vs Senegal
- Click here to read our full preview for Ecuador vs Senegal
- How Ecuador could line up against Senegal
- How Senegal could line up against Ecuador
No Data Analysis info
Germany
Hungary
Scotland
Switzerland
Albania
Croatia
Italy
Spain
Denmark
England
Serbia
Slovenia
Austria
France
Netherlands
Poland
Belgium
Romania
Slovakia
Ukraine
Czech Republic
Georgia
Portugal
Turkey
