Ecuador national football team

Ecuador

Nickname(s)	La Tri (The Tri) La Tricolor (The Tricolors)
Association	Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF)
Confederation	CONMEBOL (South America)
Head coach	Sebastián Beccacece
Captain	Enner Valencia
Most caps	Iván Hurtado (168)
Top scorer	Enner Valencia (43)
Home stadium	Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado
FIFA code	ECU
First colours Second colours Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current	27 (24 October 2024)[1]
Highest	10 (June 2013)
Lowest	71 (November 2017)
First international
Bolivia 1–1 Ecuador  (Bogotá, Colombia; 8 August 1938)
Biggest win
Ecuador 6–0 Peru  (Quito, Ecuador; 22 June 1975)
Biggest defeat
Argentina 12–0 Ecuador  (Montevideo, Uruguay; 22 January 1942)
World Cup
Appearances	4 (first in 2002)
Best result	Round of 16 (2006)
Copa América
Appearances	30 (first in 1939)
Best result	Fourth place (1959, 1993)
CONCACAF Gold Cup
Appearances	1 (first in 2002)
Best result	Group stage (2002)

The Ecuador national football team (Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Ecuador), nicknamed La Tricolor, represents Ecuador in men's international football and is controlled by the Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF). They joined FIFA in 1926 and CONMEBOL a year later.

Discarding an invitation to participate in the inaugural FIFA World Cup held in Uruguay, Ecuador did not make their tournament debut until 2002. After finishing above Brazil and Uruguay in the standings, the qualifying campaign marked the emergence of several players, such as Agustín Delgado, Álex Aguinaga, Iván Hurtado, Ulises de la Cruz and Iván Kaviedes, who would set the stage for Ecuador's achievements in the next decade.^[3] Having reached the Round of 16 in a memorable 2006 World Cup campaign,^[4] they were expected to deliver at the 2007 Copa América but were eliminated in the group stage.^[5] Along with Venezuela, they have not won the continental tournament. La Tri's best performance was fourth in 1959 and 1993, both times on home soil.

Ecuador plays the majority of their home matches at the Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa in Quito.

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 the maiden 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, the I Bolivarian Games were organized, with Ecuador set to take part in the football tournament. On 8 August 1938, they played their first-ever match; a 1–1 draw with Bolivia. Their following game saw the national team earn a 2–1 win against Colombia. Following a 9–1 crushing by Peru and a 5–2 victory over Venezuela, 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]

After finishing fourth at the 1959 South American Championship, the team entered the World Cup qualifiers for the first time. They failed to qualify for 1962 after inflicted defeats by Argentina.

The 1998 World Cup qualifiers saw the format for qualifying in CONMEBOL 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 under Peru and Chile.

Following the appointment of Hernán Darío Gómez for their 2002 World Cup qualifying campaign, Ecuador recorded a historic 1–0 win against Brazil.^[10] A 5–1 win over Bolivia saw la Tricolor only needing a point to qualify for the World Cup. They faced Uruguay, and, after managing to cling onto a 1–1 draw, obtained their spot in the World Cup in East Asia.^[3]

Ecuador started the 2002 World Cup with a 2–0 loss to Italy. Agustín Delgado scored his country's first World Cup goal; he opened the scoring in a 2–1 loss to Mexico.^[11] Despite defeating Croatia, who had achieved third place in the previous tournament, and eliminating the Croats in process, Ecuador placed fourth in Group G and 24th overall.

A disappointing showing at the 2004 Copa América led to the resignation of Gómez, who was replaced by Luis Fernando Suárez. He led them successfully through the latter stages of the qualification process for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, finishing third to make the finals. In Germany, they were drawn into Group A with the hosts, Poland, and Costa Rica. Wins over Poland and Costa Rica earned Ecuador qualification to the knockout stages for the first time.

After a dull 2014 FIFA World Cup, and an unpleasant streak of failing to advance past the group stages of the Copa América, Gustavo Quinteros was hired to help rebuild the national team. Quinteros helped Ecuador reach the quarter-finals of the Copa América Centenario^[12] and started the 2018 World Cup qualifiers strong. They were setback after a loss to Uruguay and finished eighth in the standings.

Gómez was reinstalled to lead Ecuador at the 2019 Copa América. His second stint was short, as he was soon fired after a disastrous tournament, having only earned a point.^[13]

For the qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, as punishment for fielding a player who had a passport with falsified information for Byron Castillo in the previous World Cup qualification cycle. Ecuador were deducted three points and fined CHF 100,000.^[14]

The Ecuador national team plays their home games at the Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa in Quito. Having opened in 1951, it initially had a capacity of 45,000, but was later reduced to 35,724.

