© EuroFootball.com
When Ecuador's coach Luis Suarez announced the list of 23 players who will travel to the World Cup in Germany, there was a cautious optimism at the country's football federation headquarters in Quito - the coach decided not to make any big surprises and to keep the team that secured a spot in the final tournament through the qualifiers.
"I remained faithful to my beliefs and chose those players who performed well under my training. I invited those players who I always invited and that allows us to continue the work we have been doing all this time," said L. Suarez.
Indeed, the only loss for L. Suarez was defender Franklin Salas - known as "Magu" - who did not have time to recover from a knee injury. Meanwhile, nine players will participate in their second consecutive World Cup - experienced players Edison Mendez, Ivan Hurtado, Ulises de la Cruz, Agustin Delgado, Marlon Ayovi, Geovanny Espinoza, Edwin Tenorio, Carlos Tenorio, and Ivan Kaviedes. All these players are expected to form the core of the Ecuador national team.
Ecuador's team will start their training camp on May 16th at a military base near Quito, which the national team has been using since 2000. The Ecuadorian team will depart for Germany on May 22nd and after 2 days will first stop in New York for a friendly match against Colombia, and later in Madrid for the final friendly match against Macedonia. In Group A of the World Cup, Ecuador will face hosts Germany, Costa Rica, and Poland.
Ecuador's national team roster:
Goalkeepers: Edwin Villafuerte (Deportivo Quito), Cristian Mora (Liga de Quito), Damian Lanza (Aucas);
Defenders: Ivan Hurtado (Al Arabi, Qatar), Geovanny Espinoza (Liga de Quito), Paul Ambrossi (Liga de Quito), Neicer Reasco (Liga de Quito), Ulises de la Cruz (Aston Villa, England), Jorge Guagua (El Nacional), Jose Luis Perlaza (Olmedo);
Midfielders: Marlon Ayovi (Deportivo Quito), Edwin Tenorio (Barcelona), Edison Mendez (Liga de Quito), Patricio Urrutia (Liga de Quito), Cristian Lara (El Nacional), Segundo Castillo (El Nacional), Antonio Valencia (Recreativo Huelva, Spain), Luis Saritama (Deportivo Quito);
Forwards: Felix Borja (El Nacional), Christian Benitez (El Nacional), Ivan Kaviedes (Argentinos Juniors, Argentina), Agustin Delgado (Liga de Quito), Carlos Tenorio (Al Sadd, Qatar).
