Good day and welcome to the live coverage of the Group A match between the Netherlands and Ecuador, who kicked off the match, following Senegal’s three-point win over Qatar alongside the Lions of Teranga.
The teams have already been announced, and here they are:
Holland Noppert; Wood, Van Dyck, Ake; Dumfries, Koopmeiners, Frenkie de Jong, Blind; Klaassen, Gakpo, Bergween. Subs: Pasveer, de Ligt, de Vrij, Luuk de Jong, Depay, Berghuis, Lang, Beelow, de Roon, Malacia, Jansen, Weghorst, Taylor, Simmons, Frimpong.
Ecuador Galindes; Angelo Preciado, Poroso, Torres, Hincapier, Estupinan; Plata, Mendes, Caicedo, Valencia, Estrada. Subs Arboleda, Sifuentes, Pacho, Grueso, Aerton Preciado, Ibarra, Ramirez, Areaga, Mena, Sarmiento, Palacios, Franco, Dominguez, Reasco, Rodriguez.
So De Ligt, Berghuis and Janssen drop to the bench for the Dutch, with Jurien Timber, Davy Klaassen and Theun Koopmeiners coming on. Ecuador make one change, with Jackson Poroso, a defender, coming in for midfielder Romario Ibarra, suggesting a switch to a back three or five after their opening-day win over the hosts.
The two sides have only met in friendlies before, the Dutch winning 1-0 in Amsterdam in 2006 and holding them 1-1 there eight years later. Louis van Gaal had a pleasant surprise yesterday at his pre-match press conference when a Senegalese reporter told the Dutchman that he was a long-time admirer.
“I don’t have any questions for you. This is just an opportunity to tell you that I have been a fan since I was three years old,” said Papa Mahmoud Gueye. “I love you.”
The 71-year-old Iron Tulip, sometimes considered a stern face, a taciturn and stubborn figure in football, broke into a wide smile before answering.
“I’m going to give you a big hug afterwards because I like that you say that and I mean it,” Van Gaal said through a translator. “Because people don’t say that to me very often. So we’re going to have a big hug afterwards.”
Van Gaal kept his word, stepping off the stage and motioning for the reporter to join him in a warm embrace.
Gueye, 28, works for the Senegalese publication Taggat.sn.
Gueye told The Associated Press it was an honor to share such a touching moment with Van Gaal. “He is one of the greatest figures in football,” Gueye said. “He was also happy to see that there were people who loved him and he said to me ‘Let’s hug.’
Gueye said Van Gaal had earned an unfair reputation over the years for being grumpy.
“That’s not really the case. From a distance, people usually think he’s not cool,” Gueye said. “But he’s a smiley character and laughs with everybody. And he’s one of the best coaches in the world.”
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