Netherlands were held to a 1-1 draw against Ecuador in their World Cup Group A clash on Friday, eliminating hosts Qatar.
Louis van Gaal’s side left it late to win their opener against Senegal and they were similarly unimposing on Friday.
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Cody Gakpo‘s rocket strike on six minutes opened the scoring for Netherlands, but the side were unable to find a second.
Ecuador thought they had equalised on the stroke of half-time when winger Gonzalo Plata’s strike from the edge of the box was deflected in, but celebrations were quickly muted when VAR ruled out the goal for offside.
The South American side did find a breakthrough eventually, though, when Enner Valencia slotted home following a parry from Dutch goalkeeper Andries Noppert.
The result leaves Netherlands and Ecuador joint top of Group A on four points, Senegal one point behind in third and hosts Qatar the first team to be eliminated from the tournament.
