Ecuador national football team

Ecuador

Nickname(s)	La Tri (Tri-color)
Association	Ecuadorian Football Federation (Federación Ecuatoriana de Fútbol)
Confederation	CONMEBOL (South America)
Head coach	Reinaldo Rueda
Captain	Walter Ayoví
Most caps	Iván Hurtado (167)
Top scorer	Agustín Delgado (31)
Home stadium	Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito
FIFA code	ECU
FIFA ranking	39
Highest FIFA ranking	24 (March 2007)
Lowest FIFA ranking	76 (June 1995)
Elo ranking	23
Highest Elo ranking	20 (October 1997)
Lowest Elo ranking	111 (December 1959)
Principal colours Alternate colours
First international
Bolivia 1–1 Ecuador (Bogotá, Colombia; August 8, 1938)
Biggest win
Ecuador 6–0 Peru (Quito, Ecuador; June 22, 1975)
Biggest defeat
Argentina 12–0 Ecuador (Montevideo, Uruguay; January 22, 1942)
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 generally play official home matches at Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa in Quito, but often play friendlies in other stadiums around the country or in the United States.

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.

History

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

FIFA World Cup record

Main article: Ecuador at the FIFA World Cup

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	Round 1	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

• 1916 to 1937 – Did not enter
• 1939 – Fifth place
• 1941 – Fifth place
• 1942 – Seventh place
• 1945 – Seventh place
• 1946 – Withdrew
• 1947 – Sixth place
• 1949 – Seventh place
• 1953 – Sixth place
• 1955 – Seventh place
• 1956 – Withdrew
• 1957 – Seventh place
• 1959 – Withdrew
• 1959 – Fourth place
• 1963 – Sixth place

• 1967 – Did not qualify
• 1975 – Round 1
• 1979 – Round 1
• 1983 – Round 1
• 1987 – Round 1
• 1989 – Round 1
• 1991 – Round 1
• 1993 – Fourth place
• 1995 – Round 1
• 1997 – Quarterfinals
• 1999 – Round 1
• 2001 – Round 1
• 2004 – Round 1
• 2007 – Round 1
• 2011 – Round 1

Pan American Games record

• 1951 to 1991 – Did not compete
• 1995 – Round 1
• 1999 to 2003 – Did not compete
• 2007 – Champion

Minor tournaments

• 1995 Korean Cup – Winner
• 1999 Canada Cup – Winner

Recent results

• Last game: Ecuador 2–0 Honduras (Guayaquil, Ecuador — February 29, 2012)
• See also: 2012 Ecuador national team results.

Players

Current squad

The following twenty players were called up for the Friendly Match against Honduras on February 29, 2012.

Caps and goals updated as of February 29, 2012 after match against Honduras.

0#0 Pos. Player Date of Birth (Age) Caps Goals Club GK Máximo Banguera December 16, 1985 (1985-12-16) 16 0 Barcelona GK Alexander Domínguez June 5, 1987 (1987-06-05) 2 0 LDU Quito DF Gabriel Achilier March 24, 1985 (1985-03-24) 6 0 Emelec DF Walter Ayoví (Captain) August 11, 1979 (1979-08-11) 70 7 Monterrey DF Diego Calderón October 26, 1986 (1986-10-26) 4 0 LDU Quito DF Jairo Campos July 18, 1984 (1984-07-18) 5 0 Barcelona DF Frickson Erazo May 5, 1988 (1988-05-05) 17 1 Barcelona DF Jorge Guagua September 28, 1981 (1981-09-28) 41 2 Atlante DF José Madrid April 21, 1988 (1988-04-21) 1 0 El Nacional MF Alex Bolaños January 22, 1985 (1985-01-22) 7 0 Deportivo Quito MF Segundo Castillo May 15, 1982 (1982-05-15) 61 5 Pachuca MF Édison Méndez March 16, 1979 (1979-03-16) 104 17 LDU Quito MF Jefferson Montero September 1, 1989 (1989-09-01) 18 2 Real Betis MF Christian Noboa April 9, 1985 (1985-04-09) 22 2 Dynamo Moscow MF David Quiroz September 8, 1982 (1982-09-08) 30 0 LDU Quito MF Enner Valencia April 11, 1989 (1989-04-11) 1 0 Emelec FW Jaime Ayoví February 21, 1988 (1988-02-21) 18 7 Pachuca FW Christian Benítez May 1, 1986 (1986-05-01) 49 21 América FW Narciso Mina November 25, 1982 (1982-11-25) 9 0 Barcelona FW Joao Rojas June 14, 1989 (1989-06-14) 12 1 Morelia FW Cristian Suárez November 2, 1985 (1985-11-02) 8 3 Santos Laguna

