Ecuador (National Football)

Ecuador opened the 2022 FIFA World Cup with one of the most commanding 2-0 wins you will see in international competition.

The South American nation rolled host side Qatar to kick off play in Group A on Sunday.

Ecuador's win, in the only game played on Sunday, put them on top of the group, which also features Senegal and the Netherlands, for at least 24 hours.

Senegal and the Netherlands will face off in the second game on Monday's slate. England kicks off the Group B slate against Iran in the first game and the United States finishes off the schedule against Wales at 2 p.m. ET.

Updated Group A Standings

1. Ecuador - 3 points (+2 goal differential)

2. Netherlands - 0 (0 GD)

3. Senegal - 0 (0 GD)

4. Qatar - 0 (-2 GD)

Ecuador authored an impressive performance from start to finish in the World Cup opener.

La Tri thought it had a goal in the opening five minutes of the match, but Enner Valencia's header was ruled out due to a offside.

It did not take long for Valencia to find himself on the score sheet. He netted a penalty in the 16th minute and headed home a strike in the 31st minute.

A closer look at Enner Valencia's second goal in the first half for Ecuador 🔥🇪🇨

What a start for @LaTri 👏

Sponsored by @Walmart #WalmartPlus pic.twitter.com/YdJwqqtmO4

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) November 20, 2022

Ecuador commanded the rest of the game. The South American side held Qatar without a shot on goal and it looked dangerous in other attacking instances in the final 60 minutes.

The victory placed Ecuador on top of Group A and it sent a bit of a statement to Senegal and the Netherlands as to how difficult La Tri can be as an opponent.

Ecuador extended its run of clean sheets to seven games. It faces its biggest challenge of Group A on Friday against the Netherlands.

The Dutch start their return to World Cup action on Monday at 11 a.m. ET versus Senegal, who is out without Sadio Mane.

Senegal suffered a huge loss when Mane was ruled out of the World Cup, but it will still be a tough opponent for the Oranje. Senegal has a strong defense that helped it win the African Cup of Nations last year.

The Dutch are led by Barcelona's Memphis Depay, who tied with England's Harry Kane for the most goals in UEFA World Cup qualifying. Kane and the Three Lions will be first up on Monday.

England takes on Iran at 8 a.m. ET inside the Khalifa International Stadium. Iran is viewed as the weakest team in Group B, but it is ranked 20th in the FIFA men's world rankings.

Group B's first matchday will be completed by the United States and Wales at 2 p.m. ET. That will mark the USMNT's first World Cup game in eight years and Wales' first World Cup match since 1958.

Everton and Ecuador striker Enner Valencia appeared to fake an injury while playing on Thursday to flee pursuing police officers.

That’s according to Alex Richards of the Daily Mirror, who noted the forward was being targeted by the authorities due to a row over alleged unpaid child maintenance fees totalling £13,350.

Here’s a look at the remarkable moment he exited the field on a cart and was chased down, per journalist Andres Munoza (h/t Bleacher Report UK):

Here’s Enner Valencia being chased by Ecuadorian police while on an injury bug. (🎥 @andresmunoza) pic.twitter.com/F2oK3FfEni

— B/R Football (@brfootball) October 7, 2016

Valencia was playing for Ecuador against Chile in a FIFA World Cup qualifier, which his team won 3-0. He is on loan with the Toffees from West Ham United.

As noted in the report, lawyers attempted to detain Valencia ahead of the game on Wednesday, although they were unsuccessful. It’s suggested the mother of his five-year-old daughter is pursuing the aforementioned sum.

On Thursday, Valencia was carried off on a stretcher during the match before being loaded onto a vehicle. The footage shows police officers in pursuit of the cart on the running track around the playing surface, with the forward then loaded into an ambulance.

Paul Marin, who is a lawyer for the mother of Valencia’s child, has criticised the authorities and Valencia himself.

“It's lamentable that certain police officers didn't collaborate with the detention of the footballer [Valencia], to ensure compliance with a judicial order,” he said, per Richards. “If they say this man earns so much, why doesn't he pay [the maintenance] monthly to his daughter.”

