# Ecuador at the FIFA World Cup

The Ecuador national football team has appeared at four FIFA World Cups, the world's premier football tournament for national football teams. Ecuador's first participation in the World Cup was in 2002. Their best performance was in 2006, where they were eliminated in the round of 16.

## Qualification history

From 1930 to 1938, Ecuador refrained from FIFA World Cup qualification tournaments. Its first entry was the 1950 qualifiers tournament, but withdrew from qualification. Ecuador did not enter the 1954 and 1958 tournaments. From 1962 to 1998, Ecuador failed to qualify for the world's premier football tournament. They earned their first qualification in 2002 after finishing 2nd in South America. The qualification for the second tournament in 2006 was achieved after finishing 3rd in South America. Ecuador finished 6th in South America but did not qualify for a third consecutive World Cup qualification tournament. Ecuador returned at the 2014 qualifier edition before they were eliminated from 2018 edition.
| Year | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1930 | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter |
| 1934 | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter |
| 1938 | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter |
| 1950 | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew |
| 1954 | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter |
| 1958 | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter |
| 1962 | 2 in Group 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 11 | −8 | 0 |
| 1966 | 3 in Group 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 10 | −6 | 2 |
| 1970 | 3 in Group 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 1 |
| 1974 | 3 in Group 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 2 |
| 1978 | 3 in Group 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 9 | −8 | 1 |
| 1982 | 2 in Group 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 3 |
| 1986 | 3 in Group 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 11 | −7 | 1 |
| 1990 | 3 in Group 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 3 |
| 1994 | 4 in Group 2 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 5 |
| 1998 | 6 | 16 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 22 | 21 | +1 | 21 |
| 2002 | 2 | 18 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 23 | 20 | +3 | 31 |
| 2006 | 3 | 18 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 23 | 19 | +4 | 28 |
| 2010 | 6 | 18 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 22 | 26 | −4 | 23 |
| 2014 | 4 | 16 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 20 | 16 | +4 | 25 |
| 2018 | 8 | 18 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 26 | 29 | −3 | 20 |
| 2022 | 4 | 18 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 27 | 19 | +8 | 26 |
| Total | N/A | 161 | 54 | 38 | 69 | 194 | 218 | −24 | - |

## World Cup record

Although Ecuador has advanced past the group stage only once, nonetheless they have managed to win at least one match in each tournament they participated in. In three of the four World Cups Ecuador has played, they were coached by Colombian managers.
FIFA World Cup finals record :
| Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA |
| 1930 | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter |
| 1934 | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter |
| 1938 | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter |
| 1950 | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew |
| 1954 | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter |
| 1958 | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter |
| 1962 | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 1966 | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 1970 | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 1974 | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 1978 | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 1982 | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 1986 | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 1990 | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 1994 | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 1998 | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 2002 | Group stage | 24th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 2006 | Round of 16 | 12th | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 4 |
| 2010 | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 2014 | Group stage | 17th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| 2018 | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 2022 | Group stage | 18th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| 2026 | to be determined | to be determined | to be determined | to be determined | to be determined | to be determined | to be determined | to be determined |
| 2030 | to be determined | to be determined | to be determined | to be determined | to be determined | to be determined | to be determined | to be determined |
| 2034 | to be determined | to be determined | to be determined | to be determined | to be determined | to be determined | to be determined | to be determined |
| Total | Round of 16 | 4/25 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 14 | 14 |

## 2002 FIFA World Cup

Ecuador qualified for their first FIFA World Cup by finishing second in the CONMEBOL qualification tournament, finishing ahead of Brazil. Ecuador were drawn into Group G, alongside Mexico, Italy, and Croatia.
Ecuador made a losing World Cup debut against worldpowers Italy, falling 2–0 by courtesy of a Christian Vieri double. Their next match against Mexico went better, but ended in their 2–1 defeat. Agustín Delgado scored for Ecuador's first ever World Cup goal and put them ahead, but goals from Jared Borgetti and Gerardo Torrado canceled the early strike and effectively eliminated them from the tournament. A second-half goal from Édison Méndez did seal a 1–0 consolation win in the final match against Croatia. Although they finished the tournament last in their group, they managed to eliminate Croatia, previous third-place in 1998 World Cup, from the competition.

## 2006 FIFA World Cup

Ecuador qualified for their second FIFA World Cup by finishing third in the CONMEBOL qualification tournament. They were drawn into Group A, alongside hosts Germany, Poland, and Costa Rica.
Ecuador campaign got off with a shock 2–0 win against Poland in their first game in Gelsenkirchen, with goals from Carlos Tenorio and Agustín Delgado. They then beat Costa Rica 3–0 in Hamburg with goals coming from Carlos Tenorio, Agustín Delgado, and Iván Kaviedes. The win advanced them to the next round. Their qualification complete, they rested key players against the hosts Germany and were beaten 3–0. Ecuador finished second in Group A behind Germany and faced England in the Round of 16. A second-half free-kick from David Beckham was the only goal of the game, which eliminated Ecuador from the World Cup.

## 2014 FIFA World Cup

Ecuador qualified for their third FIFA World Cup by finishing fourth in the CONMEBOL qualification tournament. Ecuador was drawn into Group E, alongside France, Honduras and Switzerland.
Ecuador played its first match in Brasília, capital of Brazil. Enner Valencia scored the first goal of the match for Ecuador against Switzerland, but the squad happened to allow the European team to win 2–1. In the second match, played in the city of Curitiba, Honduras scored the first goal, but Enner Valencia scored twice, giving Ecuador its first victory at the 2014 World Cup. The last match of the group was played in Rio de Janeiro against France, but nobody scored any goal, despite Ecuador captain Antonio Valencia getting sent off in the 50th minute. These results, however, were not enough to make the country qualify to the next phase of the tournament.

