The Ecuadorian national team closed the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday with a 1-0 victory over Argentina in the last match, with a penalty goal by Enner Valencia.
In his 100th game with the national team, ‘Superman’ Valencia reached 47 goals for La Tri in first-half stoppage time, after a penalty awarded by Colombian referee Wilmar Roldán for a foul by Nicolás Tagliafico on Ángelo Preciado, who remained on the pitch until the end of the first half. The Ecuadorian team thus broke a streak of four consecutive goalless draws in the qualifiers.
Otamendi expelled
The first half passed without too many mishaps until the penalty kick and the sending off of Nicolás Otamendi, which tipped the game in Ecuador’s favor.
Until Ecuador’s Moisés Caicedo was also sent off and then the Albiceleste searched unsuccessfully for an equalizer.
La Tri’s first chance came from Plata, but his header missed the left side of the goal of ‘Dibu’ Martinez, who the following play prevented a goal from Valencia’s shot in the 7th minute.
Nilson Angulo’s attacking runs down Ecuador’s left flank made Leonardo Balardi and Gonzalo Montiel uncomfortable on several occasions and they had to show all their strength on the young attacker.
VAR, controversy and penalty
A deep pass from Caicedo to Valencia led Nicolás Otamendi to foul the attacker and Roldán gave the Albiceleste a red card in the 31st minute.
The Ecuadorians complained to referee Roldan for a strong tackle by Tagliafico on Preciado inside the Argentine area.
The attacker bled after the impact, and after a lengthy VAR review, the Colombian awarded the penalty, but Tagliafico was cleared after the aggression.
Valencia beat ‘Dibu’ Martinez with a powerful shot to the center.
Ecuador is turned on
At the start of the second half, Caicedo launched a precise pass, but Pedro Vite failed to control the ball, which was anticipated by Martínez.
Caicedo was sent off in the 50th minute after receiving his second yellow card.
With ten players for each team, Argentina slowed down the pace of the actions, advanced their lines and created difficulties for Ecuador’s defensive system.
A poor rebound by Willian Pacho allowed Giovani Lo Celso, who had replaced Rodrigo De Paul, to fire in a shot that was Argentina’s best chance for an equalizer.
Technical data
1. Ecuador: Hernán Galíndez; Ángelo Preciado (46th minute, Jhon Yeboah) (93rd minute, Alan Minda), Joel Ordóñez, Willian Pacho, Piero Hincapié; Moisés Caicedo, Alan Franco, Pedro Vite, Nilson Angulo (59th minute, Jordy Alcívar); Gonzalo Plata (69th minute, Kevin Rodríguez) and Enner Valencia (59th minute, Kendry Páez).
Coach: Guillermo Martino.
0. Argentina: Emiliano Martínez; Gonzalo Montiel, Leonardo Belardi, Nicolás Otamendi, Nicolás Tagliafico; Rodrigo De Paul (69th minute, Giovani Lo Celso), Leandro Paredes (62nd minute, Franco Mastantuono), Alexis Mac Allister, Giuliano Simeone (37th minute, Juan Foyth); Nicolás González and Lautaro Martínez (63rd minute, Julián Álvarez).
Coach: Lionel Scaloni.
Goal: 1-0, 45+13 minutes of stoppage time: Enner Valencia.
Referee: Wilmar Roldán of Colombia. Yellow cards for Lautaro Martínez (8th minute), Caicedo (16th minute), Plata (26th minute), Preciado (45th minute), Tagliafico (65th minute) and Belardi (80th minute). Otamendi was sent off for a straight red card (m.31) and Caicedo for a double yellow card (m.50).
Incidents: match of the last day of the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, played at the Estadio Monumental Isidro Romero Carbo, in Guayaquil, Ecuador, in front of 40,000 spectators.
For more information, visit QuéOnnda.com.