Netherlands v Ecuador match report

The World Cup continues. Our second match of Group A begins this afternoon. We take a look at the Netherlands v Ecuador match. We will highlight the line-ups, pick out the key moments and standout World Cup Fantasy performances during the match.

Covering the Netherlands v Ecuador match can be very useful to World Cup Fantasy managers. Highlighting line-ups, key moments and standout fantasy performances can aid decisions regarding future transfers, captaincies and chip strategy.

Line-ups – Netherlands

Star striker Memphis Depay (£8.5m) does not start the game despite featuring in Matchday 1. Many within the community will be hoping defender Denzel Dumfries (£6m) continues his World Cup Fantasy success.

Ecuador

Enner Valencia (£6.5m) will look to extend his World Cup run with more goals. The striker bagged a brace in Matchday 1 against the hosts Qatar. Many managers may have sold their Ecuador defensive assets ahead of the match. One of those sold could be defender Pervis Estupinan (£4.5m).

Key moments

The game gets underway.
GOAL! After a good start from both sides, striker Cody Gakpo (£7m) takes the ball from his teammate and midfielder Davy Klaassen (£6m) and rockets a left footed shot outside the Ecuador box to give the Netherlands an early lead.
Ecuador have reacted positively since conceding the first goal.
Netherlands defender Virgil Van Dijk (£6m) makes a fantastic tackle to stop Ecuador midfielder Moises Caicedo’s (£5.5m) dangerous pass into the box.
Enner Valencia takes on Denzel Dumfries to fire a venomous shot which is saved by the goalkeeper.
Pervis Estupian thought he’d scored after a corner is pushed just outside the box. The shot took a deflection as it travelled and flew into the back of the net, but the goal was ruled offside.
The whistle blows for halftime.
Netherlands midfielder Steven Bergwijn (£7m) is replaced by Memphis Depay.
GOAL! Pervis Estupinan finds himself in the Netherlands box. His left footed shot is saved by the goalkeeper, but the save sets up Enner Valencia for an easy tap-in.
Cody Gakpo makes a darting run through the Ecuador defence but is fouled. Ecuador’s Jhegson Mendez (£4.5m) receives a yellow card and the midfielder will now miss the next game.
Ecuador defender Angelo Preciado (£4.5m) whips in a great ball from the right which enters the box and finds Enner Valencia. Valencia’s shot is blocked but reflects to Gonzalo Plata (£4.5m). Plata wraps his foot around the ball and the ball smashes against the Netherlands crossbar.
Enner Valencia continues to cause major problems for Netherlands. He makes a great run to play a pass into Michael Estrada (£5m) but fails to get enough power on his shot.
There has been a lack of reaction from Netherlands since the eqauliser.
Enner Valencia goes down injured. He is then stretchered off the pitch.
The game ends 1-1.

Standout World Cup Fantasy performances

A 1-1 score line meant a lack of defensive returns.
The best performer was Enner Valencia. The striker managed seven points for his goal.
Another successful asset was Cody Gakpo. The Dutch striker scored to provide his owners with a six-point return.
Davy Klaassen managed to secure four points due to his assist.
Pervis Estupinan also collected four points for creating an assist.

@FPLReaction’s (Louis) comments

The Netherlands really struggled to break Ecuador down throughout the game. Ecuador were fantastic and looked to have created more than their opponent. Enner Valencia was brilliant during the game and proved how dangerous he can be.

Although Netherlands were struggling, they face a much weaker side in Matchday 3 against Qatar whilst Ecuador face a tough game against Senegal.