The squad: http://www.fifa.com/u17worldcup/teams/team=1888284/players.html Interview with keeper Cevallos, the son of Jose Francisco: http://www.fifa.com/u17worldcup/news/y=2015/m=8/news=cevallos-legacy-in-safe-hands-2671502.html
Saturday, 17th. Looks like our first game is Sunday against Honduras: http://resources.fifa.com/mm/docume...7wc2015_matchschedule_07082015_en_neutral.pdf
I think we'll go 1-1-1 in the group stage a win against honduras, draw with Mali, and lose to Belguim we advance as second.
Winning 2-0 so far. I don't if this says more about Ecuador or Honduras. But we're playing some good possession soccer.
these teams have faced each other before Ecuador won 2-0 i believe looks like we are going to repeat or have a higher score line.
3-1 Victory for our boys a win top of the group at the end of the day now. Our next game is against Mali a win here secures us going into the next round. Mali tied Belgium 0-0 early today. I thought our team would struggle without Casquete and Tello. good to see we are doing good without them.
The team looked good. Pretty much owed all game. These kids are actually 17 years old and I'm happy they did good lol. By the way. That first goal was fantastic.
Ecuador can beat Belgium. When they faced mali they were completely out matched and lucky to not have lost 5-0 although we lost against Mali is was due to really bad defending. Their first goal shouldnt have happened (why would ur kick the ball to the side kick it up the field) and their second goal shouldn't have either (how do you miss 2 headers when u arent pressured). Pervis is just a phenomenal player i hope he goes to Europe after this i can see him in wc Russia 2018. In all honestly we have enough to make it to the next round. The strongest teams thus far are Germany, Mali, France, Nigeria, and Paraguay
The African teams are really good at U17 level. Hard to beat them. Nigeria have won 4 titles. Impressive.
If the USA fail to win then Ecuador will be guaranteed a place in the next round as a top 3rd place place. If Ecuador fail to beat Belguim they will most likely face Nigeria or South Korea. If Ecuador wins and Mali draw 1 or more points than Ecuador will face either Russia or Costa Rica. If Ecuador win and Mali lose Ecuador will face England, South Africa, North Korea, New Zealend or Syria. Ecuador will be looking to avoid Nigeria in the next round. I think we can go deep in this tournament but i highly doubt we'll win it. Teams like Nigeria, Germany, France, Paraguay, and Mali are the most likely contenders.
Solid win today against Belgium. Held onto the ball nicely and really isolated that midfield that Belgium had with Mangala. Cevallos looks so confident in goal. We would be contenders in my eyes if we were a bit taller and stronger. We've been out muscled in almost every one on one in these last two games. Here's to hoping they go far though !
Ecuadors win means they'll face either Russia or Costa Rica. Opponents we can handle imho. The real challenge comes next when we'll most likely play Germany the next round. Pervis had another fantastic game, Corozo did well and Cevallos came clutch.
Pretty good game. Very happy for these kids. What's our best record for U17 World Cup? I agree with being out muscle compare to some opponents. The kids need to start bulking up a bit and getting better weight training. Still, them Africans look like they are 25 years old lol. If we had age related controversies, there is no way Africa doesn't do the same lol.
Through the group stages I think we can agree this team looks solid. Most of these kids seem to know how to play the game well. You can see that when they're on the ball they don't panic; they pick their head up and look for the best pass. From the teams that they've played, Mali was easily the toughest opponent. Mali were literally all over the place, they were too physical and covered more ground as a team. That being said, I see Mali as one of the favorites. Against Belgium and Honduras you can see that the team was confident; passing the ball very well and controlling the game. From the players that we have, I think it's obvious Pervis Estupiñan is our stand out player. The commentators know it as well. I haven't been following LDUQ lately but I'm under the assumption he gets first team minutes. Although it is too early to call, I think he will be the next Left Back for the NT. He plays with so much confidence, has good technical ability and has incredible stamina. It's because he's so young that he looks promising. The center back Quintero looked like a good player as well. He played well against Mali despite being sent off. A lot of the times he was making up for mistakes caused by the other center back Peña. As for the midfielders and the forwards, Guerrero looked solid as well as Cortez. Let's hope these kids play well in the knockout stages. I have confidence that we can reach the quarter finals. From there on, we'll have to wait and see.
Ecuador will face Russia in the Round of 16. We got to be in the weaker side of the bracket which is a good thing we avoid teams like Mali, Germany, and France. I think we can take Russia and move to the quarterfinals where we will face Mexico most likely or Chile and these are teams we can handle. We've beaten them in qualifiers and the Copa Naciones tourney (although Mexico was split into A and B). I can see us making semis at the most, Nigeria will be our toughest opponent to get through in order to be in the final.
Let's not get too overconfident at this level- much of the intelligence and strategy that we see in the pros doesn't always equate to the way teenage tournaments work. Much of the challenge will be contingent on what team has more stamina or lucky breaks on goal...we've fielded talented teams before, and have been disappointed by less, at the youth levels, so our guys need to show that emotional intelligence and not imagine themselves raising a trophy four games before the final. The one good thing coming from going deep in the tournament will be exposure- plain and simple. We've never gone deep enough in a FIFA sanctioned tournament to understand the power that recruiters and big teams have on sniping/poaching talent. That place is crawling with recruiters who are waiting to see who advances to start taking notes. The deeper we go, the more heads will turn, and the higher the likelihood we'll see transfer abroad- at that young age!!!!!