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Ecuador national football team facts for kids

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This page is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Ecuador women's national football team.
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Ecuador
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s) La Tri (The Tri)
La Tricolor (The Tricolors)
Association Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF)
Confederation CONMEBOL (South America)
Head coach Félix Sánchez Bas
Captain Enner Valencia
Most caps Iván Hurtado (168)
Top scorer Enner Valencia (40)
Home stadium Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado
FIFA code ECU
First colours
Second colours
Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current 58 Decrease 1 (7 February 2019)
Highest 10 (June 2013)
Lowest 71 (November 2017)
Elo ranking
Current 24 Increase 5 (3 March 2019)
Highest 11 (27 March 2013)
Lowest 120 (December 1959)
First international
 Bolivia 1–1 Ecuador 
(Bogotá, Colombia; 8 August 1938)
Biggest win
 Ecuador 6–0 Peru 
(Quito, Ecuador; 22 June 1975)
Biggest defeat
 Argentina 12–0 Ecuador 
(Montevideo, Uruguay; 22 January 1942)
World Cup
Appearances 4 (first in 2002)
Best result Round of 16 (2006)
Copa América
Appearances 29 (first in 1939)
Best result Fourth place (1959, 1993)
CONCACAF Gold Cup
Appearances 1 (first in 2002)
Best result Group stage (2002)

The Ecuador national football team (Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Ecuador) represents Ecuador in men's international football and is controlled by the Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF). They joined FIFA in 1926 and CONMEBOL a year later.

Discarding an invitation to participate in the inaugural FIFA World Cup held in Uruguay, Ecuador did not make their tournament debut until 2002. After finishing above Brazil and Uruguay in the standings, the qualifying campaign 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. Having reached the Round of 16 in a memorable 2006 World Cup campaign, they were expected to deliver at the 2007 Copa América but were eliminated in the group stage. Along with Venezuela, they have not won the continental tournament. La Tri's best performance was fourth in 1959 and 1993, both times on home soil.

Ecuador plays the majority of their home matches at the Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa in Quito.

History

Historically, Ecuador has been seen as a struggling footballing nation in South America. Despite their past failures, however, Ecuador has risen to be a serious South American competitor in recent years.

Football was introduced to Ecuador by Juan Alfredo Wright, who had recently returned from university in England. On 23 April 1899, he and his brother Roberto founded the first Ecuadorian football team, Guayaquil Sport Club. As the popularity of the sport grew in the country, more teams were established. On 30 May 1925, the Federación Deportiva Nacional del Ecuador was founded. In 1930, FIFA sent an invitation encouraging for a men's national team to participate at the maiden World Cup. However, the then-Minister of Social Security and Sports declined the offer as they did not approve of the financial allocation.

In 1938, the I Bolivarian Games were organized, with Ecuador set to take part in the football tournament. On 8 August 1938, they played their first-ever match; a 1–1 draw with Bolivia. Their following game saw the national team earn a 2–1 win against Colombia. Following a 9–1 crushing by Peru and a 5–2 victory over Venezuela, Ecuador was tied for the silver medal with Bolivia. A playoff saw the Bolivians emerge triumphantly and the Ecuadorians finished the competition with the bronze medal.

Ecuador v uruguay 1942
The Ecuador squad that participated at the 1942 South American Championship

After finishing fourth at the 1959 South American Championship, the team entered the World Cup qualifiers for the first time. They failed to qualify for 1962 finals after inflicted defeats by Argentina.

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. In the end, they achieved a 6th-place finish, just under Peru and Chile.

Following the appointment of Hernán Darío Gómez for their 2002 World Cup qualifying campaign, Ecuador recorded a historic 1–0 win against Brazil. A 5–1 win over Bolivia saw la Tricolor only needing a point to qualify for the World Cup. They faced Uruguay, and, after managing to cling onto a 1–1 draw, obtained their spot in the World Cup in Japan.

Ecuador started the 2002 World Cup with a 2–0 loss to Italy. Agustín Delgado scored his country's first World Cup goal; he opened the scoring in a 2–1 loss to Mexico. Though they finished fourth in Group G and 24th overall, Ecuador defeated Croatia, who had achieved third place in the previous tournament, and eliminated the Croats in process.

A disappointing showing at the 2004 Copa América led to the resignation of Gómez, who was replaced by 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 Ecuador qualification to the knockout stages for the first time.

