The countdown to next summer’s 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America is well and truly on. We are now under a year away from the opening game set to take place in Mexico City on the 11th of June.
Aside from the three hosts – USA, Mexico and Canada – 10 different teams have already qualified, including debutants Jordan and Uzbekistan from the AFC federation. New Zealand are the only other team to qualify that were not at the previous edition in 2022.
One of those ten teams that took part in Qatar are Ecuador, whom secured their spot during the international break in June, with draws against Brazil and Peru. This will be their third time playing at the finals in the last four editions of the World Cup.
Understandably, people may be unfamiliar with the South American outfit, but they could seriously surprise some people next summer. In 2022, they were unfortunate not to make it out of their group, with four points and a credible draw against the Netherlands only enough for a third place finish.
In terms of recent form, La Tri are unbeaten in their last nine outings – albeit four of those have been draws. In those nine games, they have only conceded one goal, during their 2-1 win over Venezuela in a March qualifier.
When you look at the personnel in their side, it is no surprise that they have such a strong defensive record. Their current central defensive duo is made of PSG treble winner Willian Pacho and Bayer Leverkusen’s Piero Hincapie. Both players are just 23 years old, so are set to be mainstays in the side.
Then, at left-back, they have Brighton and Hove Albion regular Pervis Estupinan, whom has been very consistent for the national team. To complete the back four, Club Brugge prospect Joel Ordonez is an exciting, physically capable player at right-back.
Anchoring those four is Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo, whom already has 55 caps for the national team at just 23 years of age. That backbone of the side can only be bettered by very few teams in world football.
The issue for Ecuador, and what could be their downfall in 12 months time, is the other end of the pitch. Although they are in good form as mentioned above, their last three games have all been 0-0 draws. Against Brazil, that is fine – but to not score against Peru or Chile is a concern.
People may be familiar with 18 year old Kendry Paez, who is set to join Chelsea from Independiente Del Valle next week, but he is still very raw as you’d expect. At the opposite end of his career – record national team goalscorer Enner Valencia turns 36 this year and needs players to help ease the burden on him.
To sum up the strengths and weaknesses of Sebastian Beccacece’s side; their 13 goals in 16 qualifiers is only better than the aforementioned bottom two sides in Peru and Chile, whilst their five goals conceded is comfortably better than anyone else – four ahead of the next best – World Cup winners Argentina.
At the moment, Ecuador sit second in qualifying – only behind the World Champions. It should also be mentioned that they were deducted three points for fielding an ineligible player in their previous campaign, and they would have otherwise secured their qualification in March.
