Ecuador national football team

Ecuador
Nickname(s) La Tricolor (the Tricolor)
La Tri
Amarillos (the Yellows)
Association Federación Ecuatoriana de Fútbol (FEF)
Confederation CONMEBOL (South America)
Head coach Gustavo Quinteros
Captain Walter Ayoví
Most caps Iván Hurtado (168)
Top scorer Agustín Delgado (31)
Home stadium Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito
FIFA code ECU
FIFA ranking 34 Decrease 5 (9 April 2015)
Highest FIFA ranking 3 (April- June 2013)
Lowest FIFA ranking 76 (June 1995)
Elo ranking 17 Decrease 1 (31 March 2015)
Highest Elo ranking 4 (27 March 2013)
Lowest Elo ranking 111 (December 1959)
First colours
Second colours
First international
 Bolivia 1–1 Ecuador Ecuador
(Bogotá, Colombia; August 8, 1938)
Biggest win
Ecuador Ecuador 6–0 Peru 
(Quito, Ecuador; June 22, 1975)
Biggest defeat
 Argentina 12–0 Ecuador Ecuador
(Montevideo, Uruguay; January 22, 1942)
World Cup
Appearances 3 (First in 2002)
Best result Round of 16 (2006)
Copa América
Appearances 24 (First in 1939)
Best result Fourth place (1959, 1993)
CONCACAF Gold Cup
Appearances 1 (First in 2002)
Best result Group Stage (2002)

The Ecuadorian national football team represents Ecuador in international football competitions and is controlled by the Ecuadorian Football Federation (Federación Ecuatoriana de Fútbol). They play official home matches at Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa in Quito.

Ecuador has qualified for three FIFA World Cups in 2002, 2006 and 2014. Their best performance came in 2006 when they advanced to the Round of 16, eventually eliminated by England. They are one of three countries in South America not to have won the Copa América, the others being Chile and Venezuela. Their best performance in the continental tournament was fourth in 1959 and 1993, both times on home soil.

History

From a historical viewpoint, Ecuador have been one of the more struggling footballing nations in South America. Despite their past irregularities, however, Ecuador has risen to be a serious South American competitor in recent years.

Discarding an invitation to participate in the inaugural 1930 FIFA World Cup held in Uruguay, their first participation in a World Cup qualifying campaign was in the 1962 campaign, eventually being well beaten by Argentina over two games. However, the 1966 qualifying campaign pitted the side, regarded as one of the finest teams Ecuador has ever produced, against 1962 hosts and third-place finishers Chile and a weakened Colombia side. Ecuador, featuring stars such as Washington Muñoz, Alberto Spencer, Carlos Alberto Raffo, Enrique Raymondi and Jorge Bolaños, forced a play-off in Peru before being eliminated by Chile. Other talented players to have represented Ecuador include José Villafuerte in the 1970s and 1980s.

The 1998 World Cup qualifiers saw the format for qualifying in CONMEBOL changed to a league home-and-away system. This difference made a huge impact on Ecuador's performance as they clinched several important home wins during the campaign. At the end, they achieved a very respectable 6th place finish, just under Peru and Chile (which qualified by goal differential). The campaign also marked the emergence of several players, such as Agustín Delgado, Álex Aguinaga, Iván Hurtado, Ulises de la Cruz and Iván Kaviedes, who would set the stage for Ecuador's achievements in the next decade.

This remained the closest they had come to appearing in a finals until the qualification tournament for the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan. Led by Colombian born manager Hernán Darío Gómez, they finished second to Argentina, and one point ahead of Brazil who went on to win the World Cup. Agustín Delgado, with 9 goals, finished joint top scorer in qualifying with Hernán Crespo of Argentina. They were drawn into Group G with Italy, Mexico and Croatia. Although they were knocked out at the group stage, they achieved a 1–0 victory over Croatia, who had come third at the previous edition of the World Cup.

A disappointing showing at the 2004 Copa América in Peru led to the resignation of Gómez, who was replaced by another Colombian, Luis Fernando Suárez. He led them successfully through the latter stages of the qualification process for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, finishing third to make the finals. In Germany, they were drawn into Group A with the hosts, Poland, and Costa Rica. Wins over Poland and Costa Rica earned La Tri qualification to the knockout stages for the first time.

