Ecuador

Written by Dylan Newman

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Ecuador is participating in its first Women’s World Cup after qualifying in December of 2014. The team is currently ranked 48th in the World by FIFA, which is an improvement from the 130th ranking they received in 2013.

 

History of Ecuador’s FIFA World Rankings from FIFA

2010 South American Championship/2011 World Cup Qualifying/2012 Olympic Qualifying

In 2010, the South American Championships, which tripled as World Cup Qualifying and Olympic Qualifying as well, got under way. Ecuador received a hard draw, as they were placed in Group A with Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru. The top two teams in the group would advance to the next stage of the tournament.

Things did not get off to a good start in their first match against Chile, as they found themselves down 1-0 in the second minute. Monica Quinteros notched the game up at one, however, two minutes later in the forty-forth minute, Chile got the go-ahead goal and ended up winning 2-1. Ecuador quickly found themselves down again in their next match, as Peru scored an early goal. However, this time, Ecuador came back as once again, Monica Quinteros scored to notch things back up at one. In the seventy-eighth minute, Valeria Palacios scored for Ecuador and the team held on to win 2-1. Ecuador continued the streak of going down early in their third match versus Bolivia. However, Ecuador’s Joshelyn Sanchez scored in stoppage time, which tied the game up at one at halftime. Sanchez scored another goal in the fifty-third minute, and then Patricia Freire and Quinteros both added one, which lead Ecuador to a 4-3 victory. In Ecuador’s final match against Argentina, they found themselves in third place. Ecuador would need to defeat Argentina by three goals in order to go through. Ingrid Rodriguez of Ecuador scored a fourth minute goal, but that was all that Ecuador could muster, and although Ecuador won, it was the Argentinians celebrating at the end of the match, as they would go through to the next round with Chile (Results taken from Wikipedia due to a lack of traditional sources).

 

 

Group A Standings from Wikipedia

 

2014 South American Championship/2015 World Cup Qualifying/2016 Olympic Qualifying

Again, South America decided to use one tournament to determine who would be playing in the 2015 World Cup and in the 2016 Olympics. Ecuador once again received a difficult group, as they were drawn with Colombia, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Peru. The top two participants would move to the final round of qualification.

Ecuador played their fist match in September 2014 against Peru, a team that they had defeated last cycle. The game was deadlocked for the first half, but in the eighty-fourth minute, Adriana Barre scored the game winner for Ecuador as they won 1-0. Ecuador continued its successful streak in its next match against Venezuela. Erika Vazquez scored as Ecuador again won 1-0. However, this streak came to an end when Ecuador went up against Colombia, who also had six points after two games. Colombia shut Ecuador out 1-0, vaulting themselves to the top spot, and making Ecuador sweat out the final match. In the final match of the Group Stage, Ecuador were safe to the next round only if they could lose by less than four goals to Uruguay. If Uruguay won by three or more, Ecuador would once again have their dreams come crashing down. Uruguay found themselves up 2-0 after the fifty-sixth minute, meaning that if they scored one more and shut out Ecuador, Uruguay would be through to the next round. This put Ecuador on the ropes, but luckily for them, Gianna Lattanzio scored in the eighty-seventh minute, which secured Ecuador a place in the final round as they lost 2-1.

 

Group A Standings from Wikipedia

 

In the final round, Ecuador were placed with Group A winner Colombia, Group B winner Brazil, and Group B runner-up Argentina. The top two teams would automatically qualify for the World Cup and the Olympics, while the third placed team would have to play CONCACAF’s fourth place team for a spot in the World Cup. Things did not get underway well for Ecuador as they lost to Brazil 4-0 in their first match. Ecuador then lost to Colombia again, this time 2-1, despite a late Gianna Lattanzio goal. Going into their final match, Ecuador found themselves in last place. Their next opponent, Argentina, had one point, so Ecuador would need to win to place third and go into the play-off. Argentina had other ideas, as two quick goals gave Argentina a 2-0 lead after 30 minutes. Ecuador’s Carina Caicedo scored one goal, so at the half, Ecuador was down 2-1. Then, Ingrid Rodriguez scored a screamer from the edge of the box in the sixtieth minute to equalize, but this was still not enough for Ecuador to advance. Then, after an Ecuador cross hit an opposing Argentina player and the goalie muffed the ball, Ecuador’s Giannina Lattanzio scored a tap in which gave Ecuador the 3-2 victory. This gave Ecuador a third place finish in the group, and a chance to play Trinidad and Tobago for the final spot in the 2015 World Cup (Results taken from Wikipedia due to a lack of traditional sources).

Ecuador 3-Argentina 2 Highlights (Spanish)

Group Standings of Final Round from Wikipedia

In the first round, in Ecuador, Trinidad and Tobago and Ecuador played to a 0-0 tie, meaning everything would be determined the following month in the Port of Spain (in Trinidad and Tobago). The second leg was tied at the half, and also at the end of regulation, as the game went into stoppage time. In stoppage time, Ecuador won a free kick in the attacking half. The ball went to Monica Quinteros and she headed it past Trinidad’s keeper, giving Ecuador the lead.

https://youtu.be/o-yiJPiDC2k?t=10s

Monica Quinteros Goal vs Trinidad and Tobago

This was enough for Ecuador to win, and even more celebration ensued as they had qualified for their first Women’s World Cup.

Ecuador celebrates after defeating Trinidad and Tobago

 

2015 World Cup

Ecuador are given 250:1 odds to win the World Cup this July.

Ecuador were drawn into Group C with Japan, Switzerland, and Cameroon. I predict Ecuador will struggle; however, they could go through as one of the top third place teams if they have a good goal differential. Group C will be a tough one for Ecuador to advance from, but if they do, it will certainly be a shock to many. If they are to advance, Giannina Lattanzio will need to continue to be a threat and Monica Quineros will need to provide some more heroics.

Player to Watch: Monica Quinteros

Photo of Monica Quinteros from El Comercio

Quinteros provided the late game heroics against Trinidad and Tobago, making her a national star. In the 2010 South American Championships, Quinteros scored three goals as Ecuador went out in the first round. In the 2014 South American Championships, Quinteros was held dry and did not score, but made up for that with her stoppage time header in the play-offs (in the video above), which gave Ecuador its first Women’s World Cup birth. Quinteros is certainly unknown (as there are not many articles about her), but I expect her to make strides in the 2015 World Cup and to become more of a household name.

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Works Cited

CONMEBOL. Ecuador 2014 Picture. http://www.conmebol.com/sites/default/files/trifemenina1.jpg

El Comercio. Monica Quinteros Image.  http://www.elcomercio.com/files/article_main/uploads/2014/12/03/547f93214dc36.jpg

Ladbrokes. 2015 World Cup Odds. http://sports.ladbrokes.com/en-gb/Football/Women%27s-World-Cup-2015Football/Women%27s-World-Cup-2015-t210007470

Wikipedia. 2010 South American Women’s Football Championship. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_South_American_Women%27s_Football_Championship

Wikipedia. 2014 South America Women’s Football Championship. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_South_American_Women%27s_Football_Championship

Youtube. Trinidad y Tobago (0) Ecuador (1). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-yiJPiDC2k

Youtube. Trinidad y Tobago 0-1 Ecuador. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnFC9-oyUXI

 

How to cite this article:  “Ecuador” Written by Dylan Newman (2015), World Cup 2015, Soccer Politics Blog, Duke University. http://sites.duke.edu/wcwp/world-cup-guides/world-cup-2015-guide/players-to-watch-at-the-2015-womens-world-cup/ecuador/