A solution to the dispute may be forthcoming, though. As noted in the report, Valencia’s lawyer is said to have agreed a deal to prevent the case from going to court.

Valencia endured a difficult previous campaign with West Ham and is seeking to kick-start his career again at Goodison Park. He’s made two substitute appearances in the Premier League for the Toffees.

Tuesday's friendly between Brazil and Ecuador took place at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

In an exhibition that provided fans in a big American market with a glimpse into international football, Brazil prevailed 1-0 on the strength of a goal by Willian in the 31st minute.

FRIENDLY FT Brazil 1 - Ecuador 0

— FOX Sports Hub (@FOXSportsHub) September 10, 2014

World Cup superstar and Barcelona prodigy Neymar chipped the ball over a gaggle of Ecuador defenders off a nifty pass from Oscar, and Willian put it in the bottom far corner to beat goalkeeper Alexander Dominguez.

ESPN's Janusz Michallik was more impressed with this showdown than some of the other high-stakes football being played around the globe:

This Brazil vs Ecuador friendly is better than all the Euro Qualifiers I'vs seen today.

— Janusz Michallik (@JanuszMichallik) September 10, 2014

Paulo Freitas of Sky Sports was critical of the victors despite a gritty effort in a match that didn't bear much significance in the grand scheme:

FT Brazil 1-0 Ecuador - Brazil were fairly disappointing. Brazil's next game will be against Argentina in Beijing next month.

— Paulo Freitas (@Cynegeticus) September 10, 2014

Neymar had a chance to blow the match open with a golden opportunity and vacant net in front of him during the second half. Unfortunately for the Selecao faithful, Bleacher Report UK shows that he was unable to capitalize:

For all of Neymar’s ridiculous talent, even he isn’t immune to missing a sitter.

Believe it or not: https://t.co/YirxZHjei8

— B/R Football (@brfootball) September 10, 2014

Brazil advanced to the World Cup semifinals only to lose by a combined 10-1 score in the next two matches. Before Tuesday's match, Neymar told reporters that it'd take time for his side to rebound and hinted at his expanding role in the turnaround:

It's hard to change everything as we have only had one week of training and one game together so far.

We're adapting ourselves to the new coach [Dunga]. We listen to the things he asks us to do, and keep trying to improve our performances. ...

A lot of things have changed for me in recent times. I have learnt a lot of things in the past three or four years.

I think I have grown up a lot and become a professional. I have been learning so much from other senior players in the national team and at my club sides. I feel I have changed a lot.

It looks like at least some of the elements are jelling together for Brazil, who have plenty of time to recover for the next World Cup years down the road. Having a creative striker in Neymar will help the cause.

Making his debut in the starting XI in Tuesday's friendly, Marquinhos led a stalwart Brazilian defence that denied Ecuador's attack time and again when the underdogs tried to notch the equaliser.

According to ESPN FC's Jonathan Johnson, taking on added responsibility is becoming a theme for the 20-year-old:

*NEW* For @ESPNFC - http://t.co/W46G5gmDXn - Injuries have taken PSG's Marquinhos from 3rd choice central defender to indispensable in Paris

— Jonathan Johnson (@Jon_LeGossip) September 9, 2014

Defensive midfielder Luiz Gustavo also loomed large for Brazil. The towering 27-year-old played with maximum effort before exiting for Fernandinho in the 73rd minute, setting the tone with immense intensity.

A defence missing the injured David Luiz and dismissed Maicon figured to harm Brazil's chances to keep a clean sheet. That turned out not to be the case, and it has to be encouraging that Marquinhos and the others stepped up at such a young age.

Brazil's Dunga already looking 10 times less defensively vulnerable than the World Cup side. No spaces for counters. Superb defending.

— Seleção Brasileira (@BrazilStats) September 10, 2014

Even in a match with no bearing on any international competition, there was pride and intensity on the line.

It's something the Selecao will likely carry with them after being embarrassed at the end as World Cup hosts.

Winger Joao Rojas helped Ecuador push forward better after the half-time intermission, yet it wasn't quite enough to generate any tangible production for La Tri. Veteran Walter Ayovi had a chance at a free-kick from relatively close range about five minutes from full-time, but blasted it over the woodwork.

