48 questions, a 2026 World Cup Preview: Ecuador

One question for each 2026 World Cup team. Is anyone paying attention to how good Ecuador are?

Would you love me in a Bentley? Would you love me on a $95 bus from downtown Boston to Gillette Stadium? Footnote is asking 48 questions, and they’re all about the 48 teams at the 2026 World Cup. This post is part of our Group E preview. You can also read previews of Curaçao, Ivory Coast, and Germany.

Is anyone paying attention to how good Ecuador are?

Here is a list of players who are very likely to play for Ecuador at the 2026 World Cup.

Moisés Caicedo, who for long stretches of this season seemed to be the best defensive midfielder in the world.

Willian Pacho, an ever present stalwart defender for Paris Saint-Germain, probably the best club team in the world.

Piero Hincapie, a key defensive swiss army knife for the Premier League champions Arsenal, and before that for a historically good Bayer Leverkusen side. 

Kendry Páez, one of the most coveted youth prospects in global football. 

All this to say that Ecuador are a formidable side, and a team that should probably be taken seriously as a threat to reach the quarterfinals if not further.

But the wider soccer-watching world is not necessarily aware of that threat. The mainstream sportsbooks like FanDuel and bet365 have Ecuador as distant outsiders to win the tournament, giving them longer odds than teams like the USMNT, Japan, and Switzerland.

Which, sure, they probably won’t win the whole thing. But Ecuador aren’t just good as a list of guys that you might have heard of from watching the Champions League or playing FIFA.¹EA FC, whatever. Ecuador are good as an actual soccer team stringing together results on the pitch. They finished second in South American World Cup qualifying, and that was even after they started the campaign with a three-point deduction for fielding an ineligible player in the previous qualifying cycle. 

Ecuador haven’t actually lost a match since a 2024 away loss to Brazil, and in that time span have managed wins against Colombia and Argentina. They are ranked 23rd in the FIFA rankings, but the probably-more-accurate ELO ratings have them as the ninth-best side in the world.

This is a very good team, and one that looks more than good enough to be the best Ecuador in the history of the World Cup: Despite producing some great footballers over the years, the country has only played a single World Cup knockout stage match, and has twice been eliminated in the group stage despite winning a game.

If Ecuador maintain their level from the past two years into the World Cup, they are on track to be celebrated as history makers back in Quito.They would also be the rare South American team outside of the Argentina, Brazil, and sometimes Uruguay contingent to make a deep run at the tournament. 

All of this is great, but perhaps the most delightful thing about the 2026 squad is that they still start Enner Valencia up front. Ecuador’s all-time leading goalscorer is probably best remembered in Europe for brief stints with West Ham and Everton, but his globetrotting career has also included stints bagging goals in Mexico, Turkiye, and Brazil. Now 36, Valencia is is at Pachuca in Liga MX for the second time. He’s scoring just under a goal every other game, and still captaining his national team. 

Valencia is the veteran leader and reliable goalscorer that pins together Ecuador’s core of rising stars. And between his goalscoring track record and the talent they boast all over the pitch, Ecuador are poised to create history this summer, even if the wider world doesn’t realize it yet.