According to what Uruguayan sports journalists write, this Friday, September 22, is the deadline by which federations should have informed clubs about the reservation of players for the October FIFA schedule in which the Ecuadorian team travels to La Paz for a test against Bolivia and will host Colombia in Quito .

This is a preliminary list of all eligible players, not a final list of 23. This process is also known as ‘blocking’ players and this task is carried out by the technical director of the national team. Marcelo Bielsa, for example, booked 34 players, of which he called up 25 for the first two days of Celeste’s South American qualifiers, which took place on September 8 and 12.

In this context, in the following weeks, the Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF) should announce the selections of coach Félix Sánchez Bas and define the planning of the visit to Bolivia.

On the third day of the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, the Tricolor will host Green at the Hernando Siles Stadium in the city of La Paz on Thursday, October 12, starting at 7:00 p.m. local time (6:00 p.m. Ecuadorian time).

In the fourth round of the World Cup, Ecuador will play at home against Colombia on Tuesday, October 17, at 6:30 p.m. local time at the Rodrigo Paz Delgado stadium in Quito.

“Today is the deadline for notifying clubs and federations of player reservations for the October FIFA date,” Rodrigo Romano, journalist at Teledocs and AUF TV.

This information was confirmed by the editorial office of EL UNIVERSO.

In the first qualifying match for Conmebol, on Thursday, September 7, the Ecuadorians lost to Argentina 1-0 as guests. Sánchez Basa’s side vindicated themselves on Tuesday the 12th with a 2-1 win over Uruguay in Quito.

Ecuador still has no points on the table. The national team started these qualifiers with a FIFA penalty, with -3 for the case of Byron Castillo. (D)