Brazil weren't going to be denied in this one on either end of the pitch, which was evident as the evening wore on.

Both sides can take something positive from this outcome. Ecuador should not be down despite being on the losing end because they played a quality opponent well. Meanwhile, Brazil won their second straight friendly to go with a previous 1-0 win over Colombia.

In what was a clean match without any yellow cards until Frickson Erazo's foul on Neymar in the 81st minute, the line between physicality and recklessness was toed brilliantly by all parties.

The quality of football will only increase as Brazil and Ecuador gain more chemistry, so Tuesday's clash served its purpose for fans and players alike.

Stats and match information are courtesy of Goal.

Ecuador's World Cup adventure came to an early end in Brazil as they finished third in Group E behind France and Switzerland. It was always going to be a tough task to accomplish, but La Tri fought hard throughout.

They were mere seconds away from taking a draw against Switzerland to open play. Then after a much-needed win over Honduras, the plucky Ecuador squad held the vaunted France attack to a scoreless draw, despite having captain Antonio Valencia sent off minutes into the second half.

In the end, four points would've probably been the most optimistic pre-tournament forecast—in fact, it was this writer's prediction in the days leading up to the opener. Against two strong European sides, this team were always third-favorites, but should be proud of the fight they put into their brief stay in Brazil.

While the stay was short, there's a lot we can take away from what we saw from Reinaldo Rueda's charges.

For starters, we got to see the breakthrough of a star in the making. Striker Enner Valencia was probably well-known to fans in Mexico, as his performances for club Pachuca saw him top Liga MX's scoring charts in the recent half-season.

He then entered the tournament having scored goals in friendlies against fellow Cup teams Mexico and England. And yet, it seemed surprising to many that the 25-year-old burst onto the scene in Brazil.

After the tragic passing of Christian Benitez last July, perhaps the biggest question for Ecuador came to be where they'd get a consistent source of goals. Felipe Caicedo was the most "renowned" striker in the corps given his seven goals in qualifying and various experiences in Europe.

However, he hasn't been a noted goalscorer in Europe, with his time at places like Manchester City, Levante and most recently Lokomotiv Moscow not yielding high-caliber results. Luckily for Rueda, a fresher face stepped up to the plate when he was needed.

Valencia bagged all three of Ecuador's goals in the competition—one against Switzerland and a brace against Honduras. In doing so, he not only rocketed up the scoring charts but has seemingly rocketed up the transfer wish lists of many a club.

Anthony Chapman of the Express lists Tottenham, Everton and Newcastle as potential suitors, while Dean Jones at the Mirror believes West Ham are interested. Pachuca vice president Andres Vassi is noted in the former report as telling ESPN in Mexico:

Enner Valencia's value increases every day. We don't know if he will stay, it will be hard given the offers we have received.

The options that a great player at this level gets are to be taken into account. But for now he has to keep doing things right.

No doubt it would hurt us to let Enner Valencia go, but we are realistic about his quality.

Valencia has what it takes to succeed in Europe, so it's not surprising to see teams swarming after his show in Brazil. If he does indeed move to the Premier League, it'd be another big leap forward for Ecuadorian football, much as you could say Antonio Valencia has been.

Speaking of the Ecuador skipper, it's safe to say that the Manchester United player has underwhelmed in recent times for both club and country.

It all started with a rather abysmal showing against England that ended with his red card for throttling Raheem Sterling after a poor tackle that saw the Liverpool youngster dismissed as well. Ecuador would, of course, equalize not long after to regain respectability in the "friendly" fixture in Miami Gardens.

United rewarded his lackluster start to the tournament and disappointing last two seasons at Old Trafford with a new three-year deal on June 21. The winger repaid his club's faith in him by disappearing in the France fixture just four days later.

Not only did he not provide his side with anything going forward, as is his job down the right flank, but he handed France initiative by getting himself sent off minutes into the second half. A horribly mistimed tackle on Lucas Digne led to an easy decision to dismiss Valencia.

