Enner Valencia ensured Ecuador got the very least they deserved as they battled back from a goal down to draw 1-1 with the Netherlands in their World Cup Group A match at the Khalifa Stadium.

Enner Valencia ensured Ecuador got the very least they deserved as they battled back from a goal down to draw 1-1 with the Netherlands in their World Cup Group A match at the Khalifa Stadium. The Oranje led early thanks to a stunning strike from highly-rated PSV Eindhoven forward Cody Gakpo but did precious little else all game.
Ecuador, in contrast, had a goal from Brighton wing-back Pervis Estupinan disallowed on the stroke of half-time and also hit the bar close to the hour mark through Gonzalo Plata in a barnstorming display against a disjointed Dutch side.
Valencia's equaliser came early in the second half, though his exit on a stretcher late on will be a major concern to Ecuador coach Gustavo Alfaro.
The result ensured Qatar's elimination from the tournament with a game to spare, joining South Africa in 2010 as the only hosts to fail to make it past the first round.
Group A will conclude with a three-way tussle for the last-16 places next Tuesday.
The Netherlands could not have wished for a better start. Ecuador dispossessed Steven Bergwijn but immediately gave the ball away to Davy Klaassen, who left the ball to Gakpo running in the opposite direction.
It was a wise move from Klaassen, as the 23-year-old star unleashed a bullet of a left-foot shot from the edge of the area which gave Hernan Galindez in the Ecuador goal no chance.
The South Americans tried to rouse themselves after a quiet spell and Oranje captain Virgil van Dijk twice made key interventions, first cutting out Moises Caicedo's cut-back intended for Plata, and then heading clear Estupinan's left-wing cross with Michael Estrada lurking behind him.
Netherlands goalkeeper Andries Noppert faced his first test when Valencia cut inside on to his right foot and struck powerfully, but the Heerenveen man did enough to parry it away.
The Netherlands offered very little in attack after the Gakpo goal and Ecuador had a goal disallowed in the final seconds of the half.
A powerful low strike by right-back Angelo Preciado was diverted into the net by Estupinan, but it was ruled out because defender Jackson Porozo was offside and deemed to be interfering with play by blocking Noppert's view.
Barcelona forward Memphis Depay was introduced at half-time to offer the Dutch more X-factor up front, with Bergwijn the player substituted.
But the move failed to lift the Dutch and Ecuador got the goal their first-half efforts deserved in the 49th minute. The Netherlands, as they had shown against Senegal, are prepared to live dangerously close to their own goal and Jurrien Timber was caught in possession.
Plata spread the ball to Estupinan racing into the left side of the box, Noppert parried his shot but Valencia was there to gobble up the rebound.
They were inches away from going ahead just before the hour mark when Preciado shimmied into space for a cross, Valencia's effort was blocked and the ball broke to Plata, whose powerful left foot shot had Noppert beaten but smacked off the crossbar.
As regular time ticked down Valencia had to be carried off on a stretcher, a worrying development for Ecuador with the crucial game against Senegal to come.

Enner Valencia earns Ecuador deserved World Cup draw against Netherlands

Christian Pulisic fired the United States into the last 16 of the World Cup with a 1-0 win over Iran at the Al Thumama Stadium in Qatar on Tuesday.

