Africa’s football champion, Senegal, has qualified for the first round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The Teranga Lions defeated Ecuador 2-1 in a tense match at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar, in what was perhaps the African champions’ greatest performance.
Senegal earned six points, good for second place in Group A, where the Netherlands led with seven, after easily defeating hosts Qatar in a 2- 0 victory, in a match played concurrently with Senegal’s against Ecuador.
It marks the first time Senegal has won the World Cup in consecutive years. The defending Africa Cup of Nations champions have reached the World Cup knockout stage for the third time. Nigeria reached the last 16 on two previous times, in 1994 and 2014.
It was a disappointing conclusion for the hosts, Qatar. Though it seemed obvious that the squad would be eliminated after losing 3-1 to Senegal on Friday, their play for dignity did not achieve the desired outcome, as Netherlands proved too strong to beat or recover anything from.
