Guayaquil (Ecuador), Jan 26 (EFE) .- Ecuador will leave tomorrow, Thursday, to try to shorten the path to the 2022 Qatar World Cup, at the expense of the undefeated and already qualified Brazil, in the match of the fifteenth date of the South American qualifiers , in the Ecuadorian capital, Quito. While Brazil qualified early, Ecuador will seek to do so in the remaining four dates, since it is third in the standings, with 23 points, six more than Colombia and Peru. The coach of Ecuador, the Argentinian Gustavo Alfaro, is convinced and will try to convince his players that, if they want to shorten the path to Qatar, they will have to beat a big player in the current tie. Although the current moment in Ecuador is not the best due to injuries and infections of a good number of players with covid-19, it will arrive with the historic precedent of having beaten Chile for the first time last November, in qualifying rounds, by 0-2 in Santiago. Alfaro is convinced that, although most of his players are young and are playing their first round, they are willing to face challenges like the one next Thursday which, if they achieve victory, would leave them classified or one point away from achieving it, depending on the other results of the double date. While former local and foreign technicians have suggested, through social networks, that Ecuador should approach its match with extreme defensive care, because a tie would also be valid for its aspirations, Alfaro assured that it will die in its Law: present an offensive proposal. Ecuador was cementing, from the first game, the possibility of going to its fourth World Cup, that of Qatar, always going on the attack in each game, as a result of which, it scored 23 goals, behind Brazil, which has 27, but they also converted 13 goals, in 14 games. Although Alfaro is already calm due to the defensive system that he managed to put together, in the last 8 games, he received three goals, when the previous average was 1.75 goals per game, where the young defenders Piero Hincapié, 20 years old, stand out. and Félix Torres, 25. While midfielder Casemiro assured that Brazil will come out with the usual proposal, to be strong and demanding against a respected team, like Ecuador, which is close to qualifying for the World Cup. The Real Madrid midfielder asserted that for Brazil there are no friendly matches or formalities, that the best will always be expected of his team and that, although it is already qualified for the World Cup, the same proposal will continue, match by match, seeking improve as a team. Brazil coach Tite will be without Neymar due to physical problems and will have an attack made up of Real Madrid strikers Vinicius Júnior and Atlético striker Matheus Cunha. It will be the second time that Brazil will expose the undefeated in a tie against Ecuador, in Quito, because in November 2004, they lost 1-0 with a goal by Edison Méndez, for the twelfth round of the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Probable alignments: Ecuador: Alexander Dominguez; Ángelo Preciado, Félix Torres, Piero Hincapié, Pervis Estupiñán; Carlos Gruezo, Alan Franco, Moises Caicedo, Gonzalo Plata; Enner Valencia and Michael Estrada. Coach: Gustavo Alfaro. Brazil: Alisson; Emerson, Eder Militao, Thiago Silva, Alex Sandro; Casemiro, Fred, Rafinha, Philippe Coutinho; Vinicius Júnior and Matheus Cunha. Coach: Tite Referee: Wilmar Roldán, from Colombia, assisted by his compatriots Alexander Guzmán and Jhon León. VAR: Leodán González, from Uruguay, assisted by his compatriot Nicolás Tarán. Stadium: “Rodrigo Paz Delgado”, owned by Liga de Quito. Time: 4:00 p.m. local time (9:00 p.m. GMT). EFE rm/sm/og
Ecuador for shortening the road to Qatar at the expense of undefeated Brazil