Switzerland and Ecuador match 2014-06-15 Vanishing foam
Michael Arroyo executing a free kick against Switzerland at the 2014 World Cup

After a dull 2014 FIFA World Cup, and an unpleasant streak of failing to advance past the group stages of the Copa América, Gustavo Quinteros was hired to help rebuild the national team. Quinteros helped Ecuador reach the quarter-finals of the Copa América Centenario and started the 2018 World Cup qualifiers strong. They were setback after a loss to Uruguay and finished eighth in the standings.

Gómez was reinstalled to lead Ecuador at the 2019 Copa América. His second stint was short, as he was soon fired after a disastrous tournament, having only earned a point.

For the qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, as punishment for falsifying birth documents for Byron Castillo in the previous World Cup qualification cycle, Ecuador were deducted 3 points and fined CHF 100,000.

Home stadium

Main article: Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa
MIRANDO A QUITO DESDE LAS ALTURAS (37628605982)
Aerial view of the stadium in 2017

The Ecuador national team plays their home games at the Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa in Quito. Having opened in 1951, it initially had a capacity of 45,000, but was later reduced to 35,724.

The stadium has a running track, which has gone to be one of the most important in South America for events organized by the former International Association of Athletics Federations.

15 gates surround the stadium, allowing for an evacuation to be completed in about 10 minutes. The venue also features an electronic scoreboard located in the northern sector. The screen, manufactured by Hungarian-based company Elektroimpex in 1985, measures 10 meters tall and 30 meters wide.

In this stadium, Ecuador defeated Uruguay at the 1993 Copa América and Brazil at the 2002 World Cup qualifiers. After tying with the former on 7 November 2001, Ecuador qualified for their first World Cup. Since then, Ecuador has qualified three times.

The stadium is set to be demolished in late-2020 for a newer stadium, which in first instance was for preparation for the 2024 Copa América. However, Ecuador declined to host Copa America in 2022.

For the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Ecuador played at the Casa Blanca.

Team image

ECUADOR VS ARGENTINA (37593214472)
The Ecuador team posing before facing Argentina in October 2017

The standard Ecuador uniform maintains the colours of the national flag, typically a yellow top, blue shorts, and red socks. The alternate colours of the uniform are white and blue, this being based on the flag of the Guayas Province. From 1965 to 2020, the crest featured the Andean condor, Ecuador's national bird, above a shield with the country's colors. In January 2020, the Ecuadorian Football Federation announced a rebrand of the logo; a navy blue shield with an "FEF" monogram attempting to "abstractly build a condor".

Kit sponsorship

Kit supplier Period
West Germany Adidas 1985
Ecuador Credeport 1986–1990
Germany Puma 1991–1992
United States Reebok 1993–1994
Ecuador Marathon 1994–present

Results and fixtures

Main article: Ecuador national football team results (2020–present)

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

      Win       Draw       Loss       Fixture

2023

2024

Coaching history

  • Chile Enrique Lamas (1938)
  • Ecuador Ramón Unamuno (1939)
  • Argentina Juan Parodi (1941–1942)
  • Argentina Rodolfo Orlandini (1945)
  • Ecuador Ramón Unamuno (1947)
  • Spain José Planas (1949)
  • Argentina Iván Esperón (1953)
  • Ecuador José María Díaz (1955)
  • Italy Argentina Eduardo Spandre (1957)
  • Uruguay Juan López (1959–1960)
  • Ecuador Fausto Montalván (1963, 1966)
  • Uruguay José María Rodríguez (1965)
  • Brazil José Gomes Nogueira (1969)
  • Ecuador Ernesto Guerra (1970, 1977–1979, 1983)
  • Ecuador Jorge Lazo (1972)
  • Argentina Roberto Resquín (1973)
  • Uruguay Roque Máspoli (1975–1977)
  • Ecuador Héctor Morales (1979–1980)
  • Brazil Otto Vieira (1981)
  • Uruguay Juan Hohberg (1981–1982)
  • Brazil Antoninho Ferreira (1984–1985)
  • Uruguay Luis Grimaldi (1986–1987)
  • Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Montenegro Dušan Drašković (1988–1993)
  • Ecuador Carlos Torres Garcés (1994)
  • Ecuador Carlos Ron (1994)
  • Colombia Francisco Maturana (1995–1997, 1997)
  • Colombia Luis Fernando Suárez (1997, 2004–2007)
  • Ecuador Polo Carrera (1998)
  • Ecuador Carlos Sevilla (1999)
  • Colombia Hernán Darío Gómez (1999–2004, 2018–2019)
  • Ecuador Sixto Vizuete (2007–2010, 2014–2015)
  • Colombia Reinaldo Rueda (2010–2014)
  • Bolivia Argentina Gustavo Quinteros (2015–2017)
  • Argentina Jorge Célico (2017–2018, 2019–2020)
  • Netherlands Spain Jordi Cruyff (2020)
  • Argentina Gustavo Alfaro (2020–2023)
  • Spain Félix Sánchez (2023–)

Players

Current squad

The following 28 players were called up for the matches against  Guatemala and  Italy on 21 and 24 March 2024, respectively.

