DOHA: Ecuador or the Nether­lands will take a huge step towards the second round of the World Cup if either can force a victory in Friday's Group ‘A’ clash at the Khalifa International Stadium after both sides won their openers in Qatar.

But while Ecuador have set their target of advancing to the round-of-16, as they did in Germany in 2006, the Dutch will be looking for a vastly improved performance to back up coach Louis van Gaal’s assertion that they can go on and win the World Cup.

The Netherlands were far from their efficient best in beating African champions Senegal 2-0 in their opening group game on Monday.

Van Gaal was pleased with the three points, and vindication of his surprise decision to hand goalkeeper Andries Noppert an international debut, but did criticise the manner of the victory, as did captain Virgil van Dijk.

“We won but we also know that we can and must do better,” the skipper said.

“Going forward we sometimes tried to force things, and we too often left ourselves exposed to Senegal’s counter-attacks. That is an area in which we will need to improve because it is an art that our next opponents, Ecuador, are very good at.

Ecuador are hoping star forward Enner Valencia will be fit to play in the match at the Khalifa International Stadium.

The 33-year-old wore the captain’s armband in their opening game against hosts Qatar and scored both goals in a 2-0 victory.

However, coach Gustavo Alfaro said a decision needed to be made about whether he would be able to play against the Dutch after he suffered a knock.

“The tests show there is no injury. That is important, but he took a severe blow,” Alfaro said.

“We will see how he responds in training and decide then if he can play from the start, or come on during the game, or not come on at all. “

Alfaro said the pressure was off Ecuador given the Netherlands’ higher ranking and presumed superiority.

“We have everything to win and nothing to lose,” he said.

Ecuadorian Goalkeeper Hernan Galindez said Saudi Arabia’s shock win over Argentina on Tuesday proved no team was unbeatable.

I think that Argentina’s defeat will not be the last surprise of this World Cup,” he added.

Despite the victory of the Netherlands, they were evenly matched against Senegal. There are certainly ways to hurt the Netherlands.

“It will be a tough match, but I expect the Netherlands to approach us with respect”, added the 35-year-old.

The Dutch will likely give Memphis Depay the start after he came off the bench against Senegal for his first match in two months after struggling with a hamstring injury.

Published in Dawn, November 25th, 2022