‘Ecuador is ready to compete with anyone, now we will try to beat Uruguay’, says Francisco Egas, president of the FEF, after La Tri’s defeat by Argentina

The Ecuador national football team suffered a setback in their South American qualifying debut against Argentina 1-0 with a goal from Lionel Messi. It was in the 78th minute of the second half when the Rosario star scored a great free kick to give the Albiceleste 3 points.

Despite the heavy defeat, the Tricolori left a good image in the match held in Buenos Aires. The Ecuadorian team was strong in defense and equalized in the last 12 minutes of regular time.

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After the clash between the two teams ended, journalists approached the president of the Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF), Francisco Egas, and expressed his feelings about what La Tri showed on the pitch.

“It was not easy to get three points in this debut”, “A demanding debut against Ecuador” and “Argentina had a hard time finding a way”, are the comments of the Argentine media about the victory over Tri

“Very similar to the last round, in which we played a neat and serious game, but lost because of a dead ball. Ecuador is ready to compete with anyone, now we go to look for three points with Uruguay at home,” said the president.

Furthermore, the Ecuadorian leader highlighted the development that Ecuador has had as a team and the work that has been done not only now, but also since the previous qualifying rounds.

“There is continuity in Ecuador’s performance compared to the last qualifying round and the World Cup. We continue to grow. Today was a very complicated match, we thought so, that was the feeling, but at the same time we were sure that we would make Argentina’s job difficult,” said the FEF president.

At the end, he commented: “Perhaps we didn’t solve a couple of counterattacks well, but it’s the way it is and Argentina was ahead.” (D)

South American qualifiers 2026