This tweet from Squawka just about sums it up:

Antonio Valencia game in numbers: 0 shots on target, 0 crosses, 0 chances created, 0 take ons, 1 early bath. #ECU pic.twitter.com/7vflIjFyEj

— Squawka Football (@Squawka) June 25, 2014

Of course, his side did manage to hold out for a draw—thanks largely to heroics from goalkeeper Alexander Dominguez—but were dumped out of the tournament. Despite some defensive shakiness throughout, Valencia ought to go down as his team's worst performer in Brazil.

It's tough to point to any specific factor as a cause for Valencia's decline in form. When he was handed the famed No. 7 at United before the 2012-13 season, he failed to reach anywhere close to the standards of George Best, Eric Cantona, David Beckham or Cristiano Ronaldo.

This was coming off a rather impressive prior season, performances impressive enough to warrant his being given that honor after the departure of Michael Owen. Where has it all gone?

Is Valencia going to lose his place in the starting formation? Probably not, given his overall importance to the team as captain and star man. But you have to wonder when it'll sink in that he's not quite the top-level performer we got used to seeing.

Luckily for Ecuador, they do already have a potential replacement waiting in the wings:

Renato Ibarra is absolutely the future for #ECU on the right. Could see him starting as soon as Copa América next year

— Alex Gruber (@agruber6) June 25, 2014

Ibarra, who is currently with Dutch club Vitesse, is a dynamic talent on the right. At just 23 years old, he's got plenty of pace to supplement Ecuador's wing-based attacking style. He's generating interest from afar, but as Gerrit van Leeuwen of Sky Sports noted in March, Vitesse are unfazed by the likes of Swansea swarming.

Ibarra saw just under half an hour of action in the tournament, coming in the aftermath of Valencia's dismissal against France. But as you can see in this highlight package (around 2:15 in), he proved his worth quickly by testing Hugo Lloris with a powerful strike.

During a quick counter, the former Nacional (Ecuador) winger cut in on his left foot like Arjen Robben might. His wicked shot forced Lloris into a smart stop against the run of play in what was arguably Ecuador's best chance to score while down a man.

It's worth noting that Antonio Valencia is only 28 years old, so he's still got plenty of top-level football in him. But Ibarra is continually getting better and better and if he secures a move to a bigger club, his profile could grow enough where he could take that spot by the time next year's Copa America rolls around.

Ibarra is but one of the key pieces in what ought to be a solid young attacking core for Ecuador moving forward. He, Enner Valencia and Jefferson Montero—Ibarra's left-wing counterpart and just 24—are all brimming with talent and potential, some of which has already been realized at a high level.

Also capable of being part of the future of the Ecuador setup are Fidel Martinez and Joao Plata. The former, 24, plays for Universidad de Guadalajara in Mexico and made Rueda's 23-man squad for Brazil. He currently boasts eight international caps with a pair of goals. 

The 22-year-old Plata has made a solid start to his career in MLS, starting with time at LDU Quito before emerging as a top talent for Real Salt Lake after being traded from Toronto FC. Plata does have one cap already—won in 2011—and is definitely one to watch.

The one issue Ecuador have, as was evidenced at times in Brazil, is in the defensive ranks. Walter Ayovi and Jorge Guagua, two lynchpins of Rueda's back line, are 34 and 32 respectively and might not have much run left in them.

Ayovi in particular may not have much time left on the international scene, and might consider retirement before he suffers a dip in form like Ivan Hurtado did in the later stages of his 167 caps. He told the Ecuador Football Federation (FEF) website (in Spanish) that he didn't know if he had played his last game at the Maracana.

The duo of Frickson Erazo and Juan Carlos Paredes are both just 26, so they have plenty of time to continue growing. However, both need to step up their game if they are to get Ecuador back into contention for a spot in the World Cup.

In the defensive midfield, you have to wonder if Segundo Castillo's injury, suffered in the pre-tournament friendly against Mexico, will drag his career to a halt. Additionally, it is likely that veteran Edison Mendez has played his last game for La Tri, having amassed 111 caps that are second only to Hurtado.

