Nice to see Angulo knock in a header and Estupiñan poach a goal off the GK's errant clearance. Jordy finishes a good penalty, but the gk was pretty weak throughout. Thus far, it's still evident that we need Enner, but his direct replacement up front is not easily found. Though Arevalo did get rated well in the match (according to Fotmob). Starters seem almost fully defined thus far: Galindez (Preciado/Franco?) Ordonez Pacho Hincapie Caicedo Yeboah Vite Plata Enner (Angulo?)
I think Franco will start against Ivory Coast. If healthy Enner will start as well. I liked what I saw from Arevalo. He’s an interesting player.
Arevalo played well for someone who didn't get the ball much. He would drop deep to pull defenders and then distribute, before making a run. Shame he hit the post because he pulled off a really good fake to take out the GK and defender.
My fear with Franco is the memory of being manhandled by Senegal being repeated. Granted, he is a smarter and more experienced player now. I just can't shake that feeling.
Frankly (lol), that's my fear for the entire team. It's almost ironic that we run this physical style of play in SA, and rarely if ever get challenged to play against it. We normally have the more athletic players. If only we had have a dribbler that consistently runs games and puts in dangerous passes or controls tempo. I feel like thats the key to beating these African teams, slow the game down and make them lose focus to cause errors.
The alternatives would be to have Preciado or Ordoñez start at RB. Preciado hasn’t been in good form. If Ordoñez starts at RB then that means Estupiñan starts at LB. Estupiñan also hasn’t been in good form. At the moment I’d rather take my chances with Franco. Franco will have help too. Yeboah and Plata will keep the opposing defenders honest. They will both press and track back to defend. Ordoñez and Caicedo will be there to provide cover. The thing about the NT is that yes they have some great defenders that do well in 1v1 situations but as a unit they defend well. It’s unfortunate that there’s not that many options when it comes to RB. Hace falta un Ulises de la Cruz or Neicer Reasco. Or even a Juan Carlos Paredes.
Hear me out, by going in as the best 3rd Ecuador can actually end up in the bracket of Switzerland/portugal/argentina instead of having to running into France or Spain right after Scotland OR Brazil right after Norway. not to say Portugal or Argentina are lesser squads but we match up better against those offenses IMO
Ecuador beat Portugal in a friendly in 2013. Ronaldo was captaining. Our lineup back then: Banguera Achilier Bagui Erazo Paredes Valencia Castillo Noboa Montero Benitez (RIP) Caicedo We recently beat Colombia (away) in Qualifiers and survived an all out assault (25 shots on goal, 7 on target) with 10 men (Hincapie red card). That was Nov '24. Haramball was in full effect, and that might be one of Enner's nicest goals.
amazing opening game, this year should've just been held in Mexico. the laws in the states allows Fifa to be super corrupt
Backed by a litigious culture, no doubt.... The first match was wild. 3 reds is foul work. South Koreans, I'm convinced, have unlimited stamina. They were at full sprints for well over half the game.
https://www.futbolecuador.com/site/...definida-su-alineacion-para-el-domingo/168927 Looks like we'll likely be running a modified 4-5-1 formation which actually lines up as a 4-1-4-1. Does that track? Galindez Franco-Ordoñez-Pacho-Hincapie Caicedo Plata-Vite-Yeboah-Minda Valencia
now that the World Cup has started. i think its more open than it looks. I think we can have a new winner this year. why not us
Looks like a 4-5-1 in defense and 4-1-4-1 in attack. Honestly not a bad formation for build up since it opens lanes and also cuts the opposing team's lanes of passing.
Yes indeed. Anything that can clog up their lanes and help recovery so we can spread out and manage tempo will be of great help to ensuring we can productively attack.
I wanna say we played this against Netherlands back in 2022 and worked great. We just have to be clinical.
It’s a 4-5-1 defending and a 3-2-5 attacking I think. In possession I think Franco will move up alongside Moises and Vite will move up as well.
Today’s the day. A loss doesn’t destroy our chances but it will definitely give the nay sayers validation. I am feeling a 1-1. Where second place gets decided by who does better against Germany or scores more goals vs curacao
Anything to crowd the midfield and let our attackers move freely. Expecting a big game today from Yeboah. He's been our big game player.
We are. He’s the best option available. If he is getting run over then I hope Beccacece doesn’t wait to make adjustments.
For anyone who’s interested Tubi has a WC channel where they show the teams getting ready.live streaming and free