Senegal ride wave of emotion
Koulibaly tribute to Diop as African champions set up England clash
KAlidou Koulibaly went in search of inspiration from the late Papa Bouba diop as he prepared for a date with destiny, writing the number 19 on to his yellow captain’s armband with a black marker pen.
That had been the shirt number worn by the former Fulham and Portsmouth midfielder when he scored the famous winning goal against France, and Senegal went on to reach the last eight of the World cup finals in 2002.
here in Qatar, on the second anniversary of diop’s death at the age of 42, it was Koulibaly scoring a vital winner, his first goal in 67 international games.
it was a composed side-foot volley to crush ecuador, for whom a draw would have been enough to qualify from Group A, and send the African champions into the last 16 of this World cup, where they will play england on Sunday.
‘The anniversary was important for us and his family,’ said chelsea defender Koulibaly. ‘We wanted to do him proud, pay homage to him. he made me dream as a boy.
‘ This wasn’t something we wanted to let slip. i saw the videos his family posted of him and it really hit home to me so it was important to make Papa’s family proud.’
This they did. Senegal deserved their victory and it provides some consolation for their exit four years ago in russia, when they were eliminated at this stage of the World cup in bizarre fashion.
locked together with Japan on points, goal difference and goals, they were eliminated by virtue of the fact they had two more yellow cards in the group stage. it was a bitter pill to taste. This time, everything went to plan apart from a yellow card for everton midfielder idrissa Gana Gueye, who is suspended for the last 16 tie.
it was the ecuadorians overcome by heartbreak, collapsing in tears at the final whistle. They had played so well in their first two games but here they froze.
Senegal took the lead in the 44th minute from a penalty won and converted by Watford’s ismaila Sarr, who was clumsily barged over by Bayer leverkusen central defender Piero hincapie as he drifted in behind ecuador’s back four from the left.
Sarr picked himself up to score coolly from the spot, fixing the goalkeeper with his stare as he shuffled up to the spot and stroked it inside the post with little more than a glance at the ball, sparking a mass celebration featuring all the substitutes.
They had made such a bold and adventurous start to a game they needed to win if they were to progress.
Gana Gueye, on the occasion of his 99th cap, wasted one glorious chance inside three minutes, blazing wide when well placed. Boulaye dia dragged another across goal and wide when played through by Youssouf Sabaly.
Sheffield united’s iliman ndiaye, starting on the right of a threeman attack for Senegal, tormented Pervis estupinan of Brighton during the opening 20 minutes. ndiaye curled a shot wide from one side, Sarr did the same from the other and Sabaly headed over. ecuador, having impressed with their high-intensity style during the first two games of the tournament, were disappointing. it was as if they were paralysed by the knowledge that a point was enough. Their captain enner Valencia, scorer of all three of their goals in
Qatar, was fit despite a knee injury but they struggled to get out of their own half for 45 minutes.
Even so, it seemed the South Americans had survived the storm by disrupting the rhythm of the game and the contest was more even by the time Sarr scored his 11th goal for Senegal.
Ecuador’s Argentinian boss Gonzalo Alfaro made two changes at half-time, and flexed the team’s shape to 4-4-2. Immediately, they were more comfortable, enjoyed more possession and levelled from a corner, headed forward by Felix
Torres and turned into the net from close range by midfielder Moises Caicedo.
Senegal full back Sabaly, standing beside a post, had played Caicedo onside but Aliou Cisse’s team responded swiftly and were back in front within three minutes from a free-kick.
It was delivered from the right by Gana Gueye, struck Ecuador captain Valencia on the hip and popped up kindly for Koulibaly, who guided it past goalkeeper Hernan Galindez on the volley with the inside of his right foot. It was the winner. Destiny, perhaps. This time they held on.
‘Many didn’t believe in us,’ said Koulibaly, who promised to hand his man of the match trophy to Diop’s family and also paid tribute to Sadio Mane, their star striker injured on the eve of the finals.
‘When he got injured, two thirds of the world doubted we’d qualify. Only those in Africa believed. We are a family, a well-oiled machine and we wanted to give this back to the Senegalese population.
‘We are in the last 16 and now we can really get down to business.’