The stadium has a running track, which has gone to be one of the most important in South America for events organized by the former International Association of Athletics Federations.^[15]

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 defeated Uruguay at the 1993 Copa América and Brazil at the 2002 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 the 2024 Copa América.^[17][18] However, Ecuador declined to host Copa America in 2022.^[19]

For the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Ecuador played at the Casa Blanca.^{[citation needed]}

The standard Ecuador uniform maintains the colours of the national flag, typically a yellow top, blue shorts, and red socks.^[20] The alternate colours of the uniform are white and blue, this being based on the flag of the Guayas Province. From 1965 to 2020, the crest featured the Andean condor, Ecuador's national bird, above a shield with the country's colors. In January 2020, the Ecuadorian Football Federation announced a rebrand of the logo; a navy blue shield with an "FEF" monogram attempting to "abstractly build a condor".^[21][22]

Kit supplier	Period
Adidas	1985
Credeport	1986–1990
Puma	1991–1992
Reebok	1993–1994
Marathon	1994–present

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

The following players were called up to the squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Bolivia and Colombia on 14 and 19 November 2024, respectively.^[23][24]

Caps and goals current as of 14 November 2024, after the match against  Bolivia.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Hernán Galíndez	(1987-03-30) 30 March 1987 (age 37)	24	0	Huracán
12	1GK	Moisés Ramírez	(2000-09-09) 9 September 2000 (age 24)	6	0	Independiente del Valle
22	1GK	Gonzalo Valle	(1996-02-28) 28 February 1996 (age 28)	0	0	LDU Quito
2	2DF	Joel Ordóñez	(2004-04-21) 21 April 2004 (age 20)	3	0	Club Brugge
3	2DF	Piero Hincapié	(2002-01-09) 9 January 2002 (age 22)	42	3	Bayer Leverkusen
4	2DF	Jhoanner Chávez	(2002-04-25) 25 April 2002 (age 22)	5	0	Lens
5	2DF	Cristian Ramírez	(1994-08-12) 12 August 1994 (age 30)	22	1	Ferencváros
6	2DF	Willian Pacho	(2001-10-16) 16 October 2001 (age 23)	21	2	Paris Saint-Germain
7	2DF	Pervis Estupiñán	(1998-01-21) 21 January 1998 (age 26)	43	4	Brighton & Hove Albion
14	2DF	Xavier Arreaga	(1994-09-28) 28 September 1994 (age 30)	20	1	New England Revolution
	2DF	Félix Torres	(1997-01-11) 11 January 1997 (age 27)	41	5	Corinthians
8	3MF	Carlos Gruezo	(1995-04-19) 19 April 1995 (age 29)	64	1	San Jose Earthquakes
9	3MF	John Yeboah	(2000-06-23) 23 June 2000 (age 24)	11	2	Venezia
10	3MF	Kendry Páez	(2007-05-04) 4 May 2007 (age 17)	17	2	Independiente del Valle
15	3MF	Ángel Mena	(1988-01-21) 21 January 1988 (age 36)	62	8	Pachuca
16	3MF	Jeremy Sarmiento	(2002-06-16) 16 June 2002 (age 22)	24	2	Burnley
17	3MF	Alan Minda	(2003-05-14) 14 May 2003 (age 21)	11	2	Cercle Brugge
19	3MF	Gonzalo Plata	(2000-11-01) 1 November 2000 (age 24)	40	8	Flamengo
20	3MF	Pedro Vite	(2002-03-09) 9 March 2002 (age 22)	3	1	Vancouver Whitecaps
21	3MF	Alan Franco	(1998-08-21) 21 August 1998 (age 26)	45	1	Atlético Mineiro
23	3MF	John Mercado	(2002-06-03) 3 June 2002 (age 22)	2	0	AVS
	3MF	Moisés Caicedo	(2001-11-02) 2 November 2001 (age 23)	50	3	Chelsea
11	4FW	Kevin Rodríguez	(2000-03-04) 4 March 2000 (age 24)	21	2	Union Saint-Gilloise
13	4FW	Enner Valencia (captain)	(1989-11-04) 4 November 1989 (age 35)	94	43	Internacional
18	4FW	Keny Arroyo	(2006-02-14) 14 February 2006 (age 18)	2	0	Independiente del Valle