Another disappointing showing at yet another Copa América in 2007 and three successive defeats in the beginning of the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign led to the end of Suarez's time in the national team. He was replaced in 2008 for Sixto Vizuete, who had previously gained recognition for winning the 2007 Pan American Games with the U-18s. Vizuete became one of the few Ecuadorians to coach the U-23 national team, and senior team, but Ecuador finished the qualifying campaign for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in 6th place, sadly being eliminated from the finals for the first time since 1998. They managed to turn it around in the 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign where they finished in the top 4, enough to record a third World Cup appearance. On Friday, December 6, 2013 they were drawn into a balanced group compromising of top seeds, Switzerland, former champions France, and minnows Honduras.

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup record

Year Round Pos Pld W D L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 to France 1938Did not enter
Brazil 1950Withdrew
Switzerland 1954 to Sweden 1958Did not enter
Chile 1962 to France 1998Did not qualify
South KoreaJapan 2002Group Stage24310224
Germany 2006Round of 1612420254
South Africa 2010Did not qualify
Brazil 2014Group Stage17311133
Total3/2012104151011

Copa América record

  • 1916 to 1937 – Did not enter
  • 1939 – Fifth place
  • 1941 – Fifth place
  • 1942 – Seventh place
  • 1945 – Seventh place
  • 1946 – Withdrew
  • 1947 – Sixth place
  • 1949 – Seventh place
  • 1953 – Sixth place
  • 1955 – Seventh place
  • 1956 – Withdrew
  • 1957 – Seventh place
  • 1969 – Withdrew
  • 1959 – Fourth place
  • 1963 – Sixth place

Pan American Games record

Ecuador national football team
Medal record
U-20 Panamerican Games
Gold 2007 Brazil Panamerican Games

Minor tournaments

Ecuador national football team
Medal record
Tournament L'Alcudia
Gold 2010 L'Alcudia Tournament

Bolivarian Games

Results and Fixtures

Friendlies

Copa América 2015

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Chile 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout stage
2  Mexico 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  Ecuador 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible knockout stage
4  Bolivia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played on 11 June 2015. Source: Copa América 2015

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the friendly matches against the Mexico and Argentina.
Caps and goals updated as of March 28, 2015 after the match against Argentina.

# Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
GK Alexander Domínguez June 5, 1987 25 0 Ecuador LDU Quito
GK Librado Azcona January 18, 1984 0 0 Ecuador Independiente
GK Esteban Dreer November 11, 1981 0 0 Ecuador Emelec
DF Walter Ayoví August 11, 1979 99 8 Mexico Pachuca
DF Juan Carlos Paredes July 8, 1987 47 0 England Watford
DF Frickson Erazo May 5, 1988 46 1 Brazil Grêmio
DF Gabriel Achilier March 23, 1985 25 0 Ecuador Emelec
DF Óscar Bagüí December 10, 1982 21 0 Ecuador Emelec
DF Arturo Mina October 8, 1990 2 0 Ecuador Independiente
DF Mario Pineida July 6, 1992 2 0 Ecuador Independiente
DF Robert Arboleda October 22, 1991 0 0 Ecuador Universidad Católica
MF Antonio Valencia August 4, 1985 75 8 England Manchester United
MF Christian Noboa April 9, 1985 51 3 Greece PAOK
MF Jefferson Montero September 1, 1989 44 8 Wales Swansea City
MF Joao Rojas June 14, 1989 34 2 Mexico Cruz Azul
MF Renato Ibarra January 20, 1991 23 0 Netherlands Vitesse
MF Carlos Gruezo April 19, 1995 9 0 Germany Stuttgart
MF Osbaldo Lastra August 10, 1983 2 0 Ecuador Emelec
MF Ángel Mena January 21, 1988 2 0 Ecuador Emelec
MF Pedro Larrea May 21, 1986 0 0 Ecuador LDU Loja
FW Felipe Caicedo September 5, 1988 55 15 Spain Espanyol
FW Jaime Ayoví February 21, 1988 31 9 Argentina Godoy Cruz
FW Fidel Martínez February 15, 1990 12 2 Mexico UDG
FW Miller Bolaños June 1, 1990 2 1 Ecuador Emelec

