Ecuador
The World Cup will start in November, 32 teams will compete for the main trophy among the national teams. South American teams at World Cups always show bright football, but they do not always live up to expectations. The Ecuador national team at the World Cup in Qatar is going to be an outsider, with a minimum number of stars and many young players. The little-known Gustavo Alfaro trains the Ecuadorians.
60-year-old Alfaro, among the trophies of his coaching career, has only the Argentine Super Cup with Arsenal Sarandi and two Primera B Nacional titles with Olimpo and Quilmes. Alfaro never coached national teams before Ecuador, it is rather difficult to talk about his qualifications for unpopular Argentinean clubs. But there is no denying the fact that he led Ecuador to the 2022 World Cup for the fourth time in history!
Stars and leaders of the Ecuadorian team at the World Cup in Qatar
The average age of «Tricolor» is 25 years old, most of the leaders are promising players. But there is only one clear hero in the mountainous country - this is Enner Valencia, who got many chances in Europe and could not realize them. But for Ecuadorians, he is the top scorer and hope in Qatar.
Our editors predicted the application of Ecuadorians for the World Cup 2022 matches, taking into account the analysis of the matches of the current season.
| Goalkeepers | Moises Ramirez, Hernan Galindez, Alexander Dominguez |
| Protection | Piero Hincapie, Felix Torres, Jackson Porozo, William Pacho, Javier Arriaga, Purvis Estupiñan, Diego Palacios, Byron Castillo, Angelo Preciado |
| Midfield | Carlos Grueso, Jegson Mendez, Patrickson Delgado, Moises Caicedo, José Cifuentes, Alan Franco, Jeremy Sarmiento |
| Assault | Enner Valencia, Mikael Estrada, Romario Ibarra, Gonzalo Plata, Angel Meña, Jordi Caicedo |
Goalkeepers
In the number 1 goalkeeper position is the 35-year-old veteran Dominguez, who has 67 caps to his credit. He can compete with the same age as Galindes, and 22-year-old Ramirez is going for experience for the future.
Protection
In the defense of the national team of Ecuador, the main hopes of the fans for the future play: the central defender of Bayer Leverkusen Hincapi and the former leader of Villarreal, and now the player of the English Brighton Estupinyan. Hincapie is only 20, he is already the main player in the Bundesliga, and the 24-year-old Estupinyan, after two successful seasons in Spain, went to conquer the Premier League. The left-back plays in the national team closer to the attack and brings maximum benefit in all parts of the field. You can highlight the young Porozo («Troyes») and Pacho («Antwerp»).
Midfield
In the center of the field plays another hope of Ecuadorian football and concurrently Estupinyan’s teammate at Brighton Casyedo. The owner of the most football surname in the country in his 20s plays at the base of the Premier League club and will play a major role in the midfield of the Ecuador national team at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. There are no veterans in the middle of the field at all: 27-year-old Grueso from Augsburg and 25-year-old Mendez from Los Angeles are the most experienced in the squad.
Assault
In attack, Enner Valencia rules, who at 32 has long and successfully played in Turkey for Fenerbahce. The next representative of Brighton, 21-year-old Sarmiento, will help him. Alfaro will clearly use a trio played from not the last club in the Premier League for the 2022 World Cup matches in Qatar. The 21-year-old Plata, who helped the team reach the World Cup, will play on the flank.
The history of Ecuador’s performances at the World Championships
For the first time, Ecuadorians got to the World Cup in 2022, taking off at the group stage. But after 4 years, the Ecuador national team managed to leave the group for the first and last time, ahead of Poland and Costa Rica. But in the ⅛ finals, the South Americans, led by Antonio Valencia, lost to the England team with a score of 1:0. In 2014, the team again did not leave the group with 4 points.
How did Ecuadorians qualify for the World Cup in Qatar?
In the CONMEBOL qualifying zone, Alfaro’s men took 4th place and directly qualified for the 2022 World Cup. In 18 matches, the team won 7 wins and lost 6 times. The total goal difference is 27:19, while the Ecuadorian team was able to get ahead of the eminent Colombia and Chile. Estrada was the top scorer with 6 goals.
Ecuador national team: World Cup 2022 group and predictions
Alfaro’s team will start at the World Cup in Qatar in Group A, where the hosts of the Fifa World Cup, as well as the teams of the Netherlands and Senegal, will play. Ecuadorians will play in the opening match of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, this match will decide for both teams their status in the World Cup.
Our World Cup prediction for the Ecuador national team - 3rd place and elimination from the tournament. Yes, the team is quite young and promising, but the team and the coach have too little experience to resist the powerful Senegal, and even more so the Netherlands.
FAQ
Alfaro has played in recent matches in a 4-3-3 formation. Our editors suggest approximately the same starting line-up for the 2022 World Cup matches: Galindes-Estupignan-Hincapi-Poroso-Castillo-Caicedo-Mendez-Sarmiento-Ibarra-Meña-Valencia. Cifuentes, Estrada and Angulo may come on as replacements.
The Ecuador national team, according to bookmakers, is among the ten worst teams in terms of chances of winning the Fifa World Cup. You can bet on the victory of the Ecuadorians with odds from 160. Bookmakers offer odds from 2.1 to get out of Group A of the World Championship. The victory in the group is estimated at 6.5-7.
Matches of the national team of Ecuador and other meetings of group A in Qatar can be seen on our website. Every day we will update lineups, match statistics, users will be able to follow the main events of the World Cup and bet according to experts’ forecasts.
