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Forecasting the Future of the Ecuador National Football Team
Published: July 1, 2014
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 h...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football
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