Amistosos: A Loooong Assessment

Ecuador has played its last pre-Cup friendly, and will now only train in Bad Kissingen until the June 9 match against Poland. Today we take a look back at La Tri’s last four friendly encounters and try to divine some meaning from them.

One thing that will be obvious is that Ecuador did not win any of these matches. That’s not good, although clearly winning is not always the most important objective when it comes to friendlies.

Another thing that worries me is that, although it’s true the lineup was never the same from game to game, the team did not to my eyes improve much from one outing to the next. At any rate, here’s a look at the last four matches.

Netherlands 1-0 Ecuador

On March 1 Ecuador lost to the Netherlands 0-1 in a match played in a cold and snowy Amsterdam. Neither squad was at full strength. The first half was fairly even, with Ecuador out-shooting their hosts in the first 45 minutes. Early in the second half, Dirk Kuyt put the Dutch up for good with a nice strike off of a high cross. Aerial play is a particular concern for Ecuador, and this goal neatly amplifies that concern.

Ecuador’s lineup was as follows:
Mora
De la Cruz, Ezpinoza, Hurtado (Guagua 73’), Reasco
M. Ayovi (Calderon 82’), Urrutia, Mendez, Valencia (Castillo 68’)
Benitez (Lara 46’), C. Tenorio (borja 68’)

Mora made several great saves as the match wore on, but his clearances were terrible. And despite the lack of goals, Benitez and Lara must have impressed Coach Suarez with their work rates n the first and second halves respectively.

On the whole, not a bad result. It’s difficult for any team to beat the Dutch in Amsterdam, much less a depleted side that has very little experience in Europe. All in all, a good start to things.

Japan 1-0 Ecuador

On March 30, in Oita, Japan, an 85th-minute goal from Sato gave the hosts the win. Japan coach Zico’s late-game substitution patterns paid off, and a defensive breakdown from Marlon Ayovi allowed the game winner.

Ecuador’s lineup was as follows:
Mora
Cortes, Perlaza, Espinoza, George
Soledispa, E. Tenorio, Avyovi, Urritia
Baldeon, Calderon

With that lineup, I was impressed at the time with the 1-0 scoreline. Definitely a depleted squad. So, not a whole lot to take away, but what I did was mostly positive.

Ecuador 1-1 Colombia

This match was played in the United States on May 24, and was the only one of these four matches that I personally attended. Colombia is a pretty good squad for not being in the World Cup this go-‘round. This was a game that Ecuador could and should have won, but I thought there were too many passing breakdowns from the back to midfield, and from midfield to the front. This, of course, is a trend that cannot continue.

Ecuador’s lineup was as follows:
Mora
Reasco, Hurtado, Guagua, Ambrosi
Méndez (Lara, 70’), Castillo, E. Tenorio (Urrutia, 78’), Valencia (Saritama, 35’)
Kaviedes (Benítez, 62’), Borja

This was the first friendly played after the release of the official World Cup roster. The most notable part of this lineup was the inclusion of Ivan Kaviedes after a several-month absence from the national team. I personally though Kaviedes showed some real class in the first half, and was unlucky not to score off of a Mendez free kick. I also though that Kaviedes became frustrated as the match wore on, and maybe lacked some game-time fitness.

In goal Mora—who is clearly Suarez’ favorite ‘keeper—again made some nice reaction saves, but several of those had to be spectacular only because Mora put himself in awkward positions. Note to Mora: do not run out towards the corner flag. Please.

Valencia and Castillo played very well, with the latter getting Ecuador’s goal. In defense, Hurtado was a stud, and he never got rattled. Up front, Borja too often seemed lost. Clearly, finishing in general needed to get better.

Ecuador 1-2 Macedonia

Ecuador lost this most recent friendly to Macedonia on May 28 in Madrid. The who and where of this match was surely scheduled to give the team some more last-minute European experience prior to the World Cup where it will face both Germany and Poland. I didn’t get to see all of this game, but that may have been for the better.

Ecuador’s lineup was as follows:
Villafuerte
Reasco, Hurtado, Espinoza (Perlaza 61’), Ambrosi
Ayoví (Guagua 46’), Castillo, Méndez (Urrutia 46’), Valencia (Lara 46’)
C. Tenorio (De la Cruz 64’) Delgado (Kaviedes 46’)

Notable changes here included Villafuerte in goal and the return of striker Agustin Delgado. Villafuerte did not, in my estimation, make a solid case for the starting job. At this point, I’d be very surprised if anyone other than Mora started in goal against Poland.

As for Delgado, it was nice to see him back on the pitch, but to be honest he wasn’t much of a factor. Tenorio on the other hand had a good run of things, and scored a very nice goal. Unfortunately, he was stretchered off of the field in the second half. The latest word is that he will be ready to go against Poland.

There are some grumblings that maybe Suarez should start C. Tenorio and Kaviedes up front, and leave El Tin as a second-half sub. I think that this could work, but I also think that, in the words of Dabney Coleman, you’d have to have balls as big as church bells to bench a healthy Tin.

As for the Macedonia match, a 1-2 loss was not a good sign, although for different reasons than usual. This time, it was the defense that gave Suarez worries as they head into the World Cup. And a mistake from Hurtado in conceding a penalty? Oy.

Conclusion: As I said, it doesn’t look to me as if the team progressed that much from game to game. Part of this of course was the ever-changing lineup. Hopefully Suarez will settle on a lineup soon and stick with it until and unless it proves unworkable. I have my own preferred lineup, but I’ll save that for another post.

At this point, it’s certainly to late to do much experimenting. La Tri need to stick to their guns. Altitude be damned, this team did beat both Brazil and Argentina in qualifying, so they certainly have the ability to advance out of the group. Keep the passing tight, concentrate fully on defense, attack up the side from time to time, and finish well. Easier said than done, but if executed properly for all three games, Ecuador can extend their stay in Germany for a few more days.

If you’re still with me…what do you think?