Ecuador’s squad boasts several defensive standouts. Champions League winner Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain, former Bayer Leverkusen man Piero Hincapie of Champions League finalists Arsenal, and Joel Ordonez of Club Brugge—currently attracting interest from top European clubs—form a solid back line. In defensive midfield, Moisés Caicedo—Cucurella’s Chelsea teammate and one of the Premier League’s best holding midfielders—pulls the strings.
Up front, however, the numbers are underwhelming: Ecuador scored only 14 goals in World Cup qualifying, fewer than one per game. That statistic highlights an overreliance on 36-year-old striker Enner Valencia of Mexican side CF Pachuca. The former West Ham and Fenerbahce forward scored six of those 14 goals during qualifying, and he was also Ecuador’s leading scorer in the 2014 and 2022 World Cup campaigns, with three goals in each.
The onus on providing support falls mainly on Gonzalo Plata. The 25-year-old right winger, who plies his trade for Brazilian top-flight side Flamengo, has recently delivered impressive showings in friendlies. Other attacking options include Nilson Angulo (AFC Sunderland), Kendry Paez, who is on loan from Chelsea to River Plate, and John Yeboah (Venezia FC). Yeboah, a Hamburg native who came through VfL Wolfsburg’s youth system, represented German youth sides from the U16s to the U20s. Because his mother is Ecuadorian, he switched allegiances and made his senior debut in spring 2024. In Saturday’s 2-1 friendly win over Saudi Arabia, Yeboah provided two assists.