World Cup Profiles – Group E: Ecuador

Ecuador was the 20th country to qualify for the World Cup. What can we expect from them?

2014 is Ecuador’s 3rd World Cup, first qualifying in 2002. They placed 24th in that tournament, not making it out of the Group Stage. In 2006 La Tri made it to the Round of 16, finally placing 12th overall.

They had a rough time of it in qualifying. But what Ecuador do have is fight and they had to dig deep for it after star, and soul of the team, Christian Benitez, died of cardiac arrest last July at the age of 27. They will not use his number 11 jersey in tribute to him. A positive run for Ecuador in this World Cup would be a great dedication to Benitez.

Felipe Caicedo stepped up to fill Benitez’s shoes after his death and is a striker worth watching. Additionally, midfielder and captain Antonio Valencia will need to harden his team’s mentality in order to ensure advancement. He will be their most important player

Ecuador Provisional squad (Will be updated when final squads announced)

Head Coach: Reinaldo Rueda (Colombian)

Goalkeepers: Maximo Banguera (Barcelona SC/ECU), Alexander Dominguez (LDU Quito/ECU), Adrian Bone (El Nacional/ECU)

Defenders: Frickson Erazo (Flamengo/BRA), Jorge Guagua, Jhon Narvaez, Oscar Bagui, Gabriel Achilier (all Emelec/ECU), Walter Ayovi (Pachuca/MEX), Juan Carlos Paredes (Barcelona SC/ECU), Cristian Ramirez (Fortuna Duesseldorf/GER)

Midfielders: Segundo Castillo (Al-Hilal/Saudi Arabia), Carlos Gruezo (Stuttgart/GER), Renato Ibarra (Vitesse Arnhem/NED), Cristian Noboa (Dynamo Moscow/RUS), Pedro Quinonez (Emelec/ECU), Luis Saritama (Barcelona SC/ECU), Antonio Valencia (Manchester United/ENG), Edison Mendez (Independiente Santa Fe/COL), Fidel Martinez (Tijuana/MEX), Oswaldo Minda (Chivas USA/USA), Michael Arroyo (Atlante/MEX)

Forwards: Felipe Caicedo (Al-Jazira/UAE), Jefferson Montero (Morelia/MEX), Joao Rojas (Cruz Azul/MEX), Armando Wila (Universidad Catolica, Ecuador), Jaime Ayovi (Tijuana/MEX), Enner Valencia (Pachuca/MEX), Cristian Penilla (Barcelona SC/ECU), Angel Mena (Emelec/ECU)

For additional information on Ecuador, including World Cup 2014 match schedule & history check out these links.

– mygypsyspirit