The 2022 Qatar World Cup South America Division will feature 10 teams competing in the 10 teams playing a two-legged home-and-away match, with the top four teams qualifying directly to the World Cup finals, and the fifth place will participate in the intercontinental play-offs. Ecuador is fourth with 18 wins, 7 wins, 5 draws, 6 defeats and 26 points, heading directly to Qatar.
South American national football teams all have a long history, and the Ecuadorian national men's football team is no exception, which was founded in 1925. However, as early as 1902, a group of football-loving young people in Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest city, established the first club in Ecuador's history, Guayaquil Sports Club. However, the Ecuadorian national team did not achieve much in the world series in the decades after its establishment.
Ecuador is as passionate about football as any other country in South America, having successfully hosted the Copa America three times, as well as various youth football events in South America and the 1995 Under-17 World Football Championship. In 1993 they performed well in the Copa America and finished fourth. In 1997 they qualified from the Copa America group and reached the last eight. In the 2021 Copa America, they also reached the last eight.
After entering the 21st century, Ecuadorian football has made significant progress. In 2002, Ecuador reached the World Cup finals for the first time, winning 1 and losing 2 in the group stage and failing to reach the next round. However, they beat Croatia 1-0 to win for the first time in World Cup history.
In 2006, they reached the final for the second time in a row, defeating Eastern European powerhouse Poland 2-0 in the first match, defeating Costa Rica 3-0 in the second game, and losing 0:3 to Germany, advancing to the round of 16 with two wins and one loss, and although they lost 1-0 to England in the eighth knockout round, they also set their best result in World Cup history.
At the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, Ecuador failed to qualify with 1 win, 1 draw and 1 defeat in the group stage. The 2022 World Cup in Qatar is the team's fourth World Cup tour.
They have participated in three World Cups, and the strongest result is the top 16, but their performance in this World Cup qualifier is very perfect, and they can rank 4th in the South American division, squeeze out the traditional strong team Chile Colombia, etc., and successfully participate in the World Cup, which is enough to prove that this team also has extraordinary strength. According to the latest FIFA national team world rankings, Ecuador is ranked 44th.
Ecuador recently announced a 26-man roster, and the three most expensive players in the squad are defender Estupinian from Brighton in the Premier League, Moises Cassetdo and defender Piero Incapier from Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga, all of whom are essential backbones in the team's midfield.
Compared to South American powers such as Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, they play in Europe's top major leagues with star players, and Ecuador's players are more likely to play in the American native leagues. But what kind of will the prince have Xiangning? It is said that there is no weak brigade in South America, I wonder how far Ecuador, the South American upstart Ecuador, who brought down the traditional South American powerhouse Colombia Chile in this South American World Preliminary Round, can go in the upcoming World Cup final?
Ecuador is drawn in Group A, with hosts Qatar, Senegal and the Netherlands in the same group, and it is believed that Ecuador will not be willing to play the role of sparring partner, and they will do their best to qualify for the group.
Group Stage Schedule:
21 November 00:00 Ecuador vs Qatar
26 November, 00:00 Ecuador vs Netherlands
29 November, 23:00 Ecuador vs Senegal