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up during the last twelve months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Máximo Banguera December 16, 1985 27 0 Ecuador Barcelona v.  El Salvador, October 14, 2014
GK Hamilton Piedra February 20, 1993 0 0 Ecuador Deportivo Cuenca v.  El Salvador, October 14, 2014
GK Adrián Bone September 8, 1988 3 0 Ecuador El Nacional v.  Brazil, September 9, 2014
DF Cristian Ramírez August 15, 1994 4 0 Hungary Ferencváros v.  El Salvador, October 14, 2014
DF Luis Cangá June 15, 1995 3 0 Ecuador LDU Quito v.  El Salvador, October 14, 2014
DF Fernando León April 11, 1993 1 0 Ecuador Independiente v.  El Salvador, October 14, 2014
DF Jorge Guagua September 28, 1981 62 2 Ecuador Emelec v.  Bolivia, September 5, 2014
DF John Narváez June 12, 1991 0 0 Ecuador Emelec 2014 FIFA World Cup preliminary squad
MF Segundo Castillo May 15, 1982 85 9 Mexico Sinaloa v.  El Salvador, October 14, 2014
MF Junior Sornoza January 28, 1994 4 1 Mexico Pachuca v.  El Salvador, October 14, 2014
MF Juan Cazares April 3, 1992 3 1 Argentina Banfield v.  El Salvador, October 14, 2014
MF Cristian Penilla May 2, 1991 2 1 Mexico Pachuca v.  El Salvador, October 14, 2014
MF Jonathan González March 7, 1995 2 0 Mexico UDG v.  El Salvador, October 14, 2014
MF Jonny Uchuari January 19, 1994 1 0 Ecuador LDU Quito v.  El Salvador, October 14, 2014
MF Édison Méndez RET March 15, 1979 111 18 Ecuador El Nacional 2014 FIFA World Cup
MF Luis Saritama October 20, 1983 49 0 Ecuador Deportivo Quito 2014 FIFA World Cup
MF Michael Arroyo April 23, 1987 23 3 Mexico América 2014 FIFA World Cup
MF Oswaldo Minda July 26, 1983 20 0 Ecuador Barcelona 2014 FIFA World Cup
MF Pedro Quiñónez March 4, 1986 10 0 Ecuador Emelec 2014 FIFA World Cup preliminary squad
FW Enner Valencia November 4, 1989 17 11 England West Ham United v.  El Salvador, October 14, 2014
FW Joao Plata March 1, 1992 4 2 United States Real Salt Lake v.  El Salvador, October 14, 2014
FW Daniel Angulo November 16, 1986 2 0 Ecuador Independiente v.  Brazil, September 9, 2014
FW Armando Wila May 12, 1985 1 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Nassr 2014 FIFA World Cup preliminary squad

Player records

Bold indicates player is still active in National team. Caps and goals updated as March 31, 2015.

Most caps[2]
Pos Player Career Caps Position
1 Iván Hurtado 1992–2014 168 DF
2 Édison Méndez 2000–2014 111 MF
3 Álex Aguinaga 1987–2004 109 MF
4 Ulises de la Cruz 1995–2010 101 DF
5 Luis Capurro 1985–2003 100 DF
6 Walter Ayoví 2001– 99 MF
7 Giovanny Espinoza 2000–2012 90 DF
8 José Francisco Cevallos 1994–2010 89 GK
9 Cléber Chalá 1992–2004 86 MF
10 Segundo Castillo 2003– 85 MF
Top goalscorers[3][4]
Pos Player Career Goals Caps AveragePosition
1 Agustín Delgado 1994–2006 31 71 0.44 FW
2 Eduardo Hurtado 1992–2002 26 74 0.35 FW
3 Christian Benítez 2005–2013 24 58 0.41 FW
4 Álex Aguinaga 1987–2004 23 109 0.21 MF
5 Édison Méndez 2000–2014 18 111 0.16 MF
6 Iván Kaviedes 1998–2013 17 57 0.30 FW
7 Raúl Avilés 1987–2003 16 55 0.29 FW
8 Ariel Graziani 1997–2000 15 34 0.44 FW
Felipe Caicedo 2005– 15 55 0.27 FW
10 Ángel Fernández 1991–2002 12 77 0.16 FW
Carlos Tenorio 2001–2012 12 51 0.24 FW

Players with 50 or more caps

Previous squads

Copa América
FIFA World Cup

Retired numbers

Following the death of Christian Benítez, the Ecuadorian Football Federation has retired his jersey number 11 from the national team. According to the Federation's president, Luis Chiriboga, to honor Christian Benítez the number would no longer be used by any other team player.[5]

Historic Kits

The standard Ecuadorian uniform maintains the colours of the national flag, being the tricolor, yellow, blue, and red.[6] The alternate colours of the uniform are White, and Blue, this being based on a flag once flown by Ecuador based on the flag of Guayas. Its crest has remained the same since its inception in 1927, with variations placing Ecuador on top of the crest.[7]

