© Pool via REUTERS
On November 20, the 22nd FIFA World Cup begins. The almost pre-Christmas sports festival will attract fans and supporters of various national teams to cheer on their teams.
The most visited national football portal "Eurofootball.com" will provide reviews of the World Cup national teams, aimed at getting to know each participating team more closely.
This time we review the representative of the South American continent - the Ecuadorian national team.
Ecuador's journey to the World Cup was difficult not only during the qualifiers, but also beyond. The South American team faced the threat of disqualification from the tournament when the Chilean football federation filed a complaint about an allegedly illegal player in the Ecuadorian national team.
After the match between the Ecuadorian and Chilean national teams, the latter's football federation filed a complaint about Byron Castillo's alleged falsified birth certificate, claiming he is not Ecuadorian.
FIFA investigated this complaint, but found no evidence to prove that B. Castillo was playing illegally in the Ecuadorian national team.
Team history and achievements
The Ecuadorian national football team has been participating in World Cup qualifiers since 1930, but only first qualified for the World Cup in 2002.
During the group stage in 2002, the Ecuadorians defeated Croatia 1-0 but did not score more points and finished last.
In 2006, Ecuador participated in the World Cup again and managed to advance past the group stage. However, in the round of 16, the South American representatives lost 0-1 to England.
The 2014 World Cup was the last in which Ecuador participated. Despite defeating the Honduras national team in the group stage (2-1) and unexpectedly playing a draw against France, they failed to advance to the knockout stage and settled for third place in the group.
Predicted team lineup
Goalkeepers: Hernan Galindez (Aucas), Moises Ramirez (Independiente del Valle), Alexander Dominguez (LDU Quito), Gonzalo Valle (Guayaquil City).
Defenders: Pervis Estupinan (Brighton), Angelo Preciado (Genk), Piero Hincapie (Bayer Leverkusen), Xavier Arreaga (Seattle Sounders), Diego Palacios (Los Angeles), Byron Castillo (Leon), Fernando Leon (Atletico San Luis), Jackson Porozo (Troyes), William Pacho (Antwerp).
Midfielders: Carlos Gruezo (Augsburg), Angel Mena (Leon), Jhegson Mendez (Los Angeles), Gonzalo Plata (Real Valladolid), Romario Ibarra (Pachuca), Moises Caicedo (Brighton), Alan Franco (Talleres), Jose Cifuentes (Los Angeles), Jeremy Sarmiento (Brighton), Nilson Angulo (Anderlecht), Patrickson Delgado (Jong Ajax), Anthony Valencia (Antwerp).
Forwards: Enner Valencia (Fenerbahçe), Michael Estrada (Cruz Azul), Djorkaeff Reasco (Newell's Old Boys).
Team coach
The Ecuadorian national team is coached by Argentine Gustavo Alfaro. The 60-year-old strategist has been a coach since 1992, having managed 16 clubs in his career. His main coaching stints were at Brazilian and Argentine clubs. His last coached team was Boca Juniors.
Gustavo Alfaro took over the Ecuadorian national team in 2020. During this period, the team played 31 matches, winning 11, drawing 12, and losing 8.
Group stage opponents
Ecuador will play in Group A against the Netherlands, Senegal, and Qatar.
Overall, Ecuador has faced these national teams four times.
In 2018, the South American representatives played a friendly match against Qatar and lost 3-4.
Against Senegal, they met in 2002 in a friendly match and also suffered a defeat (0-1).
Against the Netherlands, Ecuador played twice. In 2006, they lost a friendly match 0-1, and in 2014, in a control match, they managed to draw 1-1.
Summary
Ecuador is not expected to achieve success in this World Cup. It is a defensive-style team, as indicated by the results of their last five matches, where they only scored 2 goals and did not concede any.
The first group stage match against Qatar will be crucial for Ecuador. A victory against the tournament hosts would give them a chance to compete at least for second place in the group. A loss or a draw against Qatar would likely mean the end of the tournament for them after the group stage.
