World Cup preview: Ecuador
The South American nation is making its 4th appearance in the last 6 tournaments
Previous World Cup appearances: 2002, 2006, 2014
Best finish: Round of 16 (2006)
Group stage schedule: vs. Qatar (Nov. 20), vs. the Netherlands (Nov. 25), vs. Senegal (Nov. 29)
Note: All stats accurate as of the end of the 2021-22 European season.
The breakdown
How they qualified: Ecuador claimed the fourth and final automatic spot allotted to CONMEBOL with seven wins and five draws in 18 games. Their 19 goals allowed were tied for the fewest by a team not named Brazil or Argentina, which were also the only countries with a better goal difference than Ecuador’s +8.
Names to know:
Michael Estrada (D.C. United) — Estrada led the way with six goals in 17 appearances during World Cup qualifying. The 26-year-old is currently on loan at D.C. United from Mexican side Toluca and scored twice in the team’s season opener back in February. He also found the back of the net twice in Ecuador’s 4-2 win over Uruguay during the October 2020 qualifying window.
Enner Valencia (Fenerbahçe) — Valencia now has 35 international goals1 to his name, including all three of his country’s tallies at the 2014 World Cup. He produced 11 goals in 75 Premier League games with West Ham and Everton. Valencia played in 12 World Cup qualifiers and netted four goals.
Pervis Estupiñán (Villarreal) — No player logged more minutes during Ecuador’s qualifying campaign than Estupiñán. The 24-year-old left back was a central figure in Villarreal’s run to the Champions League semifinals and is in the 85th percentile among La Liga players this season with 4.53 progressive passes per 90 minutes2.
Carlos Gruezo (Augsburg) — Gruezo was one of the best holding midfielders in Major League Soccer during his time with FC Dallas and returned to the Bundesliga in 2019. He made 23 starts for Augsburg last season and started 16 of Ecuador’s 18 qualifiers. The 27-year-old has represented his country 43 times3.
Ángel Mena (León) — The six-year veteran of Liga MX spent a majority of his career with Emelec in his native Columbia before moving to Mexico in 2017. He had two goals and three assists in qualifying, leaving him tied with Valencia for the third-most goal involvements on the team.
Potential breakout star: Moisés Caicedo (Brighton)
Caicedo made 12 appearances for Beerschot in the Belgian Pro League before being recalled from his loan in January to provide some much-needed depth in Brighton’s midfield. At just 20 years old, he made his Premier League debut in a 2-1 win over Arsenal on April 9 and picked up an assist in the game. His first Premier League goal came in the Seagulls’ 4-0 demolition of Manchester United on May 7. Caicedo started 15 times for his country during qualifying and produced a team-high four assists as well as two goals.
The bottom line
Reason for optimism: Ability to hang with the big boys
Ecuador were only outscored 8-6 in their six World Cup qualifiers against Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay while taking at least a point off all three South American powers. They also got a 1-1 draw with Brazil in the group stage of last summer’s Copa America. Being in a group headlined by the Netherlands and Senegal will not phase them in the slightest.
Biggest question: Will they be allowed to participate?
FIFA has opened an investigation into a complaint filed by the Chilean Football Association alleging Ecuador fielded an ineligible player — right back Byron Castillo — in eight qualifiers. Should FIFA find him to be ineligible and force Ecuador to forfeit the games Castillo played in, the 3-0 defeats handed to Ecuador would move Chile into fourth place and send them to Qatar instead. Ecuador has denied any wrongdoing and FIFA rejected Chile’s appeal in September4.
Here’s the deal:
Six of the seven players who logged more than 900 minutes during qualifying are 26 or younger. Two of them haven’t turned 21 yet. The infusion of talented young players plus the experience of veterans like Valencia and Mena gives Ecuador a real chance of getting out of their group this winter while building the foundation for an even better run in 2026.