Ecuador will play its second friendly match since qualifying for the World Cup, where it is placed in Group A alongside Qatar, Senegal, and the Netherlands. After the game against Nigeria, they will play against Mexico on Sunday and Cape Verde on June 11th.
"We are looking for African teams, we are looking for Asian teams (like Qatar), which is what we are going to face" in the training campaign, expressed Argentine coach Gustavo Alfaro on Wednesday.
Nigeria, with six World Cup participations and preparing for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, lost 2-1 to Mexico on Saturday in Arlington (Texas).
WHERE TO WATCH ECUADOR VS. MEXICO 2022
- If you are in Mexico, you can follow the international friendly on TUDN and TV Azteca. In Ecuador, El Canal del Fútbol and DIRECTV GO will broadcast the match.
Under Alfaro's leadership, Ecuador will seek to make a good impression in its fourth World Cup, following its debut in 2022. In Germany 2006, they reached the round of 16, where they were defeated 1-0 by England, with a free-kick goal from David Beckham in a match played in Stuttgart.
"Our intention is not only to compete. Our intention is to make the best World Cup that Ecuador can achieve," stated the coach in a press conference.
The tricolor's last World Cup appearance was in Brazil 2014. Now "there are very few players who have played in a World Cup," noted Alfaro.
In the recent South American qualifying tournament, Ecuador earned 26 points in 18 played matches and finished in fourth place, the last one with a direct ticket, behind the leader Brazil, runner-up Argentina, and third-place Uruguay.
"These friendly matches should be taken that way. They are for preparation, we shouldn't focus so much on winning or scoring goals. We shouldn't pay much attention to the result but rather on the performance and coexistence of the players, which is what the coach is looking for," said local journalist Joselo Sánchez to AFP.
Alfaro has called up 26 players, including full-back Byron Castillo, who the Chilean federation accuses of a false nationality.
FIFA has opened a disciplinary procedure and if the accusation is admitted, the tricolor could lose the points from the matches in which Castillo played during the qualifiers and would be ruled out of the World Cup.
POSSIBLE ECUADOR LINEUP AGAINST MEXICO
Alexander Domínguez (Hernán Galíndez) - Ángelo Preciado, Piero Hincapié, Félix Torres, Pervis Estupiñán - Jeremy Sarmiento (Alexander Alvarado), Carlos Gruezo, Alan Franco (Jhegson Méndez), Gonzalo Plata - Leonardo Campana and Enner Valencia