## 2022 FIFA World Cup
### Group stage

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Netherlands | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 7 | Advanced to knockout stage |
| 2 | Senegal | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 6 | Advanced to knockout stage |
| 3 | Ecuador | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 4 | |
| 4 | Qatar (H) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 7 | −6 | 0 | |
| Num | Pos | Player | Date of birth (age) | Club | Minutes played | Minutes played | Minutes played | Minutes played |
| Num | Pos | Player | Date of birth (age) | Club | QAT | NED | SEN | Total |
| 1 | GK | Hernán Galíndez | (1987-03-30)March 30, 1987 (aged 35) | Aucas | 90 | 90 | 90 | 270 |
| 2 | DF | Félix Torres | (1997 -01-11)January 11, 1997 (aged 25) | Santos Laguna | 90 | 90 | 90 | 270 |
| 3 | DF | Piero Hincapié | (2002-01-09)January 9, 2002 (aged 20) | Bayer 04 Leverkusen | 90 | 90 | 90 | 270 |
| 4 | DF | Robert Arboleda | (1991-10-22)October 22, 1991 (aged 31) | São Paulo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | MF | José Cifuentes | (1999-03-12)March 12, 1999 (aged 23) | Los Angeles FC | 13 | 0 | 45 | 58 |
| 6 | DF | Willian Pacho | (2001-10-16)October 16, 2001 (aged 21) | Royal Antwerp | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | DF | Pervis Estupiñán | (1998-01-21)January 21, 1998 (aged 24) | Brighton & Hove Albion | 90 | 90 | 90 | 270 |
| 8 | MF | Carlos Gruezo | (1995-04-19)April 19, 1995 (aged 27) | Augsburg | 0 | 0 | 45 | 45 |
| 9 | MF | Ayrton Preciado | (1994-07-17)July 17, 1994 (aged 28) | Santos Laguna | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | Romario Ibarra | (1994-09-24)September 24, 1994 (aged 28) | Pachuca | 68 | 1 | 0 | 69 |
| 11 | FW | Michael Estrada | (1996-04-07)April 7, 1996 (aged 26) | Cruz Azul | 90 | 74 | 64 | 228 |
| 12 | GK | W. Moisés Ramírez | (2000-09-09)September 9, 2000 (aged 22) | Independiente del Valle | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | FW | Enner Valencia | (1989-11-04)November 4, 1989 (aged 33) | Fenerbahçe | 77 | 90 | 90 | 257 |
| 14 | DF | Xavier Arreaga | (1994-09-28)September 28, 1994 (aged 28) | Seattle Sounders FC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | Ángel Mena | (1988-01-21)January 21, 1988 (aged 34) | León | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | Jeremy Sarmiento | (2002-06-16)June 16, 2002 (aged 20) | Brighton & Hove Albion | 22 | 16 | 45 | 83 |
| 17 | DF | Angelo Preciado | (1998-02-18)February 18, 1998 (aged 24) | Genk | 90 | 90 | 85 | 265 |
| 18 | DF | Diego Palacios | (1999-07-12)July 12, 1999 (aged 23) | Los Angeles FC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | Gonzalo Plata | (2000-11-01)November 1, 2000 (aged 22) | Real Valladolid | 90 | 90 | 90 | 270 |
| 20 | MF | Jhegson Méndez | (1997-04-26)April 26, 1997 (aged 25) | Los Angeles FC | 90 | 90 | 0 | 180 |
| 21 | MF | Alan Franco | (1998-08-21)August 21, 1998 (aged 24) | Talleres (C) | 1 | 0 | 45 | 46 |
| 22 | GK | Alexander Domínguez | (1987-06-05)June 5, 1987 (aged 35) | LDU Quito | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | Moisés Caicedo | (2001-11-02)November 2, 2001 (aged 21) | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 90 | 90 | 270 |
| 24 | FW | Djorkaeff Reasco | (1999-01-18)January 18, 1999 (aged 23) | Newell's Old Boys | 0 | 0 | 26 | 26 |
| 25 | DF | Jackson Porozo | (2000-08-04)August 4, 2000 (aged 22) | ES Troyes AC | 0 | 90 | 5 | 95 |
| 26 | FW | Kevin Rodríguez | (2000-03-04)March 4, 2000 (aged 22) | Imbabura SC | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Manager: Gustavo Alfaro |

## Player records
### Most matches

| Rank | Player | Matches | World Cups |
| 1 | Édison Méndez | 8 | 2002, 2006 and 2014 |
| 2 | Ulises de la Cruz | 7 | 2002 and 2006 |
| 2 | Antonio Valencia | 7 | 2006 and 2014 |
| 4 | Agustín Delgado | 6 | 2002 and 2006 |
| 4 | Iván Hurtado | 6 | 2002 and 2006 |
| 4 | Iván Kaviedes | 6 | 2002 and 2006 |
| 4 | Carlos Tenorio | 6 | 2002 and 2006 |
| 4 | Edwin Tenorio | 6 | 2002 and 2006 |
| 4 | Jorge Guagua | 6 | 2006 and 2014 |
| 4 | Enner Valencia | 6 | 2014 and 2022 |

### Most goals

| Player | Goals | 2002 | 2006 | 2014 | 2022 |
| Enner Valencia | 6 | - | - | 3 | 3 |
| Agustín Delgado | 3 | 1 | 2 | - | - |
| Carlos Tenorio | 2 | - | 2 | - | - |
| Iván Kaviedes | 1 | - | 1 | - | - |
| Édison Méndez | 1 | 1 | - | - | - |
| Moisés Caicedo | 1 | - | - | - | 1 |
| Total | 14 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 4 |