Caps and goals current as of 24 March 2024, after the match against  Italy.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Hernán Galíndez (1987-03-30) 30 March 1987 (age 37) 18 0 Argentina Huracán
12 1GK Javier Burrai (1990-10-09) 9 October 1990 (age 34) 1 0 Ecuador Barcelona
22 1GK Alexander Domínguez (1987-06-05) 5 June 1987 (age 37) 72 0 Ecuador LDU Quito
2 2DF Félix Torres (1997-01-11) 11 January 1997 (age 27) 31 5 Brazil Corinthians
3 2DF Piero Hincapié (2002-01-09) 9 January 2002 (age 22) 31 1 Germany Bayer Leverkusen
4 2DF Robert Arboleda (1991-10-22) 22 October 1991 (age 33) 39 2 Brazil São Paulo
6 2DF Willian Pacho (2001-10-16) 16 October 2001 (age 23) 10 2 Germany Eintracht Frankfurt
7 2DF Pervis Estupiñán (1998-01-21) 21 January 1998 (age 26) 38 4 England Brighton & Hove Albion
13 2DF José Hurtado (2001-12-23) 23 December 2001 (age 22) 7 0 Brazil Red Bull Bragantino
14 2DF Aníbal Chalá (1996-05-09) 9 May 1996 (age 28) 3 0 Ecuador Barcelona
17 2DF Ángelo Preciado (1998-02-18) 18 February 1998 (age 26) 37 0 Czech Republic Sparta Prague
20 2DF Leonardo Realpe (2001-02-26) 26 February 2001 (age 23) 3 0 Brazil Red Bull Bragantino
24 2DF Joel Ordóñez (2004-04-21) 21 April 2004 (age 20) 1 0 Belgium Club Brugge
5 3MF José Cifuentes (1999-03-12) 12 March 1999 (age 25) 20 0 Brazil Cruzeiro
8 3MF Carlos Gruezo (1995-04-19) 19 April 1995 (age 29) 56 1 United States San Jose Earthquakes
9 3MF John Yeboah (2000-06-23) 23 June 2000 (age 24) 1 1 Poland Raków Częstochowa
10 3MF Gonzalo Plata (2000-11-01) 1 November 2000 (age 24) 37 6 Qatar Al-Sadd
11 3MF Jeremy Sarmiento (2002-06-16) 16 June 2002 (age 22) 15 0 England Ipswich Town
15 3MF Ángel Mena (1988-01-21) 21 January 1988 (age 36) 56 8 Mexico León
16 3MF Kendry Páez (2007-05-04) 4 May 2007 (age 17) 6 1 Ecuador Independiente del Valle
18 3MF Joao Ortiz (1996-05-01) 1 May 1996 (age 28) 8 0 Ecuador Independiente del Valle
21 3MF Alan Franco (1998-08-21) 21 August 1998 (age 26) 34 1 Brazil Atlético Mineiro
23 3MF Moisés Caicedo (2001-11-02) 2 November 2001 (age 23) 39 3 England Chelsea
26 3MF Alan Minda (2003-05-14) 14 May 2003 (age 21) 2 0 Belgium Cercle Brugge
19 4FW Jordy Caicedo (1997-11-18) 18 November 1997 (age 27) 13 2 Mexico Atlas
25 4FW Allen Obando (2006-06-13) 13 June 2006 (age 18) 2 0 Ecuador Barcelona

