Doha: During its fourth World Cup appearance, Ecuador is looking to prove themselves worthy of qualifying for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, especially after the issue raised by the Chilean Federation regarding the participation of player Byron Castillo, which was resolved by FIFA in favor of Ecuador.
Looking quickly at Ecuador's World Cup qualifying campaign, in which they ranked fourth with 26 points in the South American qualifiers.
Ecuador won five times, drew three matches, and lost one game in the qualifiers at their home ground in Quito, about 2,800 meters above sea level. In the away game, Ecuador won twice, drew twice, and lost five times.
However, Argentine coach Gustavo Alfaro of Ecuador, which is seen by some as the weakest of the four participating South American teams, believes that it is more than just the country's luck in its geographical location.
Ecuador had not participated in the World Cup until it appeared for the first time in the World Cup South Korea and Japan in 2002, but this time succeeded in qualifying for the finals for the fourth time in its history in the last six tournaments.
Ecuador's qualification to the World Cup in Qatar came after a series of good results in the South American qualifiers, which provide the opportunity for four teams to qualify directly, while the fifth-placed team plays the playoff with the winner of the Asian playoff.
Argentine coach Gustavo Alfaro, who is known for his skill in discovering talents and roaming football stadiums in the South American continent, is one of the elements of Ecuador's strength, especially as he succeeded in assembling a group of distinguished players before the start of the World Cup qualifiers, led by the dangerous Byron Castillo, who became the subject of the complaint submitted by Chile claimed that it was incorrect to obtain Ecuadorean citizenship, but FIFA decided in favor of Ecuador and approved its qualification for the World Cup in Qatar.
The Ecuadorean national team has not won any title in its history since the establishment of its federation in 1925 and its accession a year later to FIFA, but it succeeded in qualifying for the World Cup for the first time in 2002 in South Korea and Japan, where it came out with one victory over the Croatian team with a goal to nil. It lost to both the Mexican and Italian teams, to come out of its first appearance with three points with two goals scored and four goals conceded.
Ecuador sealed its second participation in the 2006 World Cup in Germany. It was able to qualify for the round of 16, by defeating Costa Rica 3-0 and Poland 2-0, and a loss against Germany, the host, in the opening game 0-3, to end the group stage with six points to qualify for the round of 16. Ecuador lost 0-1 to England to leave the World Cup with the hope of returning again.
Ecuador returned for the third participation in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, but it failed to advance from the group stage, with two losses to Switzerland and France and a victory over Honduras.
Ecuador failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. But, the Latin American team qualifies for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where they will face the host, Qatar, in the opening game of the prestigious championship.
The Ecuadorean team is characterized by physical strength and speed and depends on the exhaustion of competitors before attacking them, as it did in the South American qualifiers.
The Ecuador team is ranked No. 44 by FIFA, which makes it a close competitor to Qatar national team, the host, but other factors may tip the balance, including the home ground and the fans in favor of the Qatar national team. Ecuador never played an Arab team in the World Cup before.
The Ecuadorean national team played ten matches during its previous three participations in the World Cup, winning on four occasions, losing five, and drawing once, during which it scored ten goals and conceded 11 goals.
During its participation in the Copa America, the best achievement of the Ecuador team was to achieve fourth place when it hosted the tournament in 1959 and 1993.
Throughout its history, Ecuador has included a distinguished group of stars, most notably Alberto Spencer, Alfredo Encalada, Alfonso Obregn, Omar de Jesus Angel Fernandez and Antonio Valencia.
The current squad includes Pervis Estupinian, Piero Hincapie, Moises Caicedo and Gonzalo Plata.
Source: QNA
