The Netherlands missed out on qualifying for the round of 16 at the World Cup in Qatar. Bond coach Louis van Gaal’s team only managed a 1-1 (1-0) draw against Ecuador and was unable to win the second tournament they needed to qualify for the knockout rounds in Group A before the last matchday. In Al-Rajjan, Cody Gakpo (6th minute) put the European favorites ahead before Enner Valencia (49th) equalized for Ecuador. Both teams still have good chances to advance to the next round. After the draw, hosts Qatar are eliminated from the preliminary round, having previously lost 3-1 to Senegal.
For the proud host Qatar, the World Cup is becoming more and more of a sporting fiasco. The less competitive Asian champions lost their second group game against Senegal 1: 3 (0: 1) on Friday despite a small improvement in performance and should therefore not survive the preliminary round as only the second World Cup host after South Africa (2010). The poor enthusiasm for the World Cup among the Qatari also matched this: many places remained empty.
Bolaye Dia (41st minute), Famara Diedhiou (48th) and Bamba Dieng (84th) took advantage of the many mistakes made by the hosts in front of officially 41,797 spectators and brought the African champions, who were so weakened by the injury to Bayern star striker Sadio Mané, into the fight back to business for the round of 16 ticket. Qatar, who still got the connection goal through substitute Mohammed Muntari (78th), are still waiting for the first point – a World Cup host has never been so bad.
Qatar had invested a lot of money in the sporting development of the national team for twelve years, and the team had been preparing intensively for the finals since June – apparently all in vain. The team of Spanish coach Felix Sanchez also presented itself as a sporty lightweight against Senegal for a long time, made many mistakes and sometimes looked hopelessly inferior. And the toughest group opponents with the Netherlands are still waiting for the end on Tuesday (4:00 p.m.).
Editor’s note: A first version of this text incorrectly stated that Qatar was definitely eliminated from the tournament. In fact, there is still a mathematical chance for the hosts. We apologize for this error.
Iran’s national soccer team celebrated an acclaimed last-minute victory at the World Cup in Qatar under great political and sporting pressure. Coach Carlos Queiroz’s team won Friday’s second group match against Wales 2-0 (0-0) thanks to goals from Roozbeh Cheshmi and Ramin Rezaeian in the eighth and eleventh minute of injury time. Welsh goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey saw a red card in the 86th minute after an emergency stop outside the box against Mehdi Taremi.
Both teams still have chances to advance. In front of 40,875 spectators in Al-Rajjan’s Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, the Iranian players didn’t remain silent this time during the national anthem, but visibly moved their lips with serious expressions. Most whistles in the arena fell silent as the video wall showed a heartbreakingly crying elderly fan holding an Iranian flag.
