The Ecuadorian Football Federation is in charge of the men’s national football squad (Selección de fútbol de Ecuador), which competes internationally for Ecuador (FEF). They joined CONMEBOL in 1927 and FIFA in 1926.
Ecuador declined a request to take part in the first FIFA World Cup, which was held in Uruguay, and did not play in the competition until 2002. The qualifying campaign saw the rise of several players, including Agustn Delgado, Lex Aguinaga, Iván Hurtado, Ulises de la Cruz, and Iván Kaviedes, who would pave the way for Ecuador’s accomplishments in the next ten years after finishing ahead of Brazil and Uruguay in the standings.
They were expected to perform at the 2007 Copa América after a remarkable World Cup run that saw them advance to the Round of 16[4], but they were eliminated in the group stage. They haven’t triumphed in the continental competition, like Venezuela. On home soil, La Tri’s best results came in 1959 and 1993 when they finished fourth.
Enner Valencia, a former West Ham striker, is still going strong for Ecuador at the age of 32. He will be one of the players listed first on Gustavo Alfaro’s Qatar 2022 team list.
The Ecuadorian team is young, thus Alfaro will rely on some of his more seasoned players. One of them is Valencia, but others like Angel Mena, Carlos Gruezo, and Robert Arboleda will be significant as well.
The country is very excited about Moises Caicedo, who transferred from Independiente del Valle to Brighton in 2021. He has the ability to emerge as one of the tournament’s rising stars.
Ecuador is currently facing quite some trouble regarding player qualification issues. A rather critical conflict since Ecuador is scheduled to play an opening match for this FIFA World Cup.
It might alter who England will face in the round of 16 and who Qatar will face in the World Cup’s opening game.
A fascinating case involving alleged false identities and a possible cover-up by the Ecuador Federation centers on Castillo, a right-back who made eight appearances in World Cup qualifying. The main question is whether Castillo was born in Ecuador or in Colombia, across the border.
FIFA will suffer severe embarrassment if they were disqualified from the tournament at this late stage. In June, FIFA dismissed Chile’s complaint after determining that Castillo was born in Ecuador.
On November 20, Qatar and Ecuador will square off in the World Cup opener. This information was absent from the June hearing.
Peru might be the other potential victor if Ecuador is just eliminated and all of their games are forfeited because they finished fifth in the standings.
In four World Cup games in 2016, Bolivia used defender Nelson Cabrera, who had previously represented Paraguay. Chile and Peru won those games 3-0 to eliminate Bolivia from the tournament.
Ecuador Team Roster
Goal Keepers
Hernan Galindez of Aucas
Moises Ramirez of Independiente del Valle
Alexander Dominguez of LDU Quito
Gonzalo Valle of Guayaquil City
Defenders
Pervis Estupinan of Brighton
Angelo Preciado of Genk
Piero Hincapie of Bayer Leverkusen
Xavier Arreaga of Seattle Sounders
Diego Palacios of Los Angeles
Byron Castillo of Leon
Fernando Leon of Atletico San Luis
Jackson Porozo of Troyes
William Pacho of Antwerp
Mid Fielders
Carlos Gruezo of Augsburg
Angel Mena of Leon
Jhegson Mendez of Los Angeles FC
Gonzalo Plata of Real Valladolid
Romario Ibarra of Pachuca
Moises Caicedo of Brighton
Alan Franco of Talleres
Jose Cifuentes of Los Angeles
Jeremy Sarmiento of Brighton
Nilson Angulo of Anderlecht
Patrickson Delgado of Jong Ajax
Anthony Valencia of Antwerp
Forwards
Enner Valencia of Fenerbahce
Michael Estrada of Cruz Azul
Djorkaeff Reasco of Newell’s Old Boys
Player to Watch
Vital to this team is Moises Caicedo. Not for the first time in his career, Moises Caicedo made an impression right away when Brighton manager Graham Potter chose to start the Ecuadorian after his team went seven games without a win and only scored once.
His debut game came against Arsenal on the road at the Emirates Stadium in early April, which was terrifying. Taking everything in stride, Caicedo immediately put on an outstanding display, assisting Enock Mwepu on his goal to give the Seagulls a shocking 2-1 victory over a Gunners team vying for UEFA Champions League qualifying.
As Brighton went on an impressive run to finish ninth, their highest-ever result in the English top division, to which they returned in 2017 after a 34-year hiatus, Caicedo remained in the starting XI through the rest of the season. After returning to north London to defeat Antonio Conte’s Tottenham, they outperformed the ever challenging Wolves before thrashing Manchester United to secure one of their most significant victories ever.
