My guys, did you like the game? Didn’t get to see much of it, but it appeared that it was a contested affair.
It was alright. IMO I thought that was a soft red and we only seem to play the last 30 minutes of games.
Chile's virtue, as I suspected from my predictions before, was going to be the experience of years of playing together- tactically, they made it work. I don't think there was ever a stretch for longer than 10 mins at a time where Ecuador looked to find a decent rhythm. Granted, we did dominate most of the game, but the scoreline, red card, and the lack of consistent offensive play, means that the domination was meager at best. I think Ecuador leaves today's match with a point in hand and lots of questions to answer about how we approach Uruguay and the next games, too. We dropped 2 points against Chile and we lost 3 against Peru. We've got our backs to the wall. This now puts us in a 5 point deficit from a much more comfortable position...we need to gain more points away from home....we play in Barranquilla (hot AF), Asuncion (I don't think Ecuador has ever won or tied in the Defensores de Chaco), Montevideo (we've previously tied in the Centenario), Lima (we'd have to channel our inner Tin Delgado to win), Caracas (tricky, but if they're eliminated soon, this is doable), and Santiago (another dogfight is expected) while our last home games will be against Brazil (thus far undefeated), Argentina (peaking), Bolivia (weak, but can be tricky), and Venezuela (weak, but also tricky). Pervis was panned all over Ecuadorian radio for his performance tonight. Enner is still facing some sort of identity crisis and he doesn't look comfortable in his position. After a year's worth of lineup/roster experiments, how is this possible that we can't leverage him effectively? Estrada, Castillo, and Plata couldn't find enough consistency simply because of Sornoza's red card. We lined up with 4 in the back and once again we lost order in the midfield. It's still painfully evident that this team is missing a leader/organizer. It's also pretty bizarre that J.Julio didn't get considered to either start or come off the bench - playing at altitude, in his home stadium....hell, he even knows that grass!
As well as Gruezo did last match, I would start Cifuentes and Moises. Both of them are capable of making runs into the box that we badly need. I've lost count how many times a ball could have been in the net if a player just followed the ball or made a run. Instead we see our team only put 3 players in the box up against 7 of the opposing team and every other Ecuador player just watching from outside the box. Moises almost scoring twice based on a run just highlights how much more we need to do this. Also, Castillo and Plata together is a MUST. They work well with each other and they both pull players, which allows space to open up on the sides.
I think the altitude is being detrimental to us too. I was listening to some YouTube videos earlier today and it was said that Plata was the most tired of them all. I don’t know how FEF keeps track of that stuff or calculates it but he came on as a sub on both times. Perhaps that’s why he never starts? Same with Castillo, he’s not 100% so he had to come in later.
To be fair, Plata is also very prone to injury. He's a skinny kid and takes a beating in almost every game I've seen played. Poor guy. He's a menace on the attack and we've seen him shake 2-3 defenders to make a play. That will always make him a target where hard hits are almost guaranteed. Castillo was definitely mentioned as an injury risk due to muscle fatigue. Regrettably, COVID has made these schedules very difficult for players to manage, and it's all been at the detriment of the clubs and players. But with a WC on the horizon for next year, these calendars are just crazy. That being said, I always thought a monthlong bubble would have been the best / most pragmatic solution to the WCQ cycle. It would have also allowed teams to really gel and the quality of team play would theoretically improve. I think the African Cup of Nations sets schedules up for their tournament to run for a full month and Europe adapts to that.
If we start Valencia as a 9 then we aren’t going to win. My lineup would be: Ortiz Castillo - Torres - Hincapie - Estupiñan (sadly) Plata - Moises C - Cifuentes - E Valencia Estrada - Angulo We NEED to win this game or at least tie it.
Maybe against Bolivia it wouldn't be an advantage but taking into account that two of your remaining home opponents are Brazil and Argentina, it would be mental from you to not play them in Quito. Their chances to beat you increase significantly at sea level as they are the ones that are most uncomfortable with altitude.
It seems like any decision to move to GYE will be hurt by stadiums and branding. One corporate sponsor, in particular, would not be happy about that move due to conflicting interests. In any case, altitude is an excuse. We've played for years with more and more guys abroad and have delivered results...sometimes we haven't but it's not altitude that plays a role. When we lose, it's bad selection, poor on field tactics, and general concentration gaps that really affect our scorelines. AV25 ran up and down that field even when playing at United...and at high levels of performance. Hell, Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, and others have beaten us in Quito....altitude is a convenient excuse to deflect other tactical issues that our team has.
According to Futbolecuador: Pedro Ortiz; Byron Castillo, Félix Torres, Piero Hincapié, Luis León y Pervis Estupiñán; Carlos Gruezo, Moisés Caicedo y Fernando Gaibor; Ángel Mena (Gonzalo Plata) y Énner Valencia (Michael Estrada). I think that anything less than a win in this game would be a critical dent in our chances to easily attain 28 points. We dropped points against Peru and Paraguay at home...that's a 5 point hole. We can plug that hole tonight with +3. With no Cavani or Suarez, we were gifted a golden chance to capitalize. I don't hold much hope that we'll be consistently strong in our away games, which means the 2 games vs. VZ and the home game vs. Bolivia are must wins to rack up 9 points. If we win tonight, plus win the other ones I mentioned, we'd have 25 points (theoretically). Where it gets frustrating is that if we beat Peru at home, and had those other results play out, we'd have 28 points :/
Plata and Estrada are starting up top. Interesting. It was time Enner went to the bench to be honest. No other surprises. Alfaro is going for the tie.
Yeah the field is horrible. Our players need to change cleats because they keep slipping all over the place. Also, Gaibor is struggling bad.
What is Gaibor doing in this team?also why is Pervis taking our free shots,dude sucks balls at it,Plata,Caicedo or Castillo should be taking them,I can’t believe this player thinks he’s that good that he should be the one setting plays,sorry but Pervis is garbage to me.finally Conmebol needs to access the state of the stadiums,can’t keep playing in this Uruguayan potrero.
The back three looks solid for the most part. I'm not impressed with Gaibor. The midfield should be Mendez and Moises. Franco would have also been better. I've been impressed with Estrada's hold up play. That pass to Plata was class.