Mayes Yousef
Ecuador take on Senegal in a Group A fixture at Khalifa International Stadium.
Ecuador will be chasing a win in today’s match if they want to progress to the Round of 16, sealing their place in the next stage of tournament, if they succeed in defeating the African champions.
Advancement out of the group stage would match Ecuador’s all-time best World Cup performance in 2006, when they made it to the knock-out phase, for the first time in their footballing history, before exiting to England.
But, an area of concern for Ecuador is the fitness of captain Enner Valencia, was carried off the pitch late in the Netherlands draw with the return of a knee strain. The forward has scored all three of Ecuador’s goals in this year’s World Cup, adding to the three he bagged in Brazil in the 2014 edition.
Senegal will almost surely need to beat Ecuador to qualify for the last 16.
They could keep their hopes alive to progress to the knock-out phase if the y draw, but that result would be dependent on hosts Qatar recording a highly improbable victory over the Netherlands, who sit top of Group A, along with Ecuador.
Kick-off is at 18:00 Doha time.
Ecuador line-up: Galindez, Preciado, Torres, Hincapie, Estupinan, Franco, Gruezo, Caicedo, Plata, Estrada, Valencia
Senegal line-up: Mendy, Diallo, Jakobs, Koulibaly, Sabaly, Gueye, Ciss, Sarr, Gueye, Ndiaye, Dia.