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In the World Cup, it's a crucial time for decisive matches. Ecuador, among the sixteen strongest national teams on the planet, is already facing a tough test in the quarterfinals – playing against England, a team that doesn't hide its ambitions to win the prestigious trophies, despite not demonstrating the best gameplay so far.
England – Ecuador
Location: Gottlieb-Daimler Stadium, Stuttgart
Time: June 25, Sunday. 18:00 (Lithuanian time)
Referee: Frank De Bleeckere (Belgium)
Head-to-head meetings
England and Ecuador have only played each other once in a friendly match before the 1970 World Cup. Back then, the English defeated their opponents in Quito, Ecuador's capital, with a score of 2-0.
Group stage matches
England
Although the English achieved solid results in the group stage - defeating Paraguay 1-0, Trinidad and Tobago 2-0, and drawing 2-2 with Sweden – there is cause for concern. The team, expected to win the championship title, has so far disappointed the most passionate fans and neutral viewers alike with their performance.
The World Cup started fantastically for the team – in the 4th minute of the first match, Paraguayan Carlos Gamarra scored an own goal, putting England in the lead. However, apart from a few long-distance shots, that was all the English team created that evening. While there were few gaps in the praiseworthy defense, the attack was lacking, and there were too few dangerous chances near the Paraguayan goal.
Despite scraping together 3 points, the footballers faced a lot of sharp criticism from the media and experts. Even the head coach, Sven-Goran Eriksson, did not escape blame, accused of poor substitutions and excessively cautious play in the second half. All pessimists and critics could be silenced in the second match, where England faced the representatives of Trinidad and Tobago, a small state with just over a million inhabitants.
However, this match almost ended tragically – the English failed to score in the 83rd minute, and at the end of the first half, John Terry only narrowly cleared the ball from his goal line. Tragedy – this word was on the tip of the tongue of almost every England fan. Nevertheless, in terms of the result, things improved – Peter Crouch scored a goal with 7 minutes left to play, and Steven Gerrard also scored in injury time. 2-0, but the wave of criticism not only did not die down but only intensified.
In the third match, England, already having secured a place in the quarterfinals, faced a much stronger opponent - Sweden. Eriksson's team started off relaxed, introducing ease and creativity into their game. The result was a 1-0 victory for the English and a diminishing optimism after the initial matches.
Yet, that evening, the English were not fated to show their true potential. In the second half, the Swedes completely took the initiative, attacked a lot, and managed to level the score through Marcus Allback. England's defense looked fatally bad when the opponents tried to capitalize on set pieces – corner kicks or free kicks. After almost every such episode in the second half, a dangerous shot followed, and only luck helped the English avoid conceding more goals.
Eventually, England staged a counterattack, and Steven Gerrard sent the ball towards the opponent's goal. But, probably, truth prevailed – as the match ended, Henrik Larsson equalized the score and, according to experts, stole a deserved draw. Although England is considered a favorite before the upcoming quarterfinal, the first three matches showed that this team has not yet reached its best sporting form and is currently too fragile to be called a contender for the title of winner. Ecuador has a chance to win, and England faces a difficult test – there is no room for error.
Ecuador
Ecuador performed much better in the group stage matches. In the first match, the representatives of South America deservedly defeated Poland 2-0. However, our neighbors even shook the opponent's crossbar twice but failed to score a goal.
"This is a day to celebrate," said Ecuador's coach, Fernando Suarez, referring to the historic victory. "We didn't come here to watch others play, and now our goals are only increasing."
In the next match, Ecuador showed that they can achieve a lot in this championship - they crushed Costa Rica 3-0. After this victory, the Ecuadorians secured their place in the second round and intended to compete for the top spot with the strong-willed Germany, but...
Another 3-0 – this time in favor of the opponents. After two impressive wins, the Ecuadorians failed to offer serious resistance to the tournament hosts. It is said that a spoonful of tar spoils a barrel of honey. However, this setback, which contributed little to their tournament performance, according to the players, did not break their confidence in their abilities, so the English cannot expect an easy win in the quarterfinal.