Cristhian Noboa looks likely to be a crucial part of the setup going forward—at just 29, he could find himself captaining the squad if Antonio Valencia is ever dropped and Ayovi leaves. He was among Ecuador's best performers in Brazil, continually breaking up play and acting as a central passing hub.

Ready to partner him is 19-year-old Carlos Gruezo. Already with five caps to his name, Gruezo recently signed for Stuttgart having enjoyed a good start to his career at Guayaquil-based Barcelona. FIFA's profile on the youngster tabs him a "technically adept holding midfielder and a precise passer of the ball."

And of course, Alexander Dominguez looks to have the goalkeeper job locked down.

Maximo Banguera's inconsistency while Dominguez was injured saw him give way to the man known as Dida—after the former AC Milan and Brazil great. And Dominguez rewarded the faith shown in him by putting in a man-of-the-match performance against France.

One key final issue to address is that of the head coach. Rueda's contract is up, and the Colombian is leaving his future in the hands of the FEF, as noted by Ecuadorian publication El Universo (in Spanish). The main task he or his replacement would have: perform well at Copa America en route to the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Qualifying for 2018's World Cup will be more difficult now that Brazil will be back in the mix. But if Ecuador can recapture their almost untouchable home form—dropping just two points in eight home qualifiers—they can set themselves up nicely to make a run at the top four alongside (likely) Brazil, Argentina and Colombia.

Copa America, to be held next summer in Chile and in 2016 in the United States, ought to provide a good measuring stick to see the growth of Ecuador against top opposition.

All in all, there's a lot of positive things you can see in the future of Ecuador. Plenty of top talent, a lot of which is fairly young, and a good collective atmosphere can help this team develop into one that ought to be competing with the best South America has to offer.

Ecuador had a brave second half playing with 10 men against the French and came out with a 0-0 draw on Wednesday, but that wasn’t enough to make it to the second round.

Result wise, Ecuador didn’t have a disappointing performance. In fact, with the four points earned in Group E, it could have qualified to the next round if Honduras had been able to at least get a draw from the Swiss. With those same four points, it will have qualified in Argentina’s group. That didn’t happen, and the team has been eliminated.

What went wrong?

Ecuador has an interesting number of talented players who are praised for their skills to exploit the wings. The expectation was that Antonio Valencia on the right side and Jefferson Montero on the left side were going to dominate the wings and create constant dangerous plays. Their speed and dribbling skills should have been fundamental to keep bombarding the rival’s box with crosses or shots.

That never happened on a constant basis in any of the three group-stage matches.

Ecuador’s biggest star is its captain, Manchester United right-winger Valencia. He disappeared for extended periods of time during the first couple of games and scarcely showed any of the talent that has earned him a spot in the English club.

To make it even worse, he was irresponsible and showed no respect for his teammates' effort when he deservedly got himself expelled from Wednesday night’s game. Valencia got a red card before the fifth minute of the second half. He was the team captain—the one who had to keep his team motivated, and the one supposed to control the team’s temper in crucial moments.

Valencia failed Ecuador in a football level and also in a leadership role.

He is not the only player who failed to perform up to the expectations. Felipe Caicedo was brilliant during the South American qualifiers and barely did anything relevant in his playing time against Switzerland and Honduras.

Even Montero was a disappointment. Montero even had the benefit of the doubt from coach Reinaldo Rueda, who tried to play him on the left and on the right. It didn’t matter where he played—his talent was absent.

It is also fair to say that not all players were disappointing.

Enner Valencia managed to score three goals in the tournament. Against the French, he showed his desire to win. He created chances with pure speed, fought for every ball on top and did an impressive jump for a header in the first half that Hugo Lloris saved.

Christian Noboa had an outstanding effort against the French. The problem is that his effort couldn’t make up for his lack of talent to score on a clear chance in the second half.

Goalkeeper Alexander Dominguez also played a great game, saving numerous French chances.

Other than the players, there is also a degree of blame on Coach Rueda. He came through one of the most difficult qualifiers in the world and gave Ecuador the chance to showcase at a World Cup for a third time. This is why it makes it completely inexplicable that he didn’t risk it all against France when he needed the win.

