TheEcuador national football team (Spanish:Selección de fútbol de Ecuador), nicknamedLa Tricolor, representsEcuador in men's internationalfootball and is controlled by theFederación Ecuatoriana de Fútbol (English:Ecuadorian Football Federation). They joinedFIFA in 1926 andCONMEBOL a year later.
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.[6][7] 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.[7] In 1930,FIFA sent an invitation encouraging for a men's national team to participate at themaiden World Cup. However, the then-Minister of Social Security and Sports declined the offer as they did not approve of the financial allocation.[8]
In 1938, theI Bolivarian Games were organized, with Ecuador set to take part in thefootball tournament. On 8 August 1938, they played their first-ever match; a 1–1 draw withBolivia. Their following game saw the national team earn a 2–1 win againstColombia. Following a 9–1 crushing byPeru and a 5–2 victory overVenezuela, 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.[9]
The1998 World Cup qualifiers saw the format for qualifying inCONMEBOL 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 underPeru andChile.
Following the appointment ofHernán Darío Gómez for their2002 World Cup qualifying campaign, Ecuador recorded a historic 1–0 win againstBrazil.[10] A 5–1 win over Bolivia sawla Tricolor only needing a point to qualify for the World Cup. They facedUruguay, and, after managing to cling onto a 1–1 draw, obtained their spot in theWorld Cup in East Asia.[3]
Ecuador started the 2002 World Cup with a 2–0 loss toItaly.Agustín Delgado scored his country's first World Cup goal; he opened the scoring in a 2–1 loss toMexico.[11] Despite defeatingCroatia, who had achieved third place in theprevious tournament, and eliminating the Croats in process, Ecuador placed fourth in Group G and 24th overall.
A disappointing showing at the2004 Copa América led to the resignation of Gómez, who was replaced byLuis Fernando Suárez. He led them successfully through the latter stages of thequalification process for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, finishing third to make the finals. In Germany, they were drawn into Group A withthe hosts,Poland, andCosta Rica. Wins over Poland and Costa Rica earned Ecuador qualification to the knockout stages for the first time.
Gómez was reinstalled to lead Ecuador at the2019 Copa América. His second stint was short, as he was soon fired after a disastrous tournament, having only earned a point.[13]
Forthe qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, as punishment for fielding a player who had a passport with falsified information forByron Castillo in the previous World Cup qualification cycle. Ecuador were deducted three points and finedCHF 100,000.[14]
The Ecuador national team plays their home games at the Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa inQuito. Having opened in 1951, it initially had a capacity of 45,000, but was later reduced to 35,724.
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.[16]
In this stadium, Ecuador defeatedUruguay at the1993 Copa América andBrazil at the2002 World Cup qualifiers.[10] 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 the2024 Copa América.[17][18] However, Ecuador declined to host Copa America in 2022.[19]
The Ecuador team posing before facingArgentina in October 2017
The standard Ecuador uniform maintains thecolours of thenational flag, typically a yellow top, blue shorts, and red socks.[20] The alternatecolours of the uniform are white and blue, this being based on the flag of theGuayas Province. From 1965 to 2020, the crest featured theAndean condor, Ecuador's national bird, above a shield with the country's colors. In January 2020, theEcuadorian Football Federation announced a rebrand of the logo; a navy blue shield with an "FEF" monogram attempting to "abstractly build a condor".[21][22]
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. WD Withdrew from the squad for non-injury related reasons.
Ecuador has won the Panamerican Games 2006/2007 Trophy, Ecuador also won the 1999 Canada Cup Trophy, 1995 Korea Cup Trophy and Finally Ecuador achieved 1st place Gold Medal at the 1965 Bolivarian Games.
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