Ecuador will host Guatemala in a friendly on Thursday at Red Bull Arena in New Jersey in preparation for the Copa America later this year.
It will be the first match of 2024 for La Tri, who defeated Chile 2-1 in a World Cup qualifier last November, while the Guatemalans lost their only match played this year, 1-0 versus Iceland.
Match preview
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Months ahead of the Copa America, Ecuador are in solid form, going unbeaten in their final five World Cup qualifying fixtures of 2023.
That has them well positioned to make consecutive World Cup appearances for the first time since 2002 and 2006, currently sitting fifth in the table, with the top six teams earning an automatic berth in the 2026 finals.
The tenure of Felix Sanchez Bas as manager began poorly, with the former Qatar boss losing a friendly versus Australia 3-1, but things have gone a lot smoother since then, with La Tricolor suffering just one defeat in their last nine competitive fixtures (1-0 defeat to Argentina).
Ecuador did not concede a single goal in their final three fixtures played last year, all of which were CONMEBOL World Cup 2026 qualifying affairs.
Under Sanchez, the Ecuadorians have never lost when leading at the half and have never been behind for a single minute since their 2-1 come-from-behind victory over Uruguay last September.
They are unbeaten in their last seven encounters versus CONCACAF opponents since a 3-2 defeat versus Mexico in 2019, conceding a goal or fewer in every encounter against that region since then.
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La Bicolor will try to regain some confidence this week ahead of their second-round World Cup qualifying campaign, which begins in June.
After an impressive opening to their 2023 CONCACAF Nations League campaign, claiming four points from their first two fixtures, the Guatemalans have gone into a downward spiral.
Luis Fernando Tena's men have lost three of their last four competitive fixtures and were knocked out of the Nations League, while failing to score in three successive matches in all competitions.
Los Mayas are expected to finish in the top two of their World Cup qualification group, which also includes Dominica, the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica.
It has been over 15 years since Guatemala last defeated a side from the CONMEBOL region, beating Bolivia 3-0 in an August 2008 friendly.
They are winless in their last seven meetings against Ecuador, failing to score in six of those outings and have not beaten them since December 1984 (1-0).
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Team News
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Sanchez called up six uncapped players to the Ecuador squad for this upcoming friendly, including Allen Obando, Oscar Zambrano, John Yeboah, Alan Minda, Joel Ordonez and Javier Burrai.
Their record national team goalscorer, Enner Valencia, is the most experienced player chosen for this encounter with 83 caps, Chelsea's Moises Caicedo is two away from 40 and Jose Cifuentes can hit 20 should he see the field on Thursday.
Felix Torres is their leading goalscorer in World Cup qualifying so far, netting twice, Angel Mena scored the winner versus the Chileans, while Alexander Dominguez has posted back-to-back clean sheets.
Jonathan Franco is the only uncapped player selected to the Guatemalan squad for this fixture, while Elmer Cardoza made just his third international appearance in the defeat to Iceland earlier this year, replacing Oscar Santis in the second half.
Alejandro Galindo can reach the half-century mark for caps should he see the field in this one, Carlos Mejia is three away from that mark and Cristian Jimenez is one shy of reaching 20.
Guatemala have not found the back of the net since Oscar Santis and Rubio Rubin scored in a 3-2 Nations League defeat versus Trinidad and Tobago last October.
Ecuador possible starting lineup:
Dominguez; Preciado, Torres, Arboleda, Hincapie; Gruezo, M. Caicedo; Mena, Paez, Sarmiento; Valencia
Guatemala possible starting lineup:
Hagen; Herrera, Pinto, Samayoa, Ruiz; Castellanos, O. Santis, Galindo, Dominguez; Rubin, Lom
We say: Ecuador 1-0 Guatemala
Ecuador have shown tremendous discipline defensively so far in their World Cup qualifying campaign and have done equally well in close games.
In contrast, the Guatemalans are struggling to find consistency throughout a 90-minute contest, which is why we are giving the South Americans the edge.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