Rueda decided to come out with only Enner Valencia on top, and for the most part, he was very lonely. He got Antonio Valencia on a higher position, but that didn’t quite work. And Michael Arroyo, who is a forward known for his finishing skills, played as a midfielder. Arroyo did what he could and it wasn’t bad, but the territory he dominates is not in the midfield area.

Rueda’s decisions turned unbelievable when he made his two last substitutions. With less than 10 minutes left, he took out Arroyo to get a defender in. And Caicedo came out from the bench with only a minute left.

Switzerland was already beating Honduras by two goals on the first 30 minutes, which meant that Ecuador knew that it needed to win against France.

Rueda never allowed his team to freely go up or at least pull up the lines. He was too cautious when it was the time to risk it all. He got a draw that doesn’t help Ecuador and left a bitter flavor; losing at the hands of France risking it all at least would have left a feeling that the team had tried everything in its hand.

However, despite all the underachieving performances from the players and the coach's poor decisions, Ecuador really lost its opportunity of making it to the second round on the last minute of the game against Switzerland. On that last minute of stoppage time, Ecuador could have won the game, but its irresponsible players decided not to come back after a missed chance and the Europeans won the game on the counterattack.

Ecuador leaves Brazil with its head down as the only CONMEBOL team eliminated in the group stage.

Ecuador are set to take on France on Wednesday in Group E's final block of matches. This showdown, hosted at the Maracana in Rio, will ultimately decide La Tri's fate. They sit second in the group on goal difference, but must hope to match or better Switzerland's result against Honduras.

France have so far been ruthless in this competition, notching eight goals over their two matches and conceding just twice. This includes putting five past the usually strong Swiss defense, a result that surely looms large in Ecuador boss Reinaldo Rueda's mind.

Can Ecuador hold strong to pull out the result? They've shown in recent weeks that they can hang with Europe's best. Draws against the Netherlands and England preceded the tournament, and they were mere seconds away from pulling out a point against Switzerland.

Didier Deschamps' side, though, provides an entirely new level of challenge for Ecuador. How will this one play out? Read on for a preview.

Tactical battle

Heading into this match, we can pretty much nail down the formations likely to be used.

Ecuador are well set on their wide-driven 4-4-2 formation. Full-backs Juan Carlos Paredes and Walter Ayovi step up frequently to support wide men Antonio Valencia and Jefferson Montero in attacking play, looking to supply their red-hot striker Enner Valencia.

The defensive side of La Tri's game hasn't been spectacular in Brazil. The partnership of Jorge Guagua and Frickson Erazo has had its fair share of rough patches, including letting Haris Seferovic free to score the winner in the opener.

In midfield, Cristhian Noboa has probably been Ecuador's best player not named Enner, acting as the central passing hub and breaking up play consistently in midfield. The Dynamo Moscow man has had different partners in the two matches, but has looked solid either way.

This bunch will come to face France's deadly 4-3-3.

The back line of Mathieu Debuchy, Raphael Varane, Mamadou Sakho and Patrice Evra has put in a strong showing, with the 21-year-old Varane preferred to Laurent Koscielny and continuing to make a name for himself.

Of course, we should be quite familiar with the strength of France's midfield. Blaise Matuidi and Yohan Cabaye have been immense so far, with Paul Pogba and Moussa Sissoko trading great shifts alongside that pair.

Mathieu Valbuena, of course, has the freedom to move everywhere between the midfield and attack, as evidenced by his tap-in goal on the break against Switzerland. His movement will give Ecuador's back six fits all match, and Noboa will have to step up big to shut down his passing.

And of course, you can't go without mentioning the unstoppable force that is Karim Benzema and whoever his partner is, be it Olivier Giroud or Antoine Griezmann. Benzema's three goals put him alongside Enner Valencia near the top of the scoring charts, and has been imperious even when he's not scoring.

Key matchups to watch

Of course, Ecuador's main attacking threats will come from wide, led by Montero and Antonio Valencia. The pair will look to threaten the likes of Debuchy and Evra early and often, with Paredes and Ayovi available in support.

