The situation is dire for Germany’s final opponent in the World Cup preliminary round. Ecuador’s coach, Sebastian Beccacece, is now being urged to step down.
«Stop selling hot air and resign from La Tri! Have some dignity, you’ve done great damage to our football with a generation that should be the best in history,» former Ecuadorian international Jefferson Montero fumed against Beccacece on X.
Previously, the South Americans failed to recover after their opening 0-1 defeat against Ivory Coast, subsequently losing to minnows Curaçao. Enner Valencia and his teammates repeatedly failed to beat goalkeeper Eloy Room, who set a new World Cup record with 15 saves in 90 minutes.
Now, the Ecuadorian team, which started with such high expectations and was even dubbed a ‘dark horse,’ featuring stars like Willian Pacho of PSG, Piero Hincapie of Arsenal, and Moises Caicedo of Chelsea, faces an early World Cup exit. Ecuador had only conceded four goals throughout their entire World Cup qualification campaign and ultimately secured their spot in the tournament in the USA, Canada, and Mexico as runners-up behind Argentina.
While they presented themselves as entirely on par with Ivory Coast in their opening match, they conceded a lucky winner in stoppage time. Following a 0-0 draw against Curaçao, a victory is now necessary in their final group game against Germany to advance to the knockout phase.
Germany vs. Ecuador: Two Previous Encounters
«Germany is a world power in football,» Beccacece stated before the upcoming encounter on Thursday. But, «Life has always shown me: As long as there’s a chance, you have to believe. It’s not over yet. We have more than 90 minutes to reward ourselves in the end.»
Beccacece was introduced as Ecuador’s new national coach in August 2024. Previously, he served as head coach for Elche in Spain and even participated in a World Cup as an assistant to Jorge Sampaoli with Argentina. Following Sampaoli’s departure after their Round of 16 exit in Russia against France, Beccacece also had to leave. His first match with ‘El Tri’ was a 0-1 loss in World Cup qualifiers against Brazil, but this was followed by a 19-game unbeaten streak and a convincing qualification for the World Cup, including a sensational victory against Argentina.
Germany and Ecuador last met in May 2013 in a friendly match. A German B-team secured a 4-2 victory in Boca Raton on that occasion. Lars Bender and Lukas Podolski both scored twice by the 24th minute.
A World Cup encounter between the two nations has also occurred: almost exactly 20 years ago, the DFB team convincingly beat ‘El Tri’ 3-0 in Berlin during the 2006 home World Cup – also in the final group match.