The Netherlands and Ecuador played to a 1-1 draw in Group A on Friday evening, which means World Cup hosts Qatar have officially been eliminated.
2022 FIFA World Cup
Result: Netherlands 1-1 Ecuador
Date: 25 November 2022
Venue: Khalifa International Stadium
The Dutch talisman Memphis Depay, who came off the bench in a late win over Senegal with hamstring injury concerns, was reserved again, with Cody Gakpo and Steven Bergwijn spearheading the attack.
Ecuador's all-time leading goal-scorer Enner Valencia, whose brace guided them past hosts Qatar, shrugged off a knee injury concern to start.
The Oranje had a perfect start as Gakpo continued where he left off in the opening game after he fired them ahead with a well taken shot at the near post that left goalkeeper Hernan Galindez stranded on six minutes.
Ecuador were spirited, as they threatened on counter-attacks and Valencia came close to restoring parity shortly before the half-hour mark with a cracking shot that forced goalkeeper Andries Noppert into a sharp save at the near post.
Pervis Estupinan thought he had finally equalised on the stroke of halftime after turning home a rebound from a corner but the goal was disallowed, as Jackson Poronzo, who in an offside position, was deemed to have blocked the vision of Noppert.
The resilience from the South American side quickly paid off early in the second stanza after Valencia levelled matters with a tap-in from a rebound after Noppert parried a shot by Estupinan on his path.
Ecuador had the momentum from there, as the game opened up and Gonzalo Plata came very close to giving them the lead shortly before the hour-mark with a rocket from a rebound in the box that rattled the underside of the crossbar and bounced away from goal.
Louis van Gaal needed fresh legs in the playmaker role 20 minutes before time, as Steven Berghuis replaced Davy Klaassen while a couple of minutes later Gustavo Alfaro was bit conservative, as Jeremy Sarmiento came on for forward Michael Estrada to crowd the midfield.
The game was on the balance in the closing stages, with Holland showing more urgency but they were unable to break down La Tri, who had an injury concern after Valencia limped off the pitch with a recurring knee problem.
The share of the spoils meant hosts Qatar were out of the running to qualify for the knockout stages after a second consecutive defeat against Senegal.
Qatar are now the second host nation after South Africa (2010) to have been eliminated in the group stages.
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