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called-up during the last twelve months.

Pos. Player Date of Birth (Age) Caps Goals Club Latest Call-up GK Adrián Bone September 8, 1988 (1988-09-08) 2 0 Deportivo Quito v. Peru; November 15, 2011 GK Marcelo Elizaga April 19, 1972 (1972-04-19) 23 0 Deportivo Quito v. Costa Rica; September 6, 2011 GK Javier Klimowicz March 15, 1977 (1977-03-15) 2 0 Emelec v. Peru; March 29, 2011 DF Elvis Bone April 7, 1983 (1983-04-07) 0 0 LDU Quito v. Peru; November 15, 2011 DF Eduardo Morante June 1, 1987 (1987-06-01) 4 0 Universidad de Chile v. Peru; November 15, 2011 DF Juan Carlos Paredes July 8, 1987 (1987-07-08) 14 0 Deportivo Quito v. Peru; November 15, 2011 DF Geovanny Caicedo March 28, 1981 (1981-03-28) 8 0 Toronto FC v. United States; October 11, 2011 DF Isaac Mina October 17, 1980 (1980-10-17) 20 2 Deportivo Quito v. Costa Rica; September 6, 2011 DF Luis Checa December 21, 1983 (1983-12-21) 9 0 Deportivo Quito 2011 Copa América DF Néicer Reasco July 23, 1977 (1977-07-23) 56 0 LDU Quito 2011 Copa América DF Norberto Araujo October 13, 1978 (1978-10-13) 4 0 LDU Quito 2011 Copa América DF Renato Ibarra January 20, 1991 (1991-01-20) 1 0 Vitesse v. Argentina; April 20, 2011 DF José Luis Perlaza October 6, 1981 (1981-10-06) 4 0 Barcelona v. Argentina; April 20, 2011 MF Oswaldo Minda July 26, 1983 (1983-07-26) 14 0 Chivas USA v. Peru; November 15, 2011 MF Luis Saritama October 20, 1983 (1983-10-20) 31 0 Deportivo Quito v. Peru; November 15, 2011 MF Antonio Valencia August 4, 1985 (1985-08-04) 51 6 Manchester United v. Peru; November 15, 2011 MF Brayan de la Torre November 11, 1991 (1991-11-11) 1 0 Barcelona v. Costa Rica; September 6, 2011 MF Marwin Pita April 17, 1985 (1985-04-17) 1 0 El Nacional v. Costa Rica; September 6, 2011 MF Geovanny Nazareno January 17, 1988 (1988-01-17) 8 0 Barcelona v. Costa Rica; August 10, 2011 MF Flavio Caicedo February 28, 1988 (1988-02-28) 2 0 El Nacional v. Costa Rica; August 10, 2011 MF Hólger Matamoros January 4, 1985 (1985-01-04) 1 0 Barcelona v. Argentina; April 20, 2011 MF Dennys Quiñónez March 12, 1992 (1992-03-12) 1 0 Barcelona v. Argentina; April 20, 2011 MF Michael Quiñónez June 21, 1984 (1984-06-21) 4 1 El Nacional v. Argentina; April 20, 2011 FW Félix Borja April 2, 1983 (1983-04-02) 23 3 Pachuca v. Peru; November 15, 2011 FW Michael Arroyo April 23, 1987 (1987-04-23) 17 2 Atlante v. United States; October 11, 2011 FW Joffre Guerrón April 28, 1985 (1985-04-28) 17 0 Atlético Paranaense v. United States; October 11, 2011 FW Juan Luis Anangonó April 13, 1989 (1989-04-13) 0 0 El Nacional v. Costa Rica; September 6, 2011 FW Ivan Kaviedes October 24, 1977 (1977-10-24) 57 17 El Nacional v. Costa Rica; September 6, 2011 FW Felipe Caicedo September 5, 1988 (1988-09-05) 32 5 Lokomotiv Moscow 2011 Copa América FW Edson Montaño March 15, 1991 (1991-03-15) 4 0 Gent 2011 Copa América FW Joao Plata March 1, 1992 (1992-03-01) 1 0 Toronto FC v. Greece; June 7, 2011 FW Marlon de Jesús April 9, 1991 (1991-04-09) 2 0 Maccabi Haifa v. Argentina; April 20, 2011 FW Juan José Govea January 27, 1990 (1990-01-27) 1 0 Deportivo Cuenca v. Argentina; April 20, 2011 FW José Madrid April 21, 1988 (1988-04-21) 1 0 El Nacional v. Argentina; April 20, 2011 FW Franklin Salas August 30, 1981 (1981-08-30) 26 2 Godoy Cruz v. Argentina; April 20, 2011 FW Pablo Palacios February 5, 1982 (1982-02-05) 15 2 Barcelona v. Peru; March 29, 2011

