The Ecuador World Cup 2026 squad is set to be one of the dark horses in North America next summer
The South American outfit qualified for their second consecutive tournament, the second time they have qualified for two back-to-back World Cups in their history.
Moises Caicedo missed the October set of friendlies, but he'll likely be leading a young group to World Cup 2026.
Ecuador lost just twice in World Cup qualification, away to Argentina and Brazil, which to be fair, they can probably be excused from. They picked up eight wins, and only one of these victoies was by more than one goal, a 4-0 hammering of Bolivia. They drew eight games, all of them 0-0.
Across the 18 games they only scored 14 goals, but conceding just five means they picked up a whopping 29 points: that's over two points per goal.
They manager Sebastian Beccacece has made them incredibly hard to beat, meaning they have every chance of taking some big sides to penalties in north America next year.
Couple this with a few exceptional talents, they could be one to watch...
Squad
Ecaudor World Cup 2026 squad: The November selection
- GK: Hernan Galindez (Huracan)
- GK: Moises Ramirez (Kifisia)
- GK: Cristhian Loor (Botafogo)
- DF: Angelo Preciado (Sparta Prague)
- DF: Piero Hincapie (Arsenal)
- DF: Felix Torres (Corinthians)
- DF: Willian Pacho (Paris Saint-Germain)
- DF: Cristian Ramirez (Lokomotiv Moscow)
- DF: Joel Ordonez (Club Brugge)
- DF: Jhoanner Chavez (Lens)
- DF: Leonardo Realpe (Famalicão)
- MF: Moises Caicedo (Chelsea)
- MF: Alan Franco (Atletico Mineiro)
- MF: Gonzalo Plata (Flamengo)
- MF: Kendry Paez (Strasbourg)
- MF: John Yeboah (Venezia)
- MF: Alan Minda (Cercle Brugge)
- MF: Pedro Vite (UNAM)
- MF: Jordy Alcivar (Independiente del Valle)
- MF: Denil Castillo (Midtjylland)
- MF: Yaimar Medina (Genk)
- MF: Patrik Mercado (Independiente del Valle)
- FW: Kevin Rodriguez (Union Saint-Gilloise)
- FW: Leonardo Campana (New England Revolution)
- FW: Nilson Angulo (Anderlecht)
- FW: John Mercado (Sparta Prague)
- FW: Jeremy Arevalo (Racing de Santander)
Fixtures and results
November 18: Ecuador 2-0 New Zealand, Sports Illustrated Stadium, Harrison, United States
November 13: Canada 0-0 Ecuador, BMO Field, Toronto, Canada
October 14: Mexico 1–1 Ecuador, Estadio Akron, Zapopan, Mexico
October 10: United States 1–1 Ecuador, Q2 Stadium, Austin, United States
September 9: Ecuador 1–0 Argentina, Estadio Monumental Isidro Romero Carbo, Guayaquil, Ecuador
September 4: Paraguay 0–0 Ecuador, Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asuncion, Paraguay
June 10: Peru 0–0 Ecuador, Estadio Nacional, Lima, Peru
June 5: Ecuador 0–0 Brazil, Estadio Monumental Isidro Romero Carbo, Guayaquil, Ecuador
March 25: Chile 0–0 Ecuador, Estadio Nacional Julio Martinez Pradanos, Santiago, Chile
March 21: Ecuador 2–1 Venezuela, Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado, Quito, Ecuador
Manager
Who is Ecuador's manager?
Sebastian Beccacece, never played professional football, instead followed Jorge Sampaoli around as his assistant manager until 2016 when he took on his first managerial role with Universidad de Chile.
Since then he's had three spells at Defensa y Justicia, been Argentina's assistant manager, taken charge of Independiente, Racing Club and Elche. He has been Ecuador's manager since 1 August 2024.
He has impressed since taking over, and led them to a second placed finish in CONMEBOL's qualification, finishing only behind Argentina.
Star player
Who is Ecuador's star player?
Moises Caicedo is the fourth-most expensive Premier League player of all time, and for good reason.
This season, he has been one of the most impressive players across Europe, being one of Chelsea's standout performers, with his all-action midfield displays catching the eye.
Should Ecuador deliver next summer, they'll need a strong defence, and having someone in the shape Caicedo in front of it is always going to help.
