Netherlands 1–1 Ecuador: a well-earned point for Ecuador

faced the Dutch nation while they had won only two of their seven World Cup meetings with European sides while the

were eager to continue their tally of 4-clean sheets through the tournament; their longest run ever in the competition. Switzerland was the last nation to keep five clean sheets in a row between 2006 and 2010.

Despite Ecuador's solid defensive record,

Gakpo

opened up early for the Netherlands in the 6th minute as the South American side chased the equalizer for the rest of the first half. They nearly got the equalizer in the stoppage time through Pervis Estupinán, however, VAR intervened to rule the goal out for offside as the two sides went to their dressing rooms with a 1-0 victory for the Dutch.

Ecuador finally reached their long-sought equalizer in the 49th minute as Enner Valencia scored for the South Americans.

Enner Valencia

has now scored each of Ecuador's last six goals at the World Cup. In the history of the competition, only three players have ever scored six consecutive goals for a nation, Eusebio, Paolo Rossi, and Oleg Salenko. The Netherlands pushed for a second goal for the rest of the second half as they couldn't get past Ecuador's defenders while Ecuador had chances on counterattacks.

The two sides eventually settled on a 1-1 draw as they continue leading the

Group A

table with four points and the same goal difference.

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