Netherlands Draw Ecuador; Sweden Confirm World Cup Group
The Netherlands finished their pre-World Cup friendlies with a 1-1 draw against Ecuador at the Philips Stadium in Eindhoven on Tuesday — an afternoon that quickly turned into a ten-man exercise in damage control.
Cody Gakpo’s cross found Willian Pacho in the third minute and the PSG defender turned it into his own net. But the lead lasted barely nine minutes. Denzel Dumfries mistimed a challenge on Gonzalo Plata and was sent off. German referee Sascha Stegemann gave him no option.
Ronald Koeman reshuffled immediately, pulling striker Malen for defender Geertruida. It worked — mostly. Enner Valencia converted from the spot in the 24th minute after Mark Flekken fouled Plata, and that was how it stayed.
“It’s a situation you can come up against in a finals tournament, when you have to play for the result, and I thought it went very well in the second half,” Koeman said. “They had a lot of corners but no really big chances — and that’s something you want to see from your team.”
Meanwhile in Stockholm, Sweden beat Poland with a late winner to clinch their World Cup place. They now join the Netherlands in Group F alongside Japan and Tunisia.
The World Cup kicks off June 11.