Ecuador hope to ride the upset wave against Netherlands

Netherlands will be bidding to make it two wins from their opening two World Cup matches but Ecuador promised to 'run the Dutch hard' when the two sides meet in their Group A encounter at the Khalifa International Stadium on Friday.

Louis van Gaal's side recorded a 2-0 victory over Senegal on Monday, while Ecuador were also 2-0 winners in their Group A opener, beating the tournament hosts Qatar on Sunday.

Ecuador believe they can hurt the Netherlands as they look to take a huge step towards the knockout rounds by springing another World Cup surprise.

Ecuador coach Gustavo Alfaro said the pressure was off Ecuador given the Netherlands' higher ranking and presumed superiority.

"We have everything to win and nothing to lose," he said, comparing it to games against heavyweights Brazil and Argentina in the South American qualifiers.

"I'm happy with my team. But Holland is a big rival," he added, noting their transformation under coach Louis van Gaal.

"We have to be strong on all fronts, emotional and physical, and run them hard until they exit the pitch... What we did against Qatar will be insufficient against Holland or (other Group A rivals) Senegal, we have to improve."

However, Ecuador are dealing with an injury issue of their last match's hero Enner Valencia, who scored both the goals against Qatar in the World Cup opener before limping off with a knee strain.

"The tests showed that he doesn't have an injury but the trauma is very serious. We'll have a look at him this afternoon and decide," Alfaro told reporters.

Ecuador's record against European nations suggests that today will be a difficult challenge.

Indeed, Ecuador are winless in their last four World Cup games against European sides (D1 L3), scoring just once across those four matches.

The Netherlands, meanwhile, are unbeaten in their last eight World Cup matches against South American sides (W5 D3), since a 3-2 defeat to Brazil in the quarter-finals in 1994, though that run includes a penalty shoot-out loss to Argentina in the 2014 semi-finals.

But, after seeing Argentina stunned by Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, Ecuador goalkeeper Hernan Galindez is hopeful Ecuador can throw the form book out the window and take control of Group A.

"I think that Argentina's defeat will not be the last surprise of this World Cup," said Galindez.

"Despite the victory of the Netherlands, they were evenly matched against Senegal. There are certainly ways to hurt the Netherlands.

"It will be a tough match, but I expect the Netherlands to approach us with respect."

Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk agreed with Galindez's assessment of the Oranje's performance in a 2-0 win over Senegal, in which he saw plenty of room for improvement.

"Going forward we sometimes tried to force things, and we too often left ourselves exposed to Senegal's counter-attacks," he told NOS.

"That is an area in which we will need to improve because it is an art that our next opponents, Ecuador, are very good at.

"But I am optimistic because I feel we are going to get better."