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Ecuador are competing at their fourth World Cup finals and their first since 2014.
The South American nation have made it beyond that stage just once before in their history. In 2006, Ecuador won their opening two matches against Poland and Costa Rica to finish second behind host nation Germany, losing out to a David Beckham free-kick against England in the second round.
They once again took on a host nation when they came up against Qatar on the opening day of the tournament and secured a memorable 2-0 win. That came ahead of tougher games against Senegal and the Netherlands to round off Group A.
Ecuador’s squad includes a number of players based in Europe and the US. Three of their cohort for the tournament play in the English top flight, with Moises Caicedo, Pervis Estupinan and Jeremy Sarmiento all at Brighton & Hove Albion.
They have a large squad and manager Gustavo Alfaro has experimented with a number of different players ahead of the tournament.
Ecuador have started the tournament with a 1-0 win over Qatar.
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Ecuador’s World Cup squad
Goalkeepers: Alexander Dominguez (Liga de Quito), Hernan Galindez (Aucas), Moises Ramirez (Independiente del Valle);
Defenders: Pervis Estupinan (Brighton & Hove Albion), Angelo Preciado (Gent), Piero Hincapie (Bayer Leverkusen), Xavier Arreaga (Seattle Sounders), Diego Palacios (Los Angeles FC), Jackson Porozo (Troyes), Robert Arboleda (Sao Paulo), Felix Torres (Santos Laguna), William Pacho (Royal Antwerp FC);
Midfielders: Moises Caicedo (Brighton), Jose Cifuentes (Los Angeles FC), Alan Franco (Talleres), Jhegson Mendez (Los Angeles FC), Carlos Gruezo (Augsburg), Gonzalo Plata (Valladolid), Angel Mena (Leon), Ayrton Preciado (Santos Laguna), Romario Ibarra (Pachuca), Jeremy Sarmiento (Brighton);
Forwards: Enner Valencia (Fenerbahce), Michael Estrada (Cruz Azul), Djorkaeff Reasco (Newell’s Old Boys), Kevin Rodriguez (Imbabura SC).
Sunday, November 20: Qatar 0-2 Ecuador
Friday, November 25: Netherlands vs Ecuador
Tuesday, November 29: Ecuador vs Senegal
Ecuador squad analysis
Despite a dispute with Chile and Peru over defender Byron Castillo, which could have resulted in them missing the tournament, Ecuador have made it to their fourth World Cup. In their first in 2002, they didn’t get out of the group stage. The same happened in 2014. In between, however, they made it to 2006’s last 16, where they were knocked out by a David Beckham free kick. This time, they kick off the entire competition against host nation Qatar…
For a full analysis of Ecuador’s chances in Qatar, click here.
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(Photo: Getty Images)
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