ECUADOR vs SENEGAL

When: Today, 6pm

Where: Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan Capacity: 45,857

Key stats:

Senegal must win to ensure they earn a place in the last 16, though a draw may be enough if Qatar beat the Netherlands by two goals or more.

A draw will see Ecuador advance, while they could still go through in defeat if Qatar get a big enough win over Netherlands..

Ecuador’s last six goals at the World Cup, all scored in the 2014 and 2022 tournaments, have been netted by forward Enner Valencia. He has three in this campaign and is comfortably his country’s all-time leading scorer at the global finals ahead of Agustin Delgado (3 goals).

Ecuador are playing in their fourth World Cup with aspirations to surpass their previous best performance when they reached the last 16 in Germany in 2006.

Senegal reached the World Cup quarter-finals on debut in 2002 but were eliminated in the group stage on fair play points in their second visit in 2018 when they finished level with Japan.

Senegal have met South American opposition twice at the World Cup. They drew 3-3 with Uruguay in 2002 and lost 1-0 to Colombia in 2018.

Ecuador have never faced an African nation at the finals.

Previous meetings: Ecuador and Senegal have met on one previous occasion when they played a pre-World Cup friendly in 2002. The African nation triumphed 1-0.