The following players have been called up during the last twelve months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Gilmar Napa	(2003-01-05) 5 January 2003 (age 21)	0	0	Emelec	v.  Peru, 10 September 2024
GK	Alexander Domínguez	(1987-06-05) 5 June 1987 (age 37)	78	0	LDU Quito	2024 Copa América
GK	Javier Burrai	(1990-10-09) 9 October 1990 (age 34)	1	0	Barcelona	v.  Italy, 24 March 2024
DF	Ángelo Preciado	(1998-02-18) 18 February 1998 (age 26)	46	0	Sparta Prague	v.  Bolivia, 14 November 2024 INJ
DF	Jackson Porozo	(2000-08-04) 4 August 2000 (age 24)	8	0	Leganés	v.  Peru, 10 September 2024
DF	José Hurtado	(2001-12-23) 23 December 2001 (age 22)	9	0	Red Bull Bragantino	2024 Copa América
DF	Layan Loor	(2001-05-23) 23 May 2001 (age 23)	1	0	Universidad Católica	2024 Copa América
DF	Andrés Micolta	(1999-06-06) 6 June 1999 (age 25)	1	0	Pachuca	2024 Copa América
DF	Robert Arboleda	(1991-10-22) 22 October 1991 (age 33)	39	2	São Paulo	v.  Italy, 24 March 2024
DF	Aníbal Chalá	(1996-05-09) 9 May 1996 (age 28)	3	0	Barcelona	v.  Italy, 24 March 2024
DF	Leonardo Realpe	(2001-02-26) 26 February 2001 (age 23)	3	0	Famalicão	v.  Italy, 24 March 2024
DF	Leonel Quiñónez	(1993-07-03) 3 July 1993 (age 31)	1	0	LDU Quito	v.  Chile, 21 November 2023
MF	Óscar Zambrano	(2004-04-20) 20 April 2004 (age 20)	0	0	Hull City	v.  Uruguay, 15 October 2024
MF	Jhegson Méndez	(1997-04-26) 26 April 1997 (age 27)	37	0	São Paulo	v.  Peru, 10 September 2024
MF	Janner Corozo	(1995-09-08) 8 September 1995 (age 29)	5	1	Barcelona	v.  Peru, 10 September 2024
MF	Yaimar Medina	(2004-11-05) 5 November 2004 (age 20)	1	0	Independiente del Valle	v.  Peru, 10 September 2024
MF	Patrickson Delgado	(2003-10-17) 17 October 2003 (age 21)	0	0	FC Dallas	v.  Peru, 10 September 2024
MF	José Cifuentes	(1999-03-12) 12 March 1999 (age 25)	21	0	Aris Thessaloniki	2024 Copa América
MF	Joao Ortiz	(1996-05-01) 1 May 1996 (age 28)	9	0	Independiente del Valle	2024 Copa América
MF	Junior Sornoza	(1994-01-28) 28 January 1994 (age 30)	16	2	Independiente del Valle	v.  Chile, 21 November 2023
FW	Leonardo Campana	(2000-07-24) 24 July 2000 (age 24)	16	0	Inter Miami	v.  Bolivia, 14 November 2024 INJ
FW	Nilson Angulo	(2003-06-19) 19 June 2003 (age 21)	4	0	Anderlecht	v.  Peru, 10 September 2024
FW	Anthony Valencia	(2003-07-21) 21 July 2003 (age 21)	0	0	Antwerp	v.  Peru, 10 September 2024
FW	Jordy Caicedo	(1997-11-18) 18 November 1997 (age 26)	17	3	Sporting Gijón	2024 Copa América
FW	Allen Obando	(2006-06-13) 13 June 2006 (age 18)	2	0	Barcelona	v.  Italy, 24 March 2024
FW	Jhojan Julio	(1998-02-11) 11 February 1998 (age 26)	9	0	LDU Quito	v.  Chile, 21 November 2023
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.

Following the death of Christian Benítez, the Ecuadorian Football Federation retired his jersey number 11 from the national team. According to the Federation's then-president, Luis Chiriboga, to honor Benítez the number would no longer be used by any other team player.^[25] However, due to FIFA regulations, the number had to be reinstated for the 2014 World Cup squad.^[26]

As of 14 November 2024.^[27]

Players in bold are still active with Ecuador.

Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Ecuador career
1	Iván Hurtado	168	4	1992–2014
2	Walter Ayoví	122	8	2001–2017
3	Édison Méndez	112	18	2000–2014
4	Álex Aguinaga	109	23	1987–2004
5	Ulises de la Cruz	101	6	1995–2010
6	Luis Capurro	100	1	1985–2003
7	Antonio Valencia	99	11	2004–2019
8	Enner Valencia	94	43	2012–present
9	Giovanny Espinoza	90	3	2000–2009
10	Segundo Castillo	88	9	2003–2016
	José Francisco Cevallos	88	0	1994–2010

Rank	Player	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Ecuador career
1	Enner Valencia	43	94	0.46	2012–present
2	Agustín Delgado	31	71	0.44	1994–2006
3	Eduardo Hurtado	26	74	0.35	1992–2002
4	Christian Benítez	25	61	0.41	2005–2013
5	Álex Aguinaga	23	109	0.21	1987–2004
6	Felipe Caicedo	22	68	0.32	2005–2017
7	Édison Méndez	18	112	0.16	2000–2014
8	Raúl Avilés	16	55	0.29	1987–1993
	Iván Kaviedes	16	57	0.28	1996–2012
10	Ariel Graziani	15	34	0.44	1997–2000

FIFA World Cup record											Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Did not enter										Declined invitation
1934											Did not enter
1938
1950	Withdrew										Withdrew
1954	Did not enter										Did not enter
1958
1962	Did not qualify										2	0	0	2	3	11
1966											5	2	1	2	7	7
1970											4	0	1	3	2	8
1974											4	0	2	2	3	8
1978											4	0	1	3	1	9
1982											4	1	1	2	2	5
1986											4	0	1	3	2	8
1990											4	1	1	2	4	5
1994											8	1	3	4	7	7
1998											16	6	3	7	22	21
2002	Group stage	24th	3	1	0	2	2	4	Squad		18	9	4	5	23	20
2006	Round of 16	12th	4	2	0	2	5	4	Squad		18	8	4	6	23	19
2010	Did not qualify										18	6	5	7	22	26
2014	Group stage	17th	3	1	1	1	3	3	Squad		16	7	4	5	20	16
2018	Did not qualify										18	6	2	10	26	29
2022	Group stage	18th	3	1	1	1	4	3	Squad		18	7	5	6	27	19
2026	Qualification in progress										11	5	4	2	10	4
2030	To be determined										To be determined
2034
Total	Round of 16	4/22	13	5	2	6	14	14	—		172	59	42	71	204	222

  Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place  

South American Championship / Copa América record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad
1916	Not a CONMEBOL member
1917
1919
1920
1921
1922
1923
1924
1925
1926
1927	Did not participate
1929
1935
1937
1939	Fifth place	5th	4	0	0	4	4	18	Squad
1941		5th	4	0	0	4	1	21	Squad
1942	Seventh place	7th	6	0	0	6	4	31	Squad
1945		7th	6	0	1	5	9	27	Squad
1946	Withdrew
1947	Sixth place	6th	7	0	3	4	3	17	Squad
1949	Seventh place	7th	7	1	0	6	7	21	Squad
1953		7th	6	0	2	4	1	13	Squad
1955	Sixth place	6th	5	0	0	5	4	22	Squad
1956	Withdrew
1957	Seventh place	7th	6	0	1	5	7	23	Squad
1959	Withdrew
1959	Fourth place	4th	4	1	1	2	5	9	Squad
1963	Sixth place	6th	6	1	2	3	14	18	Squad
1967	Did not qualify
1975	Group stage	9th	4	0	1	3	4	10	Squad
1979		9th	4	1	0	3	4	7	Squad
1983		9th	4	0	2	2	4	10	Squad
1987		8th	2	0	1	1	1	4	Squad
1989		7th	4	1	2	1	2	2	Squad
1991		7th	4	1	1	2	6	5	Squad
1993	Fourth place	4th	6	4	0	2	13	5	Squad
1995	Group stage	9th	3	1	0	2	2	3	Squad
1997	Quarter-finals	5th	4	2	2	0	5	2	Squad
1999	Group stage	11th	3	0	0	3	3	7	Squad
2001		9th	3	1	0	2	5	5	Squad
2004		12th	3	0	0	3	3	10	Squad
2007		11th	3	0	0	3	3	6	Squad
2011		10th	3	0	1	2	2	5	Squad
2015		10th	3	1	0	2	4	6	Squad
2016	Quarter-finals	8th	4	1	2	1	7	4	Squad
2019	Group stage	11th	3	0	1	2	2	7	Squad
2021	Quarter-finals	8th	5	0	3	2	5	9	Squad
2024		8th	4	1	2	1	5	4	Squad
Total	Fourth place	30/38	130	17	28	85	139	331	—