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 Moisés Ramírez (2000-09-09) 9 September 2000 (age 24) 6 0 Ecuador Independiente del Valle v.  Colombia, 17 October 2023
DF Leonel Quiñónez (1993-07-03) 3 July 1993 (age 31) 1 0 Ecuador LDU Quito v.  Chile, 21 November 2023
DF Jhoanner Chávez (2002-04-25) 25 April 2002 (age 22) 3 0 France Lens v.  Venezuela, 16 November 2023 INJ
DF Beder Caicedo (1992-05-13) 13 May 1992 (age 32) 10 1 Ecuador Independiente del Valle v.  Colombia, 17 October 2023
DF Luis Segovia (1997-10-26) 26 October 1997 (age 27) 1 0 Brazil Botafogo v.  Colombia, 17 October 2023
DF Xavier Arreaga (1994-09-28) 28 September 1994 (age 30) 20 1 United States Seattle Sounders v.  Costa Rica, 20 June 2023
DF Diego Palacios (1999-07-12) 12 July 1999 (age 25) 12 0 Brazil Corinthians v.  Costa Rica, 20 June 2023
MF Óscar Zambrano (2004-04-20) 20 April 2004 (age 20) 0 0 Ecuador LDU Quito v.  Guatemala, 21 March 2024 WD
MF Junior Sornoza (1994-01-28) 28 January 1994 (age 30) 16 2 Ecuador Independiente del Valle v.  Chile, 21 November 2023
MF Jordy Alcívar (1999-08-05) 5 August 1999 (age 25) 2 0 Ecuador Independiente del Valle v.  Colombia, 17 October 2023
MF Pedro Vite (2002-03-09) 9 March 2002 (age 22) 1 1 Canada Vancouver Whitecaps v.  Costa Rica, 20 June 2023
FW Enner Valencia (captain) (1989-11-04) 4 November 1989 (age 35) 83 40 Brazil Internacional v.  Guatemala, 21 March 2024 INJ
FW Kevin Rodríguez (2000-03-04) 4 March 2000 (age 24) 11 1 Belgium Union Saint-Gilloise v.  Chile, 21 November 2023
FW Jhojan Julio (1998-02-11) 11 February 1998 (age 26) 9 0 Ecuador LDU Quito v.  Chile, 21 November 2023
FW Anderson Julio (1996-05-31) 31 May 1996 (age 28) 1 0 United States Real Salt Lake v.  Costa Rica, 20 June 2023

INJ Withdrew from the squad due to injury.
PRE Preliminary squad / standby.
RET Retired from the national team.
SUS Withdrew from the squad due to suspension.

Retired numbers

Following the death of Christian Benítez, the Ecuadorian Football Federation retired his jersey number 11 from the national team. According to the Federation's then-president, Luis Chiriboga, to honor Benítez the number would no longer be used by any other team player. However, due to FIFA regulations, the number had to be reinstated for the 2014 World Cup squad.

Player records

Players in bold are still active with Ecuador.

Most appearances

Iván Hurtado en 2017
Iván Hurtado is Ecuador's most capped player, with 168 appearances.
Rank Player Caps Goals Ecuador career
1 Iván Hurtado 168 4 1992–2014
2 Walter Ayoví 122 8 2001–2017
3 Édison Méndez 112 18 2000–2014
4 Álex Aguinaga 109 23 1987–2004
5 Ulises de la Cruz 101 6 1995–2010
6 Luis Capurro 100 1 1985–2003
7 Antonio Valencia 99 11 2004–2019
8 Giovanny Espinoza 90 3 2000–2009
9 Segundo Castillo 88 9 2003–2016
José Francisco Cevallos 88 0 1994–2010

Most goals

HABILIDADES Y DESTREZAS DE JÓVENES FIGURAS (19057791769)
Enner Valencia is Ecuador's highest scoring player.
Rank Player Goals Caps Ratio Ecuador career
1 Enner Valencia 40 81 0.5 2012–present
2 Agustín Delgado 31 71 0.44 1994–2006
3 Eduardo Hurtado 26 74 0.35 1992–2002
4 Christian Benítez 25 61 0.41 2005–2013
5 Álex Aguinaga 23 109 0.21 1987–2004
6 Felipe Caicedo 22 68 0.32 2005–2017
7 Édison Méndez 18 112 0.16 2000–2014
8 Raúl Avilés 16 55 0.29 1987–1993
Iván Kaviedes 16 57 0.28 1996–2012
10 Ariel Graziani 15 34 0.44 1997–2000

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

Main article: Ecuador at the FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup record Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad Pld W D L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 Did not enter Declined invitation
Italy 1934 Did not enter
France 1938
Brazil 1950 Withdrew Withdrew
Switzerland 1954 Did not enter Did not enter
Sweden 1958
Chile 1962 Did not qualify 2 0 0 2 3 11
England 1966 5 2 1 2 7 7
Mexico 1970 4 0 1 3 2 8
West Germany 1974 4 0 2 2 3 8
Argentina 1978 4 0 1 3 1 9
Spain 1982 4 1 1 2 2 5
Mexico 1986 4 0 1 3 2 8
Italy 1990 4 1 1 2 4 5
United States 1994 8 1 3 4 7 7
France 1998 16 6 3 7 22 21
South Korea Japan 2002 Group stage 24th 3 1 0 2 2 4 Squad 18 9 4 5 23 20
Germany 2006 Round of 16 12th 4 2 0 2 5 4 Squad 18 8 4 6 23 19
South Africa 2010 Did not qualify 18 6 5 7 22 26
Brazil 2014 Group stage 17th 3 1 1 1 3 3 Squad 16 7 4 5 20 16
Russia 2018 Did not qualify 18 6 2 10 26 29
Qatar 2022 Group stage 18th 3 1 1 1 4 3 Squad 18 7 5 6 27 19
Canada Mexico United States 2026 Qualification in progress 6 3 2 1 5 3
Morocco Portugal Spain 2030 To be determined To be determined
Saudi Arabia 2034
Total Round of 16 4/22 13 5 2 6 14 14 — 167 57 40 70 199 221