In this match, however, the full-backs might be rather preoccupied with containing the fluid attacking force they're faced with. Benzema, Valbuena and Giroud all move consistently across the line, making them difficult to pin down.

This might dampen some of Ecuador's offensive potential, but with Enner Valencia likely to cause his own problems up top, the wing men will at least have a pivotal outlet. The No. 13 will have to be available to support the flanks and spread the French defensive unit.

On the other end, as mentioned before, Cristhian Noboa has a major task at hand in trying to contain the likes of Valbuena and Cabaye. The two diminutive Frenchmen are supreme distributors, pinging passes left and right to the dangerous players around them.

Noboa's role in the heart of the midfield is centered upon breaking up such attacking play, while his partner—be it Carlos Gruezo or Oswaldo Minda—will be more reserved. With Benzema moving everywhere and Matuidi willing to go forward, the midfield will be hectic.

Noboa is the clear main man in the middle hoping to calm things down and limit the damage.

Prediction

Before Group E kicked off, a 3-1 win for France was predicted. Now that we've seen each team in action twice, it's really hard to see anything much different from that.

France's attack is hard to stop, especially with a less-than-stellar Ecuador defense. Enner Valencia seems likely to poach a goal somewhere in this match, but unless Honduras can pull out a shock victory of their own, this looks like the end of the road for Rueda and La Tri.

Feel free to leave your own thoughts below in the comments section or on Twitter.

Follow @agruber6

Ecuador are one step closer to qualifying to the round of 16, but they have a little great problem ahead and it's no other than France. La Tri need to work very hard before the last matchday of Group E.

Reinaldo Rueda's boys haven't had a walk in the park. So far they have three points, after losing to Switzerland in the last minute of the game and defeating Honduras, barely.

In the meantime, France have been convincing. They have won both of their games with a difference of three goals in each of them.

They trashed Honduras 3-0 and then repeated the dose to Switzerland 5-2. This scenario puts Ecuador in a tough spot, and so what they need to fix soon is as follows.

Defense

France had 10 shots on target against Honduras and 22 in front of Switzerland. Crosses are key for the Europeans. Against La H they sent 32, and versus the Nati they completed 16.

Ecuador are shaky in the back line. Switzerland scored the winning goal in a counter-attack in the last play of the game.

Set pieces are also dreadful for La Tri, as they don't track the rivals closely, which leaves spaces inside the box. That's something France won't miss. 

Les Bleus are very fast. They get into the penalty area with speed and power, and that's how they have scored six of their eight goals.

Ecuador may be strong and fast, but France's fine touch and mobility especially through the left flank will put the South Americans in distress.

Accuracy

Ecuador haven't had many goal opportunities so far. In their debut game, they shot only six times on target, while in the second matchday they had five chances on target. Their goal tally equals three.

They will have very few goal options against France, and they cannot miss like they have. Ecuador have powerful players like Walter Ayovi, Joao Rojas, Enner Valencia and Antonio Valencia.

They need to come together to really put some pressure on France. Ecuador's speed is already an advantage; they just have to find a way to have a finer touch.

France have been sharper in every game. They were a bit erratic in their first one, especially in the last third of the pitch, but versus Switzerland they proved how accurate they can be.

Ball possession

The moment Ecuador lose the ball, they will dug their own grave. France had 63 percent ball possession against Honduras. They had a feast against La H, and they could have scored even more.

In front of Switzerland, they recovered 40 balls and had 76 percent of pass effectiveness.

Reinaldo Rueda must take this into consideration because Les Bleus' fluidity through the flanks and depth in the penalty box usually comes from the center of the pitch.

Conclusion

France should not have a problem with Ecuador. La Tri must win because they depend on Switzerland's result against Honduras, and Rueda knows he cannot take any risk.

This will be Ecuador's toughest match, and a draw may not be enough to make it to the round of 16 for the second time in their history.

La Tri have five days to work hard and strive for a miracle. In all honesty, it seems like one of the longest shots ever.

All advance stats appear courtesy of FIFA.com, unless otherwise noted.

Follow @ karlitsv