World Cup 2022: Reasons for Senegal to be confident of beating Ecuador

The Lions of Teranga have struggled without the presence of star man Sadio Mane at this tournament but eased past a poor Qatar side on Friday to keep their hopes of qualification for the last 16 alive heading into a winner-takes-all clash with La Tri.

Unless Netherlands are beaten heavily by the hosts in the other game in the group, Aliou Cisse's men will need to defeat Ecuador to finish in a top-two position and prevent the South Americans from going through to the knockout stages of the World Cup for only the second time in their history.

Here, Sports Mole look at some reasons for Senegal to be confident of picking up a win against Ecuador and securing their place in the last 16 of the World Cup.

Perfect record

Although Senegal have never met Ecuador in a major tournament - let alone a World Cup game of this magnitude - they boast a perfect record against the South Americans on the rare occasions their footballing paths have crossed in the past.

The first-ever clash between the countries was during a friendly match in May 2002, when an own-goal from Ecuador's Raul Guerron won the match for Senegal in Tokyo as the African nation prepared for the World Cup co-hosted by Japan and South Korea.

A squad including current manager Cisse went on to reach the quarter-finals that year, a feat that looks to be beyond this current Senegalese team, especially without their talisman in Mane.

Senegal also faced Ecuador in a friendly in December 2005 and came out as victors just as they did three years earlier, with a 90th-minute goal from Sidy Keita securing a 2-1 win in Cairo.

Sharing the burden

When the news broke on the eve of this World Cup that Mane would not be fit to play any part for Senegal in Qatar, there was an urgent need to redistribute the attacking responsibility throughout a team that had lost an attacker who scored decisive penalties in both their Africa Cup of Nations win and World Cup qualification play-off.

Cisse's men failed to pose a major offensive threat against the Dutch in their first match, but posted three goals against an uninspiring Qatar side as they earned a much-needed three points in Group A, with three separate names getting onto the scoresheet for Senegal.

Boulaye Dia, Bamba Dieng and former Bristol City striker Famara Diedhiou all netted at the Al Thumama Stadium, meaning Senegal had three different scorers in a World Cup game for the first time, a welcome sight as the Lions of Teranga get used to a tournament without Mane.

Considering the makeup of Group A as the match with Ecuador approaches, it is very likely Senegal will need to win at the Khalifa International Stadium on Tuesday to qualify for the last 16, so the continued productiveness of Cisse's attacking players is imperative - even more so if La Tri's Enner Valencia manages to score in a seventh consecutive World Cup game.

Big game experience

Despite Senegal's World Cup history not being as decorated and extensive as some other African nations, their current crop of players have plenty of recent experience of playing in winner-takes-all clashes - and coming out on top.

Earlier this year the Lions of Teranga won their first Africa Cup of Nations after beating seven-time winners Egypt on penalties in the final, before defeating Mohamed Salah's side once again from 12 yards in March to book their place in Qatar for this World Cup.

Although Bayern Munich's Mane was key in both of those successes, Senegal still have a host of players that are used to important matches in top European leagues such as Chelsea duo Kalidou Koulibaly and Edouard Mendy, with the latter being part of Thomas Tuchel's Champions League winning team in 2021.

In a matchup that is likely to be cagey given what is at stake on Tuesday evening, having those players who have experienced similar levels of pressure in the past could be the difference between last-16 qualification or a heartbreaking group-stage exit.

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World Cup 2022: Reasons for Ecuador to be confident of beating Senegal