It is not an isolated event, nor is it new. This is common and has been happening since 1964, the year of the first clash against the llaneros in the Copa Libertadores and the first failure against an opponent that was supposed to be crushed. Every time a duel against Venezuelan football appears on the horizon, whether at club or national level, in Ecuador there is talk of “must win”, “imminent triumph”, “historic supremacy”, “if they don’t beat them, it will be a failure”. and other expressions implying underestimation of the opponent. Paradoxically, every phrase uttered with thinly veiled arrogance is preceded by another: “I say this with due respect for that football.”

On November 16, the Tricolor of Félix Sánchez Bas will visit the city of Maturín to play against Venezuela in the fifth round of the 2026 World Cup qualifying round, the penultimate day of the Conmebol 2023 qualifying tournament. La Vinotinto is fourth in the position table, with 7 units, and the National Team is two fields lower, with 4 points.

‘At home, Venezuela have historically been more than Ecuador,’ says Llanero press for the 2026 South American qualifier.

In the last double round, Venezuela surprised by passing as a guest where Ecuador never did. in Brazil drew 1-0 with a goal by Eduardo Bello in the 85th minute. Then, on day four, those from Simón Bolívar’s country defeated Chile and its aging generation with an incredible 3-0 (Yeferson Soteldo, Salomón Rondón and Darwin Machís) at the Estadio Monumental in Maturin.

Ecuador vs. Chile: Ticket sales for the South American qualifiers have begun

Llaneros, quarters

The two results in Venezuela, along with Argentina’s double victory and Brazil’s defeat in Montevideo, gave the World Cup in Conmebol the most media coverage.

With no clear intention of Ecuador to beat Venezuela at home, underestimating the llaneros is not healthy (it cost Barcelona SC, Liga de Quito, El Nacional and Emelec dearly in the Libertadores). The belief in absolute superiority is held by certain sectors of fans and journalists who assume triumphs before the match.

How did Ecuador do when they played in the qualifiers in Venezuela? So.

France in 1998

1. “After the 1997 Copa América in Bolivia, Ecuador dropped two points which ultimately took away any possibility of qualification by allowing a weak Bolivian national team to match them. It was on July 6, 1997 in Maracaibo”, Mauro Velásquez wrote his book Ecuadorian football and its national team in front of 6,000 people. Iván Hurtado opened the scoring in the 55th minute by beating Rafael Dudamel. Gabriel Miranda, who played for Emelec the year before, equalized 15 minutes before the end.

Japan-South Korea 2002

2. On November 15, 2000, Ecuador successfully added another piece to the plane that, after completion, flew to Asia, for the first World Cup in history where the Tricolori played. On that date 23 years ago, the national team defeated Venezuela in the qualifiers in Maracaibo. It was a 2-1 win with goals from Jaime Iván Kaviedes and Wellington Sánchez in the 3rd and 23rd minutes, respectively. Juan García brought down, in the 66th.

Germany 2006

3. At the Pueblo Nuevo Sports Center, San Cristóbal, Ecuador lost its first official qualifying match against visiting Venezuela. On October 14, 2004, those led by Richard Páez won 3-1. The double scorer was llanero Ruberth Morán (72nd and 80th minutes), and Gabriel Urdenate finished the job in the 20th year, with a penalty. Marlon Ayoví temporarily equalized at 1, from the highest penalty in the 41st minute.

South Africa 2010

4. ‘Venezuela tramples Ecuador 3-1’, headlined EL UNIVERSO of the national defeat in Puerto La Cruz, on October 15, 2008, at the 2010 World Cup in front of barely 15,000 spectators in the stadium. General José Anzoátegui. The Tricolori took the lead on the scoreboard through Isaac Mina (10 minutes), but in the second half the “nervous” team, which “lost order and showed a failure of defense” failed to maintain the result and conceded goals from Giancarlo Maldonado. (48 minutes), Alejandro Moreno (56), Juan Arango (67) for a 3-1 defeat against Vinotint.

Brazil 2014

5. On October 16, 2012, Juan Manuel Arango opened the scoring for Venezuela. “A strong left-footed shot beat goalkeeper Alexander Domínguez in the 5th minute, when both teams were coming (…) The equalizer came in the 23rd minute, when Segundo Castillo took a right-footed shot into the box, between the rivals. defenders, and beat goalkeeper Daniel Hernández (1-1),” said this Diario about the 1-1 result on the tenth day of the playoffs.

Russia 2018

6. “Ecuador completed a perfect year during their time qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia by winning their four straight matches. “The Tricolor achieved this historic record with a 3-1 victory against their fellow Venezuelan, at the Cachamay Stadium in Puerto Ordaz,” EL UNIVERSO commented in November 2015 on the extraordinary moment of the national team of Gustavo Quinteros, which began to deflate the following year. Fidel Martínez, Jefferson Montero and Felipe Caicedo scored goals for the Tricolor in the plain; Josef Martínez added a local discount.

Qatar 2022

7. On October 10, 2021, the national team was shipwrecked in the house of the llaneros. “Eduardo Bello’s goal with the help of goalkeeper Moisés Ramírez gave victory to Vinotinto in the second half (64 minutes. Ecuador lost 2-1 without ideas in the field of Venezuela, the last part of the South American qualifying round for the World Cup. Qatar 2022, a result that is far from calculation coach of Tri, Gustavo Alfaro,” this newspaper writes. Enner Valencia put Tri in the lead from the penalty spot at 37, but Darwin Machís soon equalized (45).

In total, Ecuador played Venezuela seven times in the qualifiers as a guest. La Tri won two games, tied one and lost three. On flat pitches, he scored ten goals and conceded twelve. (D)