Ecuador’s soccer team will once again face Chile in the city of Quito in a South American qualifier, but this time they are heading to the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

The two countries met for the first time in a World Cup qualifier on Sunday, August 15, 1965. The match took place at the Modelo Stadium in Guayaquil, and the result ended in a 2-2 draw. Alberto Spencer and Enrique Arturo Raymondi.

Félix Sánchez Bas and compliments of Nicolás Córdova, in-house technician in Chile

In the history of the meeting between the two teams from the capital of Ecuador, the Tricolori maintain hegemony against Red with five wins and three draws. So far, Chile has failed to win against Ecuador in Quito.

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However, the Chileans managed to defeat the national team as guests through the qualification process for the World Cup. In a match corresponding to the qualifying rounds for Argentina 1978, on 27 February 1977, La Tri lost 1–0 against La Roja at the Modelo Alberto Spencer stronghold in Guayaquil.

Since then, Ecuador played at home in Pichincha and did not lose again to Chile in the Conmebol World Cup.

In addition, through all the qualifiers, the Ecuadorian team maintains six wins against La Roja, five of them as a home team and only one as an away team.

A new commitment between both teams will take place in Rodrigo Paz Delgado, on the sixth day of the competition. Both teams need a win to continue on their path to direct qualification to the next World Cup.

Minutes of the match between Ecuador and Chile in Quito:

Mexico in 1986

March 3, 1985: The first game between both teams in the city of Quito. The match was played at the Olympic Stadium of Atahualpa and ended in a 1-1 draw, while Carlos Hans Maldonado scored a penalty for Ecuador.

France in 1998

June 8, 1997: Again on the Olympic field of Atahualpa, La Tri and La Roja tied at 1. Ecuador’s goal was scored by Argentinean Ecuadorian Ariel Graziani.

Korea-Japan 2002

October 8, 2000: First time that Ecuador beat Chile at home in the capital. Agustín Delgado was the scorer of Ecuador’s victory, which managed to save three points with a score of 1-0. This result gave the Tricolors the opportunity to qualify for their first World Cup in their entire history, since participating in the qualifiers since 1965.

Germany 2006

October 10, 2004: In Quito against the Chileans, the Tricolori got stronger again and won. In the complementary phase, Jaime Iván Kaviedes and Édison Méndez scored for the win. As in the previous qualification process, at the end of the World Cup, Ecuador would finish the competition in third place with 28 points.

South Africa 2010

October 12, 2008: La Tri secured a long-running 1-0 win against Chile with Christian Benítez’s goal 20 minutes from time. However, after two consecutive qualifiers, the team would miss out on South Africa 2010, finishing in sixth place, one point behind Uruguay, a team that reached the playoffs.

Brazil 2014

October 12, 2012: Ecuador’s fourth consecutive victory against La Roja. Despite starting the loss at Atahualpa with an own goal by Juan Carlos Paredes, the Tricolori managed to recover and come back with a convincing 3-1 victory. Felipe Caicedo scored twice and Segundo Castillo sealed the score.

Russia 2018

October 6, 2016: La Tri achieved an important 3:0 victory at Olympic Atahualpa. Antonio Valencia opened the scoring, Cristian Ramírez increased the score, and Felipe Caicedo sealed the win. However, Ecuador would not get a place for Russia 2018 and would have to wait eight years to play again at the World Cup.

Qatar 2022

September 5, 2021: In a rather complex match, the Ecuadorians and the Chileans did not injure each other and equalized without goals through Rodrigo Paz Delgado. The Tricolori ended the match with a player less due to the dismissal of Júnior Sornoza in the 63rd minute of the second half. Despite this result, Ecuador would end up playing in the World Cup in Qatar, where they would beat the tournament organizer in the first term. (D)