Ecuador will play the fourth World Cup in its history in Qatar

Quito, 24 Mar The Ecuadorian national team certified its direct qualification for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar this Thursday despite losing 3-1 to Paraguay in Asunción and will play for the fourth time in its history a World Cup. Concerned about the game played against the Guaraní team, the Ecuadorian fans showed a measured joy for the qualifying on Thursday, obtained thanks to the triumphs of Uruguay over Peru (1-0) and Brazil's over Chile (4-0). On a night spent by water, few Ecuadorian fans took to the streets of Quito to celebrate the qualifying, although the celebration could not hide the sense of concern left in Asunción by the team led by Gustavo Alfaro. The two downpours recorded in Quito and Guayaquil, the main cities of the country, only nuanced the unrest and restricted the expected hubbub. At the end of the first half, when Ecuador was already losing 2-0, the fans migrated their vision to the broadcast of the other matches to end up encouraging, calculating in hand, Uruguay and Brazil. Only the penalty goal scored in the final minutes by Jordy Caicedo made the Ecuadorian fans momentarily return their attention in the Tricolor match, before returning to the Montevideo Centennial and Maracana matches to breathe easy once the end of both matches were decreed. Before winning its direct quota for Qatar, the Tricolor was present at the 2002 World Championships in Korea and Japan, Germany 2006 and Brazil 2014, which means that the Ecuadorian team has qualified for four of the last six World Cup events. Since the historic qualification for the 2002 World Cup, the Ecuadorian national team has missed only the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and Russia 2018, the last one contested. In Qatar, the Tri will have the mission of passing the round of 16 and thus surpassing the best result obtained so far in the history of this tournament. Ecuador's world cup debut came in the first edition of the 21st century tournament, where Tricolor could not make it out of the group stage by losing to Italy (2-0) and Mexico (2-1) and winning the last match to Croatia (1-0). The Ecuadorian national team's first goal in the world championships was scored by Agustín Delgado against Mexico, while the first win was given by Édison Méndez, when he scored the only winning goal in Croatia. From Germany 2006 come the best memories of the Ecuadorian team in the World Cup, as they reached the round of 16 in an intense match against England that they lost 1-0 with a goal by David Beckham in a free kick. In the group stage of that World Cup, Ecuador finished second in Group A with 6 points by beating Poland (0-2) and beating Costa Rica (3-0), while in the last meeting of the group stage it surrendered to Germany (3-0). In this event, not only Delgado but also Tenorio shone with his own light, who scored between the two four goals, while the remaining was the work of Iván Kaviedes. Ecuador's latest World Cup precedent dates back to Brazil 2014, where Tricolor could not make it out of the group stage either, finishing third in Group E with 4 points. The Ecuadorian national team's only triumph in that World Cup was against El Salvador (1-2) with a double from Énner Valencia, while it lost to Switzerland (2-1), where Valencia also scored again, and scoreless draw with France. CHIEF fa-fgg/car