Sebastián Beccacece, the new coach of the Ecuadorian national team, said on Thursday that he does not believe that Brazil has lost its prominence and that to face it on Friday he will seek to make the Tri competitive in the match of the seventh date of the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
“Brazil is Brazil, I don’t believe in the idea that they are doing well or doing badly. I see their players every weekend and they are scoring (goals) with their teams, they have physical, technical and individual power,” said Beccacece during a press conference at the end of the last training session held in Quito.
“From there, we will look for a competitive Ecuadorian team, one that can, in a certain way, take the lead and that if at some point the rival surpasses us, has the capacity and the tools to also be able to cope with what it means to be dominated,” he added.
After training in the capital of Ecuador, the team will travel this Thursday for its match against Brazil, with the aim of staying in the direct qualification zone for the 2026 World Cup, where it is fifth with 8 points.
Beccacece admitted that he hopes to develop with Ecuador “a passionate, intense, courageous team.” “We have worked on that over the last two days, and the players have assimilated it in a great way, to show little by little what we are going to have for this new stage of Ecuador,” he indicated.
The Argentine arrived at the beginning of August to replace Spaniard Félix Sánchez, who left the bench of the Tri after the elimination in the quarter-finals of the Copa América in the penalty shoot-out against Argentina.
The coach also said that he will go into the match “with a very pleasant feeling because of having worked these days with a group of players who have had a love and assimilation to the job, so Ecuador has to be calm because they have players who identify very well with their shirt.”
“The match against Brazil will be a great opportunity to change the history (of adverse results so far), to test ourselves, to challenge ourselves, to get involved and to move forward in the face of the great power of our adversary,” he said.
In the absence of a right-back due to the suspension of Angelo Preciado, Beccacece said that he looked for other options, but “Jose Hurtado is overloaded, Alan Franco and Mateo Viera arrived with discomfort.” “With those we have, we will face the challenge,” he said.
The coach also allayed doubts regarding the non-call-up of key players such as goalkeeper Alexander Domínguez, by indicating that “all the players are eligible.” “We are focusing on those who are here, but all those who are not here are eligible to be called up,” he insisted.
He then reiterated that he is proud to have a generation of players who are fully committed, as in the case of the historic scorer Enner Valencia who, after the Copa América, hinted at a possible retirement. “I see him in full force, I see him with desire, with spirit and for us it is very important,” he added.
After Friday’s match, Ecuador will return to its training camp in Quito, where it will host Peru next Tuesday for the eighth round of the qualifiers.
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