Ecuador national football team
| Nickname(s) | La Tri (Tri-color) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Federación Ecuatoriana de Fútbol (FEF) | ||
| Confederation | CONMEBOL (South America) | ||
| Head coach | Reinaldo Rueda | ||
| Captain | Walter Ayovi | ||
| Most caps | Iván Hurtado (167) | ||
| Top scorer | Agustín Delgado (31) | ||
| Home stadium | Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito | ||
| FIFA code | ECU | ||
| FIFA ranking | 10 | ||
| Highest FIFA ranking | 10 (April 2013) | ||
| Lowest FIFA ranking | 76 (June 1995) | ||
| Elo ranking | 13 | ||
| Highest Elo ranking | 11 (27 March 2013) | ||
| Lowest Elo ranking | 111 (December 1959) | ||
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| First international | |||
(Bogotá, Colombia; August 8, 1938) |
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| Biggest win | |||
(Quito, Ecuador; June 22, 1975) |
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| Biggest defeat | |||
(Montevideo, Uruguay; January 22, 1942) |
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| World Cup | |||
| Appearances | 2 (First in 2002) | ||
| Best result | Round of 16 (2006) | ||
| Copa América | |||
| Appearances | 24 (First in 1939) | ||
| Best result | Fourth place (1959, 1993) | ||
| CONCACAF Gold Cup | |||
| Appearances | 1 (First in 2002) | ||
| Best result | Group Stage (2002) | ||
The Ecuadorian national football team represents Ecuador in international football competitions and is controlled by the Ecuadorian Football Federation. They play official home matches at Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa in Quito.
Ecuador has qualified for two FIFA World Cups in 2002 and 2006. Their best performance came in 2006 when they advanced to the Round of 16, eventually eliminated by England. They are one of three countries in South America to not win the Copa América (the others being Chile and Venezuela). Their best performance in the continental tournament was fourth in 1959 and 1993, both times on home soil.
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History[edit]
From a historical viewpoint, Ecuador have been one of the more struggling footballing nations in South America. Despite their past irregularities, however, they have never lacked quality.
Discarding an invitation to participate in the inaugural 1930 FIFA World Cup held in Uruguay, their first participation in a World Cup qualifying campaign was in the 1962 campaign, eventually being well beaten by Argentina over two games. However, the 1966 qualifying campaign pitted the side, regarded as one of the finest teams Ecuador has ever produced, against 1962 hosts and third-place finishers Chile and a weakened Colombia side. Ecuador, featuring stars such as Washington Muñoz, Alberto Spencer, Carlos Alberto Raffo, Enrique Raymondi and Jorge Bolaños, forced a play-off in Peru before being eliminated by Chile. Other talented players to have represented Ecuador include José Villafuerte in the 1970s and 1980s.
The 1998 World Cup qualifiers saw the format for qualifying in CONMEBOL changed to a league home-and-away system. This difference made a huge impact on Ecuador's performance as they clinched several important home wins during the campaign. At the end, they achieved a very respectable 6th place finish, just under Peru and Chile (which qualified by goal differential). The campaign also marked the emergence of several players, such as Agustín Delgado, Álex Aguinaga, Iván Hurtado, Ulises de la Cruz and Iván Kaviedes, who would set the stage for Ecuador's achievements in the next decade.
This remained the closest they had come to appearing in a finals until the qualification tournament for the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan. Led by Colombian born manager Hernán Darío Gómez, they finished second to Argentina, and one point ahead of Brazil who went on to win the World Cup. Agustín Delgado, with 9 goals, finished joint top scorer in qualifying with Hernán Crespo of Argentina. They were drawn in Group G with Italy, Mexico and Croatia. Although they were knocked out at the group stage, they achieved a 1–0 victory over Croatia, who had come third at the previous edition of the World Cup.
A disappointing showing at the 2004 Copa América in Peru led to the resignation of Gómez, who was replaced by another Colombian, Luis Fernando Suárez. He led them successfully through the latter stages of the qualification process for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, finishing third to make the finals. In Germany, they were drawn into Group A with the hosts, Poland, and Costa Rica. Wins over Poland and Costa Rica earned La Tri qualification to the knockout stages for the first time.
Another disappointing showing at yet another Copa América in 2007 and three successive defeats in the beginning of the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign led to the end of Suarez's time in the national team. He was replaced in 2008 for Sixto Vizuete, who had previously gained recognition for winning the 2007 Pan American Games with the U-18s. Vizuete became one of the few Ecuadorians to coach the U-23 national team, and senior team, but Ecuador finished the qualifying campaign for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in 6th place, sadly being eliminated from the finals for the first time since 1998.
Competitive record[edit]
FIFA World Cup record[edit]
| Year | Round | Pos | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 to 1938 | Did not enter | |||||||
| 1950 | Withdrew | |||||||
| 1954 to 1958 | Did not enter | |||||||
| 1962 to 1998 | Did not qualify | |||||||
| 2002 | Group Stage | 24 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 2006 | Round of 16 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 4 |
| 2010 | Did not qualify | |||||||
| Total | 2/19 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 8 |
Copa América record[edit]
Pan American Games record[edit]
Minor tournaments[edit]
- 1995 Korean Cup – Winner
- 1999 Canada Cup – Winner
Current team status[edit]
Ecuador is currently participating in the FIFA world Cup 2014 qualifiers to Brazil 2014, in the Conmebol region.
2014 FIFA World Cup Qualification Standings[edit]
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Recent results[edit]
- Last game:
Ecuador 1-1
Argentina (Estadio Olimpico Atahualpa, Quito, Ecuador — June 11, 2013) - Next game:
Ecuador Vs.
Spain (Estadio Monumental Banco Pichincha, Guayaquil, Ecuador — August 14, 2013)
Players[edit]
Current squad[edit]
The following players were named for the Friendly match against Germany on May 29, and the 2014 World Cup qualification matches against Peru on June 7 and Argentina on June 11, 2013.
Caps and goals updated as of June 11, 2013 after match against Argentina.
Recent call-ups[edit]The following players have been called-up during the last twelve months.
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