Player records

Most caps

Pos	Player	Career	Caps
1	Iván Hurtado	1992–2010	167
2	Álex Aguinaga	1987–2004	109
3	Édison Méndez	2000–	104
4	Ulises de la Cruz	1995–	102
5	Luis Capurro	1985–2003	100
6	Giovanny Espinoza	2000–2009	90
7	José Francisco Cevallos	1994–2010	89
8	Cléber Chalá	1992–2004	86
9	Edwin Tenorio	1998–2007	78
10	Ángel Fernández	1991–2004	77

Top goalscorers

Pos	Player	Career	Goals
1	Agustín Delgado	1994–2006	31
2	Eduardo Hurtado	1992–2000	26
3	Álex Aguinaga	1987–2004	23
4	Christian Benitez	2005–	21
5	Iván Kaviedes	1998–	17
	Édison Méndez	2000–	17
7	Raúl Avilés	1987–2003	16
8	Ariel Graziani	1997–2000	15
9	Ángel Fernández	1991–2002	12
	Carlos Tenorio	2001–	12

Previous squads

Copa América

• 1991 Copa América squad
• 1993 Copa América squad
• 1995 Copa América squad
• 1997 Copa América squad
• 1999 Copa América squad
• 2001 Copa América squad
• 2004 Copa América squad
• 2007 Copa América squad
• 2011 Copa América squad

FIFA World Cup

• 2002 FIFA World Cup squad
• 2006 FIFA World Cup squad

Notable players

The following players have played at least 50 games or scored at least 10 goals for the national team.

• Álex Aguinaga (1987–2003)
• Raúl Avilés (1987–1993)
• Marlon Ayoví (1998– )
• Walter Ayoví (2001– )
• Christian Benítez (2005– )
• Luis Capurro (1985–2003)
• Héctor Carabalí (1992–1999)
• José Francisco Cevallos (1994–2010)
• Cléber Chalá (1992–2004)
• Ulises de la Cruz (1995– )
• Agustín Delgado (1994–2006)
• Giovanny Espinoza (2000– )
• Ángel Fernández (1991–2004)
• Ariel Graziani (1997–2000)

