Mendy Helps Senegal Progress To Last-16 & England Also Qualify
- Papy Mendy assisted Senegal in reaching FIFA World Cup round of 16 on Tuesday
- The Lions of Teranga finished second in Group A after beating Ecuador 2-1
- The Leicester City midfielder came on as a second-half substitute in Doha
- James Maddison was on the bench as England qualified with a win over Wales
- Danny Ward made his first World Cup start during the 3-0 scoreline
Following a 3-1 success against Qatar on Friday, in which Mendy played 78 minutes, AFCON champions Senegal sat third in Group A, on three points from their opening two games. The Lions of Teranga therefore required victory over Ecuador to secure a passage into the last-16.
Named on the bench for the crucial encounter at Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Foxes midfielder Mendy watched on as Watford's Ismaïla Sarr won a penalty that he stepped up and converted shortly before the break.
The lead only lasted 22 second-half minutes, with Moisés Caicedo levelling matters and putting the South American side back into pole position to qualify.
The response was instant from Senegal, who regained the advantage when captain and Chelsea centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly netted their second just 115 seconds later.
Mendy was then introduced on 74 minutes to see out the win and a place in the knockout stages for the first time in 20 years, while elsewhere in the group, Netherlands beat Qatar 2-0 to top the group on seven points, one ahead of Senegal.
That all meant that the Lions of Teranga will come up against the winner of Group B in the round of 16, England, who sealed their own safe passage into the next round with a 3-0 victory over Wales later on Tuesday evening.
Danny Ward made his first World Cup start, but the Dragons were beaten courtesy of second-half goals from Marcus Rashford (2) and Phil Foden, which saw the Three Lions finish at the summit of Group B, on seven points, while Wales finished fourth, on one point.
James Maddison was named in the matchday squad at Ahmed bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan after recovering from an injury that kept him out of the opening two games.
Head to LCFC.com/WorldCup for more information on the Club's players out in Qatar.