Slate o’ Friendlies

Ecuador have a mixed bag of five friendlies currently scheduled before the World Cup. Only two of the matches are against fellow 2006 Cup participants, and none are scheduled to take place within Germany. The United States, for example, has scheduled several friendlies within Germany in an attempt to better acclimate the team to playing in the host country. This is a missed opportunity for Ecuador. However, three of the five friendlies are in Europe. Details after the jump.

On March 1 Ecuador will face the Netherlands in Amsterdam. This is a sweet opportunity for La Tri to face quality competition—the world’s no. 3 side—in a hostile environment. In particular I look forward to seeing how Ecuador handle those crosses into the box toward van Nistlerooy that we know will be coming. This should help in learning to counter the aerial play with which Ecuador is inexperienced.

What’s more, facing tough midfielders like van der Meyde, van der Vaart and Davids (if fit) can only help in preparation for the likes of Michael Ballack.

The remaining friendlies are against FYR Macedonia in Madrid on March 28, Japan in Oita on March 30, Columbia in New Jersey USA on May 24, with a visit to Slovakia slated for May 28 (location TBD).