The Ecuador national team has taken off and intends to climb to the top of the CONMEBOL qualification table for the 2026 World Cup (organized by the USA, Mexico and Canada) with a victory over Colombia and definitely shake off the three-point discount due to sanctions by CAS, after the case Byron Castillo.

Tricolor will welcome the coffee growers from 18:30 at the Rodrigo Paz Delgado Stadium, near Quito, where they defeated the visitors with a scandalous score of 6-1 in the last World Cup. For a news agency AFP There are three keys to Colombia, and depending on how Ecuador handles them, they could take the lead towards the 2026 World Cup.

1. Winning mentality

According to AFPhad it not been for the penalty applied by TAS to the Ecuadorian team, due to the improper inclusion of Byron Castillo in the last qualifying round, the team of Spain’s Félix Sánchez would have been third with six points, not seventh in the qualifying competition.

Ecuador prefers not to cry over spilled milk. The players “continue with energy and the boys want more and that’s the right mentality” to turn around a bitter start to the World Cup, strategist Sánchez said after the win over Bolivia. Absent in Qatar 2022, Colombia began a road of reconciliation with the ball. With two draws and one win, the unbeaten northern team sit third in the tie with five points, behind powerhouses Argentina (9) and Brazil (7).

2. Precious stones

Ecuador has two consecutive victories, against Uruguay and Bolivia, both 2-1. In the first match, they lost 1-0 against Argentina, but in the midst of the defeat, the young gems of the Ecuadorian national team shone.

On its way, Colombia will come across several gems that make Ecuador’s game more attractive and complicate the opponent. Moisés Caicedo, at the age of 21, stood out with his mark on the Argentine star Lionel Messi. His physical strength and quickness of feet guaranteed him an important place in the team.

Then Kendry Páez broke the record against Bolivia. At the age of 16, he became the youngest player to score in a Conmebol match. Sánchez prefers to look at the present and its stars, not failing to recognize the success Ecuador has had before against the coffee growers, such as when they beat them 6-1 at home.

“It was a great victory, an important victory, but it has nothing to do with what will happen tomorrow. The past is the past,” Sánchez told reporters this Monday. The coach refers to the fact that both teams had internal changes that strengthened them. It will be a “difficult game,” predicted Sánchez, admitting that Colombia “have people at the top who are very unbalanced.”

3. The awakening of the giant

At the age of 32, James Rodríguez returned to the Colombian national team in style. After being in the shadows since 2019, the midfielder came to terms with the ball by opening the scoring in the match against Uruguay.

Although the match against Charrú left a bitter taste in the coffee growers’ minds because of the 2-2 draw at the end of regular time, it removed the doubts that weighed on the fans about Rodríguez’s potential. “James is getting better and better. He is recovering his level,” said Argentine coach Néstor Lorenzo after the match with the Uruguayans.

The concern of the strategist is now the absence of Santiago Arias, who was left out due to “the blow he suffered in the game against Uruguay” and that “prevents him from being physically fit”, the Colombian Football Federation said in a statement. .

The Colombians will also not have their goalkeeper Camilo Vargas ruled out. Despite these absences, Sánchez pointed out that his rival “is a team that has very good players and the proposal is very attractive.” (D)