World Cup: Senegal into knockout stages for first time in 20 years

Senegal, on Tuesday, defeated Ecuador 2-1 to reach the last 16 of the World Cup for the first time since 2002.

Senegal opened the scoring through Ismaila Sarr’s penalty late in the first half, but despite managing to keep Ecuador captain Enner Valencia quiet throughout, Brighton’s Moises Caicedo levelled in the 67th minute before Kalidou Koulibaly sent his team through and Ecuador home.

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Ecuador are out of the World Cup in the group stages for the third tournament out of the four they have reached, while Senegal will face the winners of Group B in the last 16.

Meanwhile, Cody Gakpo continued his prolific run with a third goal in as many games and Frenkie de Jong also scored as the Netherlands beat hosts Qatar 2-0 to finish top of World Cup Group A.

Gakpo’s powerful 26th-minute strike came after passes from Memphis Depay and Davy Klaassen, and De Jong was quickest to react in the 50th minute when Depay’s shot from point-blank range was well saved by Qatar goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham.

The Dutch, who finished on seven points, await the outcome of the Group B matches later on Tuesday to discover the identity of their last-16 opponents on Saturday.

The Star