Pan American Games record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1951	Did not participate
1955
1959
1963
1967
1971
1975
1979
1983
1987
1991
1995	Group stage	9th	3	1	0	2	6	10
Since 1999	See Ecuador national under-23 football team
Total	Group stage	1/12	3	1	0	2	6	10

Below is a result summary of all matches Ecuador have played against FIFA recognized teams.^[28]

As of 14 November 2024

  Positive Record   Neutral Record   Negative Record

Opponents	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Argentina	41	5	12	24	36	99	–63	12.20%
Armenia	1	1	0	0	3	0	+3	100%
Australia	3	2	0	1	7	7	0	66.67%
Belarus	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	0%
Bolivia	39	21	12	6	75	39	+36	53.85%
Brazil	36	2	6	28	24	99	–75	5.56%
Bulgaria	2	1	0	1	4	3	+1	50%
Cameroon	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0%
Canada	4	2	2	0	6	3	+3	50%
Cape Verde	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100%
Chile	54	12	13	29	54	99	–45	22.22%
China	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0%
Colombia	49	13	13	23	44	54	–10	26.53%
Costa Rica	12	6	5	1	22	10	+12	50%
Croatia	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100%
Cuba	4	0	2	2	1	3	–2	0%
El Salvador	10	7	2	1	31	8	+23	70%
England	3	0	1	2	2	5	–3	0%
Estonia	2	2	0	0	3	1	+2	100%
Finland	1	1	0	0	3	1	+2	100%
France	2	0	1	1	0	2	–2	0%
FR Yugoslavia	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100%
Germany	2	0	0	2	2	7	–5	0%
Greece	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	0%
Guatemala	10	5	3	2	11	4	+7	50%
Haiti	6	4	0	2	12	6	+6	66.67%
Honduras	19	7	9	3	24	18	+6	36.84%
Hungary	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100%
Iran	3	1	2	0	3	2	+1	33.33%
Iraq	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0%
Italy	3	0	1	2	1	5	–4	0%
Jamaica	5	3	2	0	7	2	+5	60%
Japan	4	0	2	2	1	5	–4	0%
Jordan	1	0	0	1	0	3	–3	0%
Kuwait	1	1	0	0	3	0	+3	100%
Lebanon	1	0	0	1	0	1	–1	0%
Libya	1	0	0	1	0	1	–1	0%
Mexico	25	4	7	14	24	40	–16	16%
Netherlands	3	0	2	1	2	3	–1	0%
Nigeria	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100%
North Macedonia	1	0	0	1	1	2	–1	0%
Oman	3	1	1	1	2	2	0	33.33%
Panama	9	6	2	1	20	4	+16	66.67%
Paraguay	41	12	7	22	52	72	–20	29.27%
Peru	57	18	17	22	71	84	–13	31.58%
Poland	3	1	1	1	4	5	–1	33.33%
Portugal	2	1	0	1	3	5	–2	50%
Qatar	4	2	1	1	8	6	+2	50%
Republic of Ireland	2	0	1	1	3	4	–1	0%
Romania	2	1	0	1	4	3	+1	50%
Scotland	1	0	0	1	1	2	–1	0%
Senegal	2	0	0	2	1	3	–2	0%
Saudi Arabia	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0%
South Korea	2	1	0	1	2	3	–1	50%
Spain	2	0	0	2	0	6	–6	0%
Sweden	2	1	1	0	3	2	+1	50%
Switzerland	1	0	0	1	1	2	–1	0%
Trinidad and Tobago	2	2	0	0	6	1	+5	100%
Turkey	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100%
Uganda	1	0	0	1	1	2	–1	0%
Uruguay	50	8	11	31	46	115	–69	16%
United States	15	5	5	5	12	11	+1	33.33%
Venezuela	33	15	6	12	57	36	+21	45.45%
Zambia	2	2	0	0	5	1	+4	100%
Total (64)	609	182	158	269	706	906	–200	30%

• Bolivarian Games
  • Gold medal (1): 1965
  • Bronze medal (1): 1938

• Canada Cup
  • Champions (1): 1999
• Korea Cup
  • Champions (1): 1995

• Ecuador national under-23 football team
• Ecuador national under-20 football team
• Ecuador national under-17 football team
• Ecuador national futsal team

• Official website (in Spanish)
• Ecuador FIFA profile
• Fútbol Ecuador (in Spanish)