The national team of Ecuador is not included in the list of the best teams in South America, but from year to year the level of its skill is growing noticeably. As of September 2022, the national team is ranked 44th in the FIFA world rankings. The squad is valued at €101.35 million and ranks 25th in terms of total value of all teams in the 2022 World Cup.
Ecuador squad for the 2022 World Cup
Goalkeepers：
- Alexander Dominguez
- Pedro Ortiz
- Hernan Galindes
Defenders：
- Purvis Estupinyan
- Felix Torres
- Luis Fernando Leon
- Jackson Poroso
- Pedro Perlasa
- Leonel Quiñones
- Moises Coroso
- Midfielders
- Christian Noboa
- Fidel Martinez
- Angel Mena
- Gonzalo Plata
- Johnny Quinones
- Jose Carabali
- Dixon Arroyo
- Romario Caicedo
- Damian Diaz
- Jordi Alcivar
forwards：
- Mikael Estrada
- Leonardo Campana
- Walter Chala
- Jose Angulo
2022 World Cup Ecuador Group Schedule
The national team of Ecuador is not included in the list of the best teams in South America, but from year to year the level of its skill is growing noticeably. As of September 2022, the national team is ranked 44th in the FIFA world rankings. The squad is valued at €101.35 million and ranks 25th in terms of total value of all teams in the 2022 World Cup.
The head coach of the Ecuador national team is 59-year-old Argentinean Gustavo Alfaro, a former midfielder for Atlético Rafaela. As a coach, he successfully collaborated with the Argentine Arsenal. During this time, Alfaro and the team became: the winners of the Copa Sudamericana 2007, the champions of Argentina in 2012 and the owners of the Argentine Super Cup in 2012. Since 2020, he has been leading the national team of Ecuador.
In the 2022 Championship qualifying group, Ecuador finished 4th after playing 18 games, winning 7 times, drawing 5 times and losing 6 times.
The draw for the tournament placed Ecuadorians in Group A, along with hosts Qatar, Senegal and the Netherlands.
The 22nd World Cup will be the 4th for the Ecuadorian team, in which it will take part.
The best achievements of the national team
The best result of the World Cup, in Ecuador, can be considered the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Then the Ecuadorians reached the 1/8, where they lost to the British with a score of 1:0. In 2002 and 2014, the Ecuador national team ended their participation in the championships in the group stages.
At the America’s Cup, the team from Ecuador participated 23 times, and only once managed to take 4th place, in 1993. To date, this is the best achievement of the Ecuadorians in this tournament.
Interesting facts about the national team
Often, the success of the home meetings of the Ecuadorian team is explained by the difficult acclimatization of the opponents. Ecuadorians welcome guests in their capital city of Quito, which is located at an altitude of 2600 m above sea level.
The 2022 World Cup for the Ecuador national team could have ended without even starting. The Chilean Football Federation filed a protest with FIFA, accusing Ecuador of the fact that the player of their national team, Byron Castillo, changed his citizenship and age in the documents. Ecuadorians could be disqualified from the tournament. Soon FIFA rejected Chile's appeal, and announced that the national team would participate in the 22nd World Cup.The biggest defeat in the history of the Ecuador national team was in 1942 at the South American Championship. Ecuadorians played with the Argentina national team, the meeting ended with a score of 12:0.
The biggest victory of the national team took place in 1975, against the team from Peru – 6:0.
Should I bet on Ecuador in the 2022 World Cup?
The Ecuador team does not have a stable game, but there are players in the national team who can be distinguished:
- Enner Valencia is a striker for the Ecuador national team and the Turkish Fenerbahce. Participated in the 2014 World Championship. He was recognized as the top scorer of the COCACAF Champions League 2019. He has been playing for Ecuador since 2012. He played 72 games for the national team and scored 35 goals.
- Purvis Estupinyan is a fullback for England and Brighton & Hove Albion. Prior to the English club, Purvis played for Spain’s Villarreal and won the 2020/21 UEFA Europa League. He has been playing for the national team since 2019. Recognized as the most expensive player in Ecuador.
- Fidel Martinez is a midfielder for the national team and the Mexican Tijuana. He has been a member of the Ecuador national team since 2008. He was named the top scorer of the Copa Libertadores 2020.
- Christian Noboa is a midfielder for the national team of Ecuador and the Russian Sochi. In addition to FC Sochi, he played in 4 more Russian clubs: Rubin, Dynamo Moscow, Rostov and Zenit. As part of Zenit, he became the champion of Russia 2018/19, and together with Sochi, the silver medalist of the Russian championship 2021/22. He has been playing for the national team since 2009.
Will he leave the group?
The last time the Ecuador national team left the group was in 2006 in Germany. Then the Ecuadorians won against the national team of Poland and Costa Rica.
At the upcoming World Cup, the position of the Ecuadorians in the quartet H looks pretty good. The group has one undisputed leader – the Netherlands, which is likely to take first place and there is an outsider – the host country Qatar. So the main rival of Ecuador, for a ticket to the playoffs, will be the national team of Senegal.
As of September 2022, Fonbet bookmakers estimate the exit from the group by the coefficient:
- Netherlands – 1.10
- Senegal – 1.75
- Ecuador – 1.95
- Qatar – 6.00.
The Ecuador national team has a good chance of reaching the playoffs.
How will Ecuador perform in the playoffs?
If the Ecuador national team takes 2nd place in its group, then in 1/8 it will most likely meet with the England team. England is a strong opponent for any team, but for the developing team of Ecuador it is impenetrable. In this championship, the British have a very strong squad, only Harry Kane is able to deliver a lot of trouble.
Fonbet analysts for reaching the quarterfinals give a coefficient: Ecuador – 10.00, England – 1.45. And again, as in 2006 at the championship in Germany, the stumbling block for the Ecuadorians could be the England team. Ecuadorians have very little chance of going further in the playoff bracket.
The chances of seeing Ecuador in the semi-finals are 1 in 35, in the finals 1 in 60, and winning is an incredible 1 in 200.
