Ecuador’s possible starting lineup for game 3 of the group stage vs Senegal
How will Ecuador line up for their third game of the Qatar 2022 World Cup against Senegal on Tuesday?
Ecuador are joint-top of Group A with the Netherlands and face Senegal in a crucial match on Tuesday.
The South Americans defeated Qatar 2-0 in the opening match of the World Cup and followed the win up with a 1-1 draw against Louis van Gaal’s Netherlands side.
Ecuador’s four points from two games mean that the Senegal match will decide who qualifies from the group, with Qatar already eliminated as a consequence of the draw. The Dutch also have four points heading into their fixture against the hosts.
Valencia on fire
Enner Valencia has scored Ecuador’s last six World Cup goals, making him part of a select group of players to have scored so many consecutively for their nation at the World Cup.
According to Opta, Eusebio was the first to do it, netting for Portugal in 1966, before Italian Paolo Rossi and Russian Oleg Salenko also achieved the feat in 1982 and 1994 respectively.
Former West Ham striker Valencia scored all three of Ecuador’s goals in the group stage of the 2014 World Cup, and the South American side failed to qualify for the tournament four years ago.
He has hit the ground running this time around, scoring a brace against host nation Qatar and then against the Netherlands.
Valencia a doubt for Ecuador
Ecuador could be without Valencia for the Senegal clash after he was withdrawn on a stretcher in stoppage time in the 1-1 draw with the Netherlands.
La Tri will want to finish the job off, although it won’t be straightforward and as well as possibly being without main man Valencia in attack, they are missing Jhegson Méndez through suspension.
José Cifuentes could replace Méndez, who picked up a yellow card in the opener against Qatar and a second against the Netherlands. He will serve a one-match suspension.
Ecuador head coach Gustavo Alfaro has three players in that position at his disposal in Cifuentes, Carlos Gruezo and Alan Franco.
Possible Ecuador XI vs Senegal:
Galindez; Porozo, Torres, Hincapie; Preciado, Cifuentes, Caicedo, Estupiñán; Plata, Estrada, Sarmiento.