1941–1945
1945–1947
1949–1953
1953-1955
1955-1966
1966-1973[8]
1973-1983
1983-1985
1985-1992
1992-1995
1996-1999
1999-2002
2002
2003-2006
2006
2007-2011
2011-2014
2014

Kit Sponsor

Uniform provider
Date Sponsor
1985Adidas
1991-1992Puma
1993-1995Reebok
1995–presentMarathon

Managers

Manager Career GP W D L
Enrique Lamas August 8, 1938 – August 22, 1938 5 1 1 3
Ramón Unamuno January 15, 1939 – February 12, 1939 4 0 0 4
Juan Parodi February 2, 1941 – February 5, 1942 10 0 0 10
Rodolfo Orlandini January 14, 1945 – February 21, 1945 6 0 1 5
Ramón Unamuno November 30, 1947 – December 29, 1947 7 0 3 4
José Planas April 3, 1949 – May 3, 1949 7 1 0 6
Gregorio Esperón February 28, 1953 – March 23, 1953 6 0 2 4
José María Díaz Granados February 27, 1955 – March 23, 1955 5 0 0 5
Eduardo Spandre March 7, 1957 – April 1, 1957 6 0 1 5
Juan López December 6, 1959 – December 17, 1960 7 1 1 5
Fausto Montalván March 10, 1963 – March 31, 1963 6 1 2 3
José María Rodríguez July 20, 1965 – October 12, 1965 5 2 1 2
Fausto Montalván December 21, 1966 – December 28, 1966 2 0 1 1
José Gomes Nogueira June 22, 1969 – August 3, 1969 5 1 1 3
Ernesto Guerra April 29, 1970 – May 24, 1970 2 0 0 2
Jorge Lazo June 11, 1972 – June 21, 1972 4 0 1 3
Roberto Resquín February 18, 1973 – July 8, 1973 10 1 6 3
Roque Máspoli June 22, 1975 – March 20, 1977 19 5 4 10
Héctor Morales June 13, 1979 – September 16, 1979 8 3 1 4
Otto Vieira January 27, 1981 – February 14, 1981 2 0 0 2
Juan Eduardo Hohberg May 17, 1981 – June 14, 1981 4 1 1 2
Ernesto Guerra July 26, 1983 – September 7, 1983 6 0 4 2
Antoninho Ferreira November 30, 1984 – March 31, 1985 15 3 5 7
Luis Grimaldi November 18, 1986 – July 4, 1987 13 2 5 6
Dušan Drašković June 2, 1988 – September 19, 1993 56 17 17 22
Carlos Torres Garcés May 25, 1994 – June 5, 1994 2 2 0 0
Carlos Ron August 17, 1994 – September 21, 1994 2 0 1 1
Francisco Maturana May 24, 1995 – June 8, 1997 34 16 6 12
Luis Fernando Suárez June 11, 1997 – June 22, 1997 4 2 2 0
Francisco Maturana July 6, 1997 – November 16, 1997 7 3 1 3
Polo Carrera October 14, 1998 1 0 0 1
Carlos Sevilla January 28, 1999 – July 7, 1999 15 3 6 6
Hernán Darío Gómez October 12, 1999 – July 23, 2004 66 24 18 24
Luis Fernando Suárez September 4, 2004 – November 17, 2007 51 17 9 25
Sixto Vizuete November 21, 2007 – July 11, 2010 25 9 7 9
Reinaldo Rueda September 4, 2010 – June 25, 2014 45 18 15 12
Sixto Vizuete July 23, 2014 – January 28, 2015 4 2 1 1
Gustavo Quinteros January 29, 2015 – Present 2 0 0 2

Notes and references

  1. ↑ http://www.ecuagol.com/ecuagol/index.php?n=44540
  2. ↑ http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/ecua-recintlp.html#app
  3. ↑ http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/ecua-recintlp.html#goals
  4. ↑ http://www.fichajes.com/jugador/j23232_felipe-caicedo
  5. ↑ "NÚMERO 11 DE ECUADOR SIEMPRE SERÁ DE CHUCHO". Federación Ecuatoriana de Fútbol (in Spanish). ecuafutbol.org. August 1, 2013.
  6. ↑ http://www.ecuafutbol.org/selecciones/camisetas_40.aspx
  7. ↑ http://www.sportslogos.net/teams/list_by_league/58/CONMEBOL/CONMEBOL/logos
  8. ↑ http://www.oldfootballshirts.com/en/teams/e/ecuador/old-ecuador-football-shirt-s34862.html

See also

External links