Throughout its history, the Ecuador national football team has participated in the World Cup 3 times, in one of which it reached the round of 16, while it has bid farewell to the tournament since the first round on two occasions, and will participate in the Qatar 2022 edition for the fourth time.
In general, the Ecuadorian national team has never achieved any title throughout its history, and its best achievement was reaching the semi-finals of the Copa America on two occasions, out of 24 entries.
Creation of the Ecuadorian Federation
The Ecuadorian Football Association was founded on May 30, 1925, and one year later it joined the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA), and then to the South American Confederation known as "Conmebol" in 1927.
Ecuador played its first international match, when it visited Bolivia on August 8, 1938, and that match ended in a 1-1 draw.
Francisco Egas heads the Ecuadorian Federation, which faced a major challenge in the recent period, represented by the complaint of Chile, which demanded that Ecuador be denied participation in the 2022 World Cup, on the grounds of forgery of the nationality of player Byron Castillo.
However, Igas confirmed that his country will attend the finals, which was officially confirmed by FIFA on September 16, 2022.
The most prominent players in the history of Ecuador
Striker Ener Valencia tops the list of all-time top scorers for the Ecuadorian national team, with 35 goals, scored in 74 international matches.
Antonio Valencia, who starred with Manchester United, also featured, as well as Ivan Hurtado, who has the highest number of international participations, with 168 matches with the yellow team.
Ecuador's posts in the continental championships
The Ecuador national team has a disappointing record in the Copa America, as its best achievement in the tournament was its fourth place in the 1959 and 1993 editions.
The Ecuadorian national team often bids farewell to competitions in the group stage, and it is one of two teams that have never won the championship, along with Venezuela.
And in the Gold Cup competition for North American and Caribbean countries, Ecuador participated as a guest of honor once, and that was in the 2002 edition, in which it was deposited in the tournament since the first round.
Ecuador posts in the World Cup
There was an opportunity for the Ecuadorian national team to participate in the first edition after the end of World War II, which was held in Brazil in 1950, but it withdrew from the tournament before it began.
#OTD #OnThisDay #WorldCup 2006 #WC06 #ECU #COS
Ecuador vs Costa Rica
1-0 8' Carlos Tenorio pic.twitter.com/VofvmbytyM
— Football Rewind (@FIFAWCArchive) June 15, 2021
Thus, the first appearance of the first Ecuadorian national team was postponed until the South Korea and Japan version in 2002, in which it bid farewell to the competition since the first round, which was repeated in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
The 2006 World Cup in Germany witnessed better results for the Ecuador national team, by qualifying for the final price round after beating Poland 2-0 and Costa Rica 3-0, before losing to Germany 3-0, before losing to England in the second round 1-0.
Ecuador matches in the 2022 World Cup
The Ecuador national team finished the qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup in fourth place with 26 points, two points behind the fifth-placed Peruvian team.
According to the system adopted by “FIFA” and “CONMEBOL”, the first places in the South American qualifiers qualify directly for the World Cup, which Ecuador has succeeded in achieving for the fourth time in its history.
The Ecuador national team will play in the 2022 World Cup in Group A, where it will open all World Cup matches by playing against Qatar, the host country, on November 20, 2022, at the home stadium.
After that, he will play two more matches against the Netherlands and Senegal, on November 25 and 29, 2022, at Khalifa International Stadium.
Young names stand out in Ecuador's expected squad for the 2022 World Cup, including defender Piero Encabii (20 years old), left-back Pervis Estupinian, midfielder Moises Caicedo, and strikers Enner Valencia and Gonzalo Plata.
Ecuador national team coach
Argentine Gustavo Alfaro took over the Ecuadorian national team on August 29, 2020, a few days after the departure of his predecessor, Jordi Cruyff.
#youth
Khalfan Ibrahim, ambassador of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy in #Qatar to #youth
🔸 Qatar national team gained a lot of experience during the preparation for the #WorldCup
🔸 Very optimistic in the opening match against #Ecuador
Cover / @ALMasrouri @roadto2022 pic.twitter.com/RnUn5IQ1Jj
- Al-Shabiba (@shabiba) October 17, 2022
Alvaro succeeded in returning the Ecuadorian national team to the World Cup after his absence from the Russia 2018 edition, and also led him to the quarter-finals of the Copa America 2021, when the team was eliminated from Argentina, losing 3-0.
Coaching Ecuador is Gustavo's second job away from his country, after the first with Saudi Arabia's Al-Ahly Jeddah in 2009.