AL RAYYAN, Qatar — Ecuador continued its strong start to the World Cup, coming back from a goal down to draw with the Netherlands, 1-1, at Khalifa International Stadium. The South American side equalized through Enner Valencia early in the second half and took an important step toward advancing out of the group stage.

– World Cup 2022: News and features | Schedule | Squads
– How every team can reach the Round of 16

JUMP TO: Player ratings | Best/worst performers | Highlights and notable moments | Post-match quotes | Key stats | Upcoming fixtures

Rapid Reaction

1. Tactical change from Ecuador pays off

After playing with a back four to open the tournament, Ecuador made a major tactical shift in how it set up against the Netherlands with Troyes centerback Jackson Porozo coming into the team to replace Romario Ibarra, who played mostly on the left side of midfield against Qatar.

– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)

When the Netherlands scored just six minutes in — due to an errant back pass from Brighton and Hove Albion’s Moises Caicedo — it seemed like the change might have backfired but that wasn’t the case. Outside of that moment, Ecuador controlled the rest of the game and got the equalizer shortly after halftime.

There’s no doubt Ecuador should feel good about how it played, but to be as dominant as it was and not get the three points feels like a missed opportunity. Now they’ll play the African champions, Senegal, needing a win or draw to advance to the knockout stage for the second time in history and first time since 2006.

2. Historically poor chance creation from the Netherlands

This was the Netherlands’ least threatening attack in a game going back over a decade. Dating back to 2010, the Netherlands worst single-game Expected Goals (xG) output over 187 matches was 0.25, according the TruMedia StatsPerform database. Only three times has it dipped below 0.4.

Against Ecuador, they managed just 0.07, a historically inept output for a team that doesn’t lack for attacking talent. Which brings us to Cody Gakpo. His sublime early finish — and second goal of the tournament — saved the point for Netherlands, giving the Dutch four points through two games.

With Qatar up next, the Dutch should have safe passage to the Round of 16 after missing the 2018 tournament, but it’s hard to envision a deep tournament run following this performance.

3. Golden Boot award watch for Enner Valencia

Who had Enner Valencia as their Golden Boot award pick? The Fenerbahce forward scored the equalizer early in the second half and sits on three goals after two games, following his two-goal performance on the tournament’s opening night. Five goals has been good enough to win the Golden Boot at two of the last four World Cups (2006 and 2010). It’s still early, of course, but he’s well on his way to becoming a legend back home in South America.

Player ratings (1= worst, 10= best)

Netherlands: A. Noppert 7, J. Timber 6, V. van Dijk 7, N. Ake 7, S. Bergwijn 5, C. Gakpo 7, D. Klaassen5, D. Blind 4, T. Koopmeiners 6, F. de Jong 6, D. Dumfries 6

Subs: M. Depay 5, S. Berghuis 6, de Roon 6, Weghorst 6

Ecuador: H. Galindez 6, F. Torres 8, P. Hincapie 7, M. Estrada 6, E. Valencia 8, A. Preciado 7, G. Plata 6, J. Mendez, M. Caicedo 5, J. Porozo 8

Subs: Sarmiento 6, Ibarra n/a, Rodriguez n/a

Best and worst performers

BEST: Valencia

He stepped up when it mattered, scoring a 49th minute goal to give Ecuador an important point.

WORST: Bergwijn

There’s a lot of collective blame for how poor the Netherlands were, but Bergwijn getting pulled at halftime was justified after he failed to find much of the game in the first half.

Highlights and notable moments

Gakpo’s goal was the only shot on target for the Netherlands.

That didn’t take long ⚡️

Cody Gakpo gets things started for the Netherlands 🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/rV8MmgCgQo

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) November 25, 2022

Valencia continues to be key for Ecuador and is an early contender to win the Golden Boot.

The current scoring leader of the 2022 FIFA World Cup: Enner Valencia 🇪🇨✍️ pic.twitter.com/frpAtRsPYf

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) November 25, 2022

After the match: What the players and managers said

Quotes to come…

Key stats (provided by ESPN Stats & Information)

– Cody Gakpo’s goal in the 6th minute is the fastest goal scored in the 2022 World Cup so far.

– Cody Gakpo: 2nd World Cup goal in his 2nd World Cup game

– Enner Valencia now has 6 of Ecuador’s 13 World Cup goals.

– With the draw, Qatar is the first team eliminated from the 2022 FIFA World Cup

Up next

Netherlands: The Dutch will face World Cup hosts Qatar on Nov. 29 at 10 a.m. ET. For the Qataris, who are already out of the tournament, the match will be consolation for an otherwise poor performance. Meanwhile the Netherlands will seal their qualification into the knockouts.

Ecuador: Tuesday’s match against Senegal (10 a.m. ET) always figured to be the pivotal one for Ecuador and that remains true.