The Ecuador national team and the next opponent: Bolivia, a disaster that vegetates in the qualifications

Bolivia’s qualification for the World Cup in the United States in 1994, the penultimate in the 20th century (they also played in Uruguay in 1930 and Brazil in 1950, but without competing in any qualifying round) can be considered as an isolated case and increasingly distant in time. An inimitable and brilliant generation led by Marco Antonio Devil Etcheverry, with good support from Erwin platinum Sanchez, Milton Melgar, Ramiro Chocolate Castillo, Julio César Baldivieso, William Ramallo, Marco Antonio Sandy, among others, and directed by Xabier Azkargorta, there is no comparison to what followed.

Bolivia is not struggling and just vegetating in the Conmebol qualifiers so far in the new millennium. He gets beaten at home and as a guest, at 3,600 meters above sea level in La Paz, he is no longer scary, and in that process he started with two consecutive victories and is at the bottom of the ranking. They have no good players (their captain and ‘star’ is 36-year-old Marcelo Martins Moreno, who has no foothold either in his national team or in his club Independiente del Valle).

And as it almost always happens, before the start of the World Cup, complaints about corruption from the same managers or former leaders arrive in the Federation of that country. After the beatings they received from Brazil (5-1) and Argentina (3-0), they are the last at the Hernando Siles Stadium, without Lionel Messi, today another coach is on the verge of being fired who cannot get results from him. poor human material which has Bolivian football. It is about the Argentinian Gustavo Costas, who won the national championship with Barcelona in 2012.

‘Too bad’

Costas was strict with his students at the press conference. “You have to ask people for forgiveness, because you have to be ashamed of such a loss. You can’t lose like that. Of everything we planned, we did nothing. Our legs were shaking, we could not make a passage. We can’t let people down like that. It seemed that we were suffering from the altitude, not them (Albiceleste),” the Bolivian coach said angrily.

But being knocked out early in the qualifying rounds, penultimate or last at the end of these rounds and becoming a team that no one respects, that everyone has in their calculations with an easily beatable opponent, is not new for Bolivia and his country squad.

Not counting the current one, in which it started disastrously and it is already felt that there will be no progress and chances for placement, in the five qualifying rounds so far, all in the 21st century, the green team was almost a filler in the pre-world competition of the Conmebol region.

Japan-South Korea 2002

For example, on the Japan-South Korea tour on the fourth date, they were at the bottom and were never above seventh place, among ten representatives. And there, in that box, his participation ended. Out of 18 matches, Bolivia won only four, and in La Paz they were beaten by Ecuador with a devastating 5-1.

Around 2006, another fiasco

On the way to Germany in 2006, in fourteen of the 18 days, the Bolivian team was in the bottom of the standings. They finished as the worst of all, tenth, again with four wins. Ecuador defeated the greens 2-1 on the road.

Papa Ecuador

In the qualifying round for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Bolivia never finished higher than eighth place and finished the tournament second to last. As usual, he could only win four of his 18 presentations. At Hernando Siles, La Tricolor once again abused their client by winning 3-1.

Only two wins

Sixth was currently Bolivia’s best finish in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers in which Brazil, the host nation, did not participate. At the end of the qualification, the Bolivians were ninth and with this sad partial statistic; two wins in 16 days. That time in La Paz there was a 1-1 draw with Ecuador.

Weak local

For Conmebol qualifiers for Russia 2018, several figures from Bolivia have been repeated, compared to previous presentations. That team was penultimate in the table and out of 18 games they won only four. At home, he could not beat Ecuador, who added thanks to a 2-2 draw.

The last failure

On the way to Qatar 2022, Bolivia had another miserable performance. penultimate. Again four wins and eleven losses in 18 games. And with Ecuador it was bread to deliver again as La Tri defeated those from the Altiplano 3-2 on their stage. 3600 meters of La Paz had no effect.

In the ongoing World Cup, Ecuador will visit Bolivia, on the third date, with the intention of adding their first points after paying the three owed following the CAS sanction for the Byron Castillo case. (D)

South American qualifiers 2026