Senegal's Kalidou Koulibaly celebrates scoring their second goal with teammates during Qatar 2022 World Cup Group A match between Senegal and Ecuador at Khalifa International Stadium on November 29, 2022. (Reuters/Dylan Martinez)
Doha: They had to deal with a huge blow of losing their best player – Sadio Mane – right before the start of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, but that couldn’t stop them from achieving a historic feat, reaching the knockouts for the second time in their history.
In a dramatic Group A encounter at the Khalifa International Stadium yesterday, Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly struck a winner against Ecuador to earn them a thrilling 2-1 win and seal a berth in the knockout stage for the African football heavyweights. Ismaila Sarr had given them a 1-0 lead through a penalty in the dying minutes of the first half before Ecuador levelled in the 67th minute via Moises Caicedo.
The Netherlands’ dominant victory over Qatar at Al Bayt Stadium in the other Group A game meant only a win would see the African champions through to Last 16, while Ecuador had to earn at least a draw to progress – which they failed to achieve.
“Four days ago we were up against a brick wall. We knew this was a win or lose situation,” an emotional Senegal coach Aliou Cisse said after the game.
With the game looking like it was heading for a draw- which meant Ecuador would have gone through – Cisse was seen screaming with delight after Koulibaly scored the winner.
“Yes, it was something that was very important for us. It was a goal that sealed our spot in the Round of 16.
“It was exhilarating. Football is an emotional game... football is a beautiful game.”
The captain said he and his teammates never gave up their World Cup dream even when Mane was ruled out due to his injury.
“When it came to his injury, I think two thirds of the world probably doubted we would be able to qualify. The only ones who thought we could still qualify were the African people and the Senegalese people,”Koulibaly said, adding that Mane wished them all the best before the game.
Senegal players celebrate with fans after qualifying for the knockout stages. (Reuters/Issei Kato)
“He sent us a message before the game. Even though he is not here, he is with us,” he said.
“ Sadio is a star -- he is a symbol of the Senegalese football team -- but there are 11 players on a football field.
“This is their time to shine,” Koulibaly said following the victory.
Ecuador coach Gustavo Alfaro was furious after the defeat and lamented his team for not giving their best in the first half.
“We weren’t ourselves”.
“At half-time I told them if you want to stay in the World Cup, you have to play,” Alfaro said.
“Today we were knocked out of a beautiful dream that these guys were weaving over the past few years.”
"Unfortunately we made mistakes in the decisive match. And this leaves us with a bad feeling because we wanted to go through and stay on this road we had been following. But we need to take into account the good performances we had and take that into the future," Alfaro added.
Senegal finished second in Group A behind the Dutch.
This means Senegal will now meet England, who defeated Wales 3-0 in the late game yesterday, for a place in the quarter-finals.
Man-of-the-match Koulibaly noted that Senegal had to prove a point as champions of Africa.
“We needed to show why we are champions of Africa. We need to rest up, keep a cool head, yes we’ve qualified and yes we can savour the win, but now we need to concentrate,” said the Koulibaly.