Copa América

Main article: Ecuador at the Copa América

     Champions       Runners-up       Third place       Fourth place  

South American Championship / Copa América record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad
Argentina 1916 Not a CONMEBOL member
Uruguay 1917
Brazil 1919
Chile 1920
Argentina 1921
Brazil 1922
Uruguay 1923
Uruguay 1924
Argentina 1925
Chile 1926
Peru 1927 Did not participate
Argentina 1929
Peru 1935
Argentina 1937
Peru 1939 Fifth place 5th 4 0 0 4 4 18 Squad
Chile 1941 5th 4 0 0 4 1 21 Squad
Uruguay 1942 Seventh place 7th 6 0 0 6 4 31 Squad
Chile 1945 7th 6 0 1 5 9 27 Squad
Argentina 1946 Withdrew
Ecuador 1947 Sixth place 6th 7 0 3 4 3 17 Squad
Brazil 1949 Seventh place 7th 7 1 0 6 7 21 Squad
Peru 1953 7th 6 0 2 4 1 13 Squad
Chile 1955 Sixth place 6th 5 0 0 5 4 22 Squad
Uruguay 1956 Withdrew
Peru 1957 Seventh place 7th 6 0 1 5 7 23 Squad
Argentina 1959 Withdrew
Ecuador 1959 Fourth place 4th 4 1 1 2 5 9 Squad
Bolivia 1963 Sixth place 6th 6 1 2 3 14 18 Squad
Uruguay 1967 Did not qualify
1975 Group stage 9th 4 0 1 3 4 10 Squad
1979 9th 4 1 0 3 4 7 Squad
1983 9th 4 0 2 2 4 10 Squad
Argentina 1987 8th 2 0 1 1 1 4 Squad
Brazil 1989 7th 4 1 2 1 2 2 Squad
Chile 1991 7th 4 1 1 2 6 5 Squad
Ecuador 1993 Fourth place 4th 6 4 0 2 13 5 Squad
Uruguay 1995 Group stage 9th 3 1 0 2 2 3 Squad
Bolivia 1997 Quarter-finals 5th 4 2 2 0 5 2 Squad
Paraguay 1999 Group stage 11th 3 0 0 3 3 7 Squad
Colombia 2001 9th 3 1 0 2 5 5 Squad
Peru 2004 12th 3 0 0 3 3 10 Squad
Venezuela 2007 11th 3 0 0 3 3 6 Squad
Argentina 2011 10th 3 0 1 2 2 5 Squad
Chile 2015 10th 3 1 0 2 4 6 Squad
United States 2016 Quarter-finals 8th 4 1 2 1 7 4 Squad
Brazil 2019 Group stage 11th 3 0 1 2 2 7 Squad
Brazil 2021 Quarter-finals 8th 5 0 3 2 5 9 Squad
United States 2024 Qualified
Total Fourth place 29/47 126 16 26 84 134 327 —

Pan American Games

Pan American Games record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
Argentina 1951 Did not participate
Mexico 1955
United States 1959
Brazil 1963
Canada 1967
Colombia 1971
Mexico 1975
Puerto Rico 1979
Venezuela 1983
United States 1987
Cuba 1991
Argentina 1995 Group stage 9th 3 1 0 2 6 10
Since 1999 See Ecuador national under-23 football team
Total Group stage 1/12 3 1 0 2 6 10

Head-to-head record

Below is a result summary of all matches Ecuador have played against FIFA recognized teams.

      Positive Record       Neutral Record       Negative Record

Honours

Despite never having won a title with their senior team, Ecuador has two relevant achievements with their youth teams.

Senior team

Invitational

  • Canada Cup:
    • Winners (1): 1999

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Ecuador para niños

  • Ecuador national under-23 football team
  • Ecuador national under-20 football team
  • Ecuador national under-17 football team
  • Ecuador national futsal team
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