JAKARTA - This is the hottest meeting in Group A that can be called the group's winning party, but the two teams competing at Khalifa International Stadium this Friday night are also two Group A teams that are likely to qualify for the knockout round.
They will try hard to win because of the victory to ensure they become the first team to qualify for the Qatar World Cup knockout round.
If Ecuador sets a target to qualify for the last 16 of the World Cup as they did in Germany in 2006, then the Netherlands will set a target of continuing to advance until the final to win this World Cup.
However, when they beat Senegal 2-0 in their opening party, the Netherlands appeared far from their best performance.
Even so, coach Louis van Gaal remains happy his team has got the three points. On the other hand, the team captain, Virgil van Dijk, was not so satisfied with the performances of his teammates.
"We did win but we also know we have to play better," the captain said.
"We let ourselves be hit too often by Senegal counter-attacks. That's an area we need to improve on. But I'm optimistic because I feel we're getting better," added van Dijk.
Ecuador itself looks to high-class matches against the Netherlands with high confidence, moreover they have received confirmation that Enner Valencia, who scored all the goals in the 2-0 win over Qatar, is ready to take down against the Netherlands after a knee sprain.
Ecuador is also increasingly convinced to be able to make a surprise because of what Saudi Arabia did to Argentina, and then Japan against Germany, that no team cannot be defeated.
"I don't think Argentina's defeat will be the last surprise in this World Cup," said Ecuadorian goalkeeper Hernan Galinez. And indeed a day later Japan overthrew Germany, also 2-1.
Galinez also saw that even though the Dutch beat Senegal, the Orange team was not a team that was too far in quality from Senegal who could even match the Dutch.
The Netherlands will likely give Memphis Depay a chance to start after playing as a substitute against Senegal as he recently recovered from a hamstring injury.
Predictions of the first eleven players
Netherlands (3-4-1-2): Andries Noppert; Matthijs de Ligt, Virgil van Dijk, Nathan Ake; Denzel Dumfries, Frenkie de Jong, Steven Berghuis, Daley Blind; Memphis Depay; Steven Bergwijn
Ecuador (4-4-1-1): Hernan Galinez; Angelo Preciado, Felix Torres, Piero Hincapie, Pervis Estupinan; Gonzalo Plata, Moises Caicedo, Sebas Mendez, Romario Ibarra; Jeremy Sarmiento; Enner Valencia
Important statistics of both teams
The two teams have met twice in friendly matches. The Netherlands won 1-0 in 2006, and then drew 1-1 in 2014.
The Netherlands have been runners-up in the World Cup three times and this is the eleventh World Cup final they have participated in.
The Netherlands qualified for the finals after topping the World Cup qualifying group and are unbeaten in 16 matches since being knocked out by the Czech Republic at Euro 2020.
The Netherlands won 2-0 over Senegal in their first match in Group A.
Ecuador played its fourth World Cup to surpass its best performance at Germany's 2006 World Cup last 16.
Ecuador qualified for Qatar after finishing fourth in the South American zone group after winning seven games and scoring 27 goals in a total of 18 games.
Ecuador became the first team in World Cup history to beat the hosts of the World Cup when they beat Qatar 2-0 in their opening Group A match.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