News
England
The representatives of the footballing homeland, who brought only four forwards to Germany, will have to cope without Michael Owen in this match. The 26-year-old footballer suffered a serious knee injury in the game against Sweden and will be absent from the field for several months.
Due to this, Sven-Goran Eriksson faces a dilemma – use the usual 4-4-2 tactic with Peter Crouch and Wayne Rooney upfront, or play with only the latter striker in the attack and use a 4-5-1 formation, giving more freedom to attacking midfielder Steven Gerrard.
There is a possibility that the 17-year-old talent Theo Walcott, who could become the second youngest player in World Cup history, will have an opportunity to step onto the field.
In addition to M. Owen, defenders Rio Ferdinand and Gary Neville are also dealing with injuries. Neville missed the last two group stage matches due to a thigh injury, while Ferdinand had to leave the field in the early stages of the second half of the match against Sweden.
However, after examinations, it was revealed that Rio Ferdinand should appear in the starting lineup. Meanwhile, instead of the unreliable G. Neville on the right side of defense, Jamie Carragher is likely to be replaced by Owen Hargreaves, and the latter will probably be "substituted" in midfield by Michael Carrick.
Ecuador
National team coach Luis Fernando Suarez has received praise from the Ecuadorian Federation and a new contract offer – the Colombian is being offered to extend his contract for another four years.
"Right now, I won't let my mind wander from the World Cup, as I am focused on my work," Suarez later said when making the decision.
Due to injuries, the Ecuadorians are problem-free – although several key players did not play in the match against Germany, it was a tactical, not a forced decision by the national team strategist. By the way, Suarez received a lot of criticism from the Ecuadorian press for this choice, as it was, according to journalists, the main reason for the painful defeat to the Germans.
Opinions
England's national team coach, Sven-Goran Eriksson, is optimistic before the match against Ecuador: "I am always an optimist. I think we will win."
"The word 'if' does not exist before a match. Only after the match. We will play good football, we will win, and that's it. I never think about losing," said the confident coach. "I am firmly convinced that we will play better football against Ecuador than in the first three matches."
Eriksson admitted that his team had already prepared for a possible penalty shootout.
"In football terms, this is a life-or-death situation. It is particularly interesting."
"If we need to take penalties, we could not be better prepared than we already are."
"We practiced taking penalties more or less at every training session, and if something happens, it is better to be more prepared than we already are, it is impossible," the English coach was convinced.
Ecuador's coach, Luis Fernando Suarez, believes in his team's ability to resist the English, but only if they manage to stop Wayne Rooney.
"We have to pay attention to him because he can change the game at any moment," Suarez said.
"He is very fast, and it is hard to stop his movement with or without the ball."
"If they play like they have so far, we can win," Suarez hopes.
Although England's performances in this championship so far have not been impressive, Ecuador's coach admits that opponents can improve their game.
"With such talented players, one can always expect good performances from them. Brazil was quite quiet in the first two matches but improved their game against Japan," Suarez hopes for a good English game.
What to expect in the match
In knockout matches, everything depends on one game, so both teams will give it their all and do everything to win. A lot will depend on whether the Ecuadorian team can recover from the defeat to Germany and whether the English will finally start playing as expected. If both teams play like they did in the group stage matches, predicting the winner won't be easy. Nevertheless, the English are considered the favorites in this duel, and their failure in the quarterfinals would be a major surprise in this championship.
Predicted starting lineups
England (4-5-1/4-4-2)
Robinson; Hargreaves, Ferdinand, Terry, A.Cole; Beckham, Gerrard, Carrick, Lampard, J.Cole; Rooney.
Ecuador (4-4-2)
Mora; De la Cruz, Hurtado, Espinoza, Reasco; Mendez, Castillo, Valencia, E.Tenorio; Delgado, C.Tenorio.
