Enner Valencia leads from the front, Ecuador go within a whisker of defeating the Dutch

Two countries stop for every one of the 64 games. Other parts of the world are dragged along for the ride, but the centre of the universe for those two nations at the centre of each contest is a Green Patch of turf, in this case, in the middle of the desert.

The capital of Ecuador is a world away. Quito, 3000 metres above sea level, was built on the remains of an Incan Empire city. And from this civilisation came a group of players that went within a whisker of pulling off another huge upset of this World Cup, in a breathtaking manner.

Watching Ecuador’s 1-1 draw with the Netherlands, all an Australian in the audience could do was think of June‘s playoff. Thank goodness it was Peru, and not this youthful mob of exuberance who finished just above the Peruvians in South American qualifying.

*****

There was no secret nor hidden tactical masterpiece which was the definitive reason why Ecuador scared the living life out of the Netherlands.

They ran. And then they ran some more, and for good measure ran again. They flipped the ball around neatly when they needed to, and if a mistake was made … they ran. Some 14 shots to two tells a story.

Assumptions about the result were easily forthcoming when boom Dutch striker Cody Gakpo opened the scoring in the sixth minute. This was the script. The Netherlands is a team of youth and experience under the tutelage of Lous van Gaal, at 71 the oldest manager at the tournament.

van Gaal has drawn some attention, but not for his usual direct-as-a-Dutchman gets persona. His prostate cancer diagnosis was made public in April, so maybe mortality has mellowed his soul. He’s been cracking jokes at training, and hugging journalists at press briefings.

So when his side took the lead he stood, shook a fist and blew a kiss to a loved one in the crowd. The big softie.

It is hard to see how the post mortem doesn’t reintroduce the old van Gaal to his team.

They were outhustled and fortunate to drift into the Doha night with one point instead of none, joining Germany and Argentina as first-round favoured road kill.

*****

For reasons not apparent to anyone who has seen him play for Ecuador on the big stage, Enner Valencia has not shone at club level through his career. The 33-year-old has featured in just two Champions League games in his life. Watch him captain his national side, zipping around with rare intelligence and guile, plus some mongrel, and his paucity of playing time on club football’s grandest stage is more puzzling than quantum physics to a high school dropout.

Valencia willed Ecuador from the front, and had nine other outfield players in dark blue following his lead. Valencia’s 49th minute tap-in equaliser means he has scored Ecuador’s past six World Cup goals. Australia once renamed a major Sydney road, calling it the Tim Cahill Expressway for a few days. Enner Valencia may have a city, stadium and statue in his honour for life.

The Dutch couldn’t cope with Valencia or Ecuador, especially after halftime when objectives of calm tactical movements and sharp ball movement became increasingly irrelevant under a torrent of pressure.

Van Gaal introduced one of his favourite players, Memphis Depay, at halftime. It backfired. Depay couldn’t impose himself; outwilled. At one stage late in the game, Depay flicked a short pass inside to no one. He complained, palms out, incredulous no teammate read his mind. Depay walked, while Ecuador ran away with the ball. A good 15 minutes later he finally stopped complaining when the Netherlands won a free kick. Ecuador ran back into position, ready to run some more.

This summed up the game.

The orange section of the 44,833 in the crowd sat still, stunned. The large contingent of Ecuadorians in the home kit of yellow did not stay silent for a second.

In Spanish they unrelentingly sung “C’mon Ecuadoriiaaa, this night we have to win!!!”. They fell just short.

*****.

Ecuador handled a huge occasion in beating Qatar on opening night.

What got lost in that win was, well, Ecuador’s win. It was more about the opening ceremony. The controversial build-up. Gianni Infantino in the expensive seats. And, in the game itself, Qatar’s sloppy, listless performance despite spending six months in a luxurious European training camp.

Ecuador didn’t have such liberties. The five-star performance against Qatar was off the back of the cheapest commodity in football. Effort. The template against the stunned Dutch was similar.

Japan over Germany. Saudi Arabia over Argentina. Ecuador, nearly, over the Netherlands.

At the end, three Ecuador players immediately collapsed. The rest hunched over, then prayed. The Dutch just stood, hands on hips, wondering what had just hit them. An entire nation is also wondering what happened.