• Eduardo Hurtado (1992–2000)
• Iván Hurtado (1992– )
• Iván Kaviedes (1998–2007)
• Édison Méndez (2000– )
• Alberto Montaño (1992–2000)
• Alfonso Obregón (1995–2004)
• Hólger Quiñónez (1984–1999)
• Carlos Alberto Raffo (1959–1963)
• Néicer Reasco (1998– )
• Carlos Tenorio (2001– )
• Edwin Tenorio (1998–2007)
• Antonio Valencia (2005- )
• Segundo Castillo (2003- )

Managers

Manager	Career	GP	W	D	L
Enrique Lamas	August 8, 1938 – August 22, 1938	5	1	1	3
Ramón Unamuno	January 15, 1939 – February 12, 1939	4	0	0	4
Juan Parodi	February 2, 1941 – February 5, 1942	10	0	0	10
Rodolfo Orlandini	January 14, 1945 – February 21, 1945	6	0	1	5
Ramón Unamuno	November 30, 1947 – December 29, 1947	7	0	3	4
José Planas	April 3, 1949 – May 3, 1949	7	1	0	6
Gregorio Esperón	February 28, 1953 – March 23, 1953	6	0	2	4
José María Díaz Granados	February 27, 1955 – March 23, 1955	5	0	0	5
Eduardo Spandre	March 7, 1957 – April 1, 1957	6	0	1	5
Juan López	December 6, 1959 – December 17, 1960	7	1	1	5
Fausto Montalván	March 10, 1963 – March 31, 1963	6	1	2	3
José María Rodríguez	July 20, 1965 – October 12, 1965	5	2	1	2
Fausto Montalván	December 21, 1966 – December 28, 1966	2	0	1	1
José Gomes Nogueira	June 22, 1969 – August 3, 1969	5	1	1	3
Ernesto Guerra	April 29, 1970 – May 24, 1970	2	0	0	2
Jorge Lazo	June 11, 1972 – June 21, 1972	4	0	1	3
Roberto Resquín	February 18, 1973 – July 8, 1973	10	1	6	3
Roque Máspoli	June 22, 1975 – March 20, 1977	19	5	4	10
Héctor Morales	June 13, 1979 – September 16, 1979	8	3	1	4
Otto Vieira	January 27, 1981 – February 14, 1981	2	0	0	2
Juan Eduardo Hohberg	May 17, 1981 – June 14, 1981	4	1	1	2
Ernesto Guerra	July 26, 1983 – September 7, 1983	6	0	4	2
Antoninho Ferreira	November 30, 1984 – March 31, 1985	15	3	5	7
Luis Grimaldi	November 18, 1986 – July 4, 1987	13	2	5	6
Dušan Drašković	June 2, 1988 – September 19, 1993	56	17	17	22
Carlos Torres Garcés	May 25, 1994 – June 5, 1994	2	2	0	0
Carlos Ron	August 17, 1994 – September 21, 1994	2	0	1	1
Francisco Maturana	May 24, 1995 – June 8, 1997	34	16	6	12
Luis Fernando Suárez	June 11, 1997 – June 22, 1997	4	2	2	0
Francisco Maturana	July 6, 1997 – November 16, 1997	7	3	1	3
Polo Carrera	October 14, 1998	1	0	0	1
Carlos Sevilla	January 28, 1999 – July 7, 1999	15	3	6	6
Hernán Darío Gómez	October 12, 1999 – July 23, 2004	66	24	18	24
Luis Fernando Suárez	September 4, 2004 – November 17, 2007	51	17	9	25
Sixto Vizuete	November 21, 2007 – July 11, 2010	22	9	7	9
Reinaldo Rueda	September 4, 2010–present	25	8	8	7

See also

• Ecuador women's national football team
• Ecuador national under-20 football team

External links

• Official website of the Ecuadorian Football Federation (Spanish)
• futbolecuador.com (Spanish)