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Christian Pulisic fired the United States into the last 16 of the World Cup with a 1-0 win over Iran at the Al Thumama Stadium in Qatar on Tuesday. 
The Chelsea forward grabbed the only goal of the game in the 38th minute when he bravely stole in to convert a headed cross by Sergino Dest from point-blank range.
Iran summoned little in search of the equaliser that would have sent them through to a second-round clash with the Netherlands, with only a late diving header from Morteza Pouraliganji and a last-gasp VAR check causing American hearts to flutter.
The US dominated the opening period to such an extent that the only fear was whether they would live to regret a catalogue of missed chances as they once again lacked cutting edge in the final third.
Yunus Musah drove an early shot over the bar and a good Pulisic header was saved by Iranian keeper Alireza Beiranvand, who also scrambled clear from a Dest cross.
Exploiting plenty of space on the flanks, Dest was proving the major threat for the US whilst the Iranians, looking to make it through the group stage for the first time at the sixth attempt, offered little.
American woes in front of goal continued when Timothy Weah snatched at a header when unmarked on the edge of the six-yard box, before the same player drilled another good opportunity over the bar.
Weston McKennie sparked the breakthrough the US deserved shortly before the break with a brilliant cross-field pass to find Dest, who deftly flicked the ball into the path of Pulisic.
Weah found the net but was judged marginally offside in the process, while the withdrawal of Pulisic, who had been injured in the process of scoring, suggested a long second half in store for Gregg Berhalter’s men.
Iran certainly carried more threat in the form of Brentford striker Saman Ghoddos, on for the ineffective Sardar Azmoun, and he had Iran's best chance in the 52nd minute when he met Ramin Razaeian's excellent right-wing cross with a header that flashed just wide of target.
After Pouraliganji's header, which went the wrong side of Matt Turner's right-hand post in the third of nine added minutes, the US also had to survive a late VAR check when Mehdi Taremi crumbled under the challenge of Cameron Carter-Vickers in the box.
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Christian Pulisic fires United States into World Cup last 16 after win over Iran

Cody Gakpo became the first Netherlands player to score in his first three World Cup games as he helped his country to a 2-0 win over Qatar to top Group A.

Cody Gakpo became the first Netherlands player to score in his first three World Cup games as he helped his country to a 2-0 win over Qatar to top Group A.
The 23-year-old forward entered the tournament as one of the hottest prospects in Europe, with a number of top clubs closely tracking his progress after nine goals and 12 assists in 14 Eredivisie games for PSV Eindhoven this season, and his displays in the Middle East have only furthered his credentials.
His versatility across the front line has also been underlined by the nature of his goals, with his 26th-minute strike from the edge of the penalty area coming via his right foot having already scored with his left against Ecuador and his head versus Senegal.
Head coach Louis van Gaal has allocated special status to Memphis Depay, making an exception to include the long-time injured Barcelona forward in his squad, but his first start of the tournament was overshadowed by his strike partner who now currently enjoys the role as most important attacker.
Depay's first start for any team since mid-September after a hamstring problem was a way of improving his match fitness against opposition who already knew they were exiting the tournament before the game kicked off after two uninspiring defeats.
The 28-year-old responded by starting the move which led to Gakpo's opener and then inadvertently providing the assist for Frenkie De Jong's goal just after half-time when his shot was parried by goalkeeper Meeshal Barsham.
Victory ensured Van Gaal's side finished top of Group A with seven points, setting up a last-16 meeting with the runners-up from England's group and extended their unbeaten run to 18 matches.
With Gakpo, a target for Leeds and Southampton in the summer, in the form he is the Dutch will fancy their chances in the knockout stages having failed to qualify for the last World Cup in Russia.
Not so Qatar, who have looked woefully out of their depth and are the first nation to lose three matches at a tournament they were hosting.
Having kept their opponents at bay for a quarter of the game they were undone by a relatively straightforward move as Depay dropped deep to pick up the ball and play it into Gakpo, who backheeled to Davy Klaassen and carried the return pass 10 yards further forward before beating Barsham from just inside the penalty area.
That saw him equal Johan Neeskens (in 1974), Dennis Bergkamp (1994) and Wesley Sneijder (2010) for scoring in three successive Netherlands World Cup matches but he is the first to do it in his first three.
Gakpo is also only the second player in the tournament's history after Italy's Alessandro Altobelli in 1986 to open the scoring on three occasions in the same group stage.
There was little sign of Qatar providing a response and that diminished further four minutes after the interval when Depay was denied at point-blank range at the far post by Barsham from Klaassen's cross and De Jong reacted quicker than the defence to force home the loose ball.
Qatar escaped with more slack defending when substitute Steven Berghuis' goal was ruled out by VAR due to a Gakpo handball earlier in the move, with the Ajax star also hitting the crossbar in added time.

