One tasty match this weekend that people are looking past is a game between Ecuador and Ivory Coast.
It will be a very entertaining battle between two teams that feature many young, athlethic, and technically sound players.
Both teams also believe this is a winnable game for them, so they will go all out from the opening whistle. Let’s take a deep dive into it.
Ecuador’s Form
Ecuador are on fire coming into this game. They had a fantastic World Cup qualifying campaign, where they finished second on the CONMEBOL table despite being docked three points from the beginning.
They also conceded just five goals in those 18 qualifying games, which shows how strong their defense is– which is led by PSG’s Willian Pacho and Arsenal’s Piero Hincapié.
They reached the quarterfinals of 2024 Copa America, where they came so close to knocking out Argentina but only lost via penalties. The last time they actually lost a game was in September 2024; they are on a 19-game unbeaten streak. If there’s any doubt in that awesomeness, it’s that 11 of those were draws.
Ivory Coast’s Form
Just like Ecuador, Ivory Coast also had a fantastic qualifying campaign. In fact, they went undefeated in their group which also contained Gabon, Gambia, Kenya, Burundi, and Seychelles. Even more impressive is they did not concede any goals over those ten games. Although the teams they played against may not have been world beaters, their backline and keeper deserve credit for what they’ve done.
Ivory Coast have also done well since the qualifers. They’ve only lost twice in last 10 games.
They managed to beat France and Scotland recently, while smashing South Korea 4-0.
The Hooligan Take
Because Germany are in their group, both teams know that a win here will boost their chances of getting to the knockout stage.
But Ecuador will approach this game very carefully, particularly as they were knocked out from the last World Cup because of an African team (Senegal). They will not care to repeat their mistake.
A lack of scoring could be a problem for La Tri, especially given Ivory Coast’s strong backline and their singular reliance on Enner Valencia. Meanwhile, Ivory Coast have plenty of options up top that can test Ecuadorian backline.
It will be interesting to see which will come out on top. Ecuador will feel like they are at home because of the amount of Ecuadorian-Americans that will show up. But given how good Ivory Coast have been, this looks like it could end as a draw.
Expected Starting XIs
Ecuador (4-2-3-1)
Hernan Galindez;
Pervis Estupiñán, Piero Hincapie, Willian Pacho, Angelo Preciado;
Jordy Alcivar, Moises Caicedo;
Nilson Angulo, Gonzalo Plata, John Yeboah;
Enner Valencia.
Ivory Coast (4-4-2)
Yahia Fofana;
Ghislain Konan, Emmanuel Agbadou, Wilfried Singo, Guela Doue;
Yan Diomande, Seko Fofana, Frankck Kessie, Oumar Diakite;
Simon Adingra, Elye Wahi.
Prediction: Ecuador 1-1 Ivory Coast