Cody Gakpo on target as Netherlands top Group A with win over World Cup hosts Qatar

Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni says he was "really reassured" by what he saw from his players in Saturday’s win over Mexico.

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Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni says he was "really reassured" by what he saw from his players in Saturday’s win over Mexico.
Scaloni's men bounced back from the shock 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia in their World Cup Group C opener by defeating Mexico 2-0, with Lionel Messi putting them ahead with a 64th-minute strike before Enzo Fernandez added a second goal late on.
They will now look to secure last-16 qualification on Wednesday when they face Poland, the group leaders with four points – third-placed Saudi Arabia also have three, while Mexico have one.
Scaloni, whose reigning Copa America champions had gone into the tournament in Qatar on a 36-match unbeaten run, told a press conference: "Obviously after a victory against Mexico, we are feeling better emotionally. We are on the right path now.
"Have we recovered our identity after the (Messi) goal? It depends on how you see it, because then we had to defend the result, whatever it took. That's football. It's tough.
"We had a couple of chances after the goal to get a bigger result, at the end of the match we managed to do that, and that’s what counts.
"That's our identity – we fight for every single ball and try to be strong. That's what we asked our players (for) ahead of the match, and that really reassured us – that’s what we saw on the pitch. Yes, the first half wasn't great, but we saw our players fighting."
While Messi notched his second of the tournament in the Mexico match, Saturday also saw fellow star forward Robert Lewandowski get his maiden World Cup goal as Poland beat Saudi Arabia 2-0.
Scaloni was asked if he felt Lewandowski was a player now at the same level as Messi, and he said: "He's a top player. It's a privilege and a pleasure to see him from up close, as a football fan. He's a great player.
"The question is a bit tricky – is he at the same level of Messi? You just have to enjoy watching such a good player. Why compare one player with the other one? It’s not helpful."
Scaloni's Poland counterpart Czeslaw Michniewicz was also asked about Messi and Lewandowski, who he said were both "fabulous" players.
Michniewicz refused to give an opinion on who was better, and stressed it was "not only a match between Lewandowski and Messi – it's not tennis, it's not one-on-one".
He also spoke about the job of trying to stop Messi, as he compared the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner to Italian Olympic champion skier Alberto Tomba.
"It's a great question, how to stop Lionel Messi – I think all the world has been thinking about it for years, and I don't think we're ever going to find out the final answer," Michniewicz said.
"Today at the briefing we said that Messi behaves on the pitch like Alberto Tomba on the slope. He is able to avoid everyone like Tomba, get around everyone.
"So I need to put our players to make it difficult for Messi, because if he is able to ride through easily, he will score easily. We need to do it with teamwork."
If they cement qualification, it will be the first time Poland have made the World Cup last 16 since 1986.
And Michniewicz – whose side drew 0-0 with Mexico in their first group game – said: "We should all be excited to play Argentina, that we play for something, it's high stakes. We will do everything to win because we can do it."
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Lionel Scaloni 'reassured' by Argentina's win over Mexico ahead of Poland clash

La liga has called for "immediate sports sanctions" to be placed on Juventus after the club's entire board resigned.

La liga has called for "immediate sports sanctions" to be placed on Juventus after the club's entire board resigned.
Juve are under police investigation regarding "salary manoeuvres" of the financial years between 2019 and 2021 and, in April, the Spanish league filed an official complaint with UEFA regarding the Italians' alleged financial fair play breaches.
But, following developments on Monday at the Serie A club, who said the resignations were due to the "relevance of the pending legal and technical/accounting matters", La Liga wants action taken to "protect our football".
"As part of its campaign to promote financially sustainable football in Europe, LaLiga continues to pursue these complaints against Juventus and demands immediate sporting sanctions to be applied on the club by the relevant authorities," said a statement.
"LaLiga has long been a major proponent for the implementation, application, and enforcement of strong financial sustainability rules in football.
"The Spanish competition itself has applied its 'economic control' rules for nearly a decade, at the request of the clubs that make up the league.
"Financial sustainability is paramount to protecting the business of football."