Overview
Colombia just had a regrettable loss to Uruguay. They had an equalizer from Andres Gomez in the 90+6 minute, but Manuel Ugarte's late goal in the 90+11 minute made all of Colombia's efforts meaningless. This loss caused them to lose the 2nd place in the 2026 World Cup qualifying rankings in South America to Uruguay.
Returning home to host Ecuador, Colombia will be determined to win all 3 points to continue chasing the top team Argentina. They currently have 19 points after 11 matches, only 3 points behind Argentina and equal on points with Uruguay. This is also Colombia's final match of 2024, so they will try to create the premise for the matches in the new year.
However, Ecuador are not an easy opponent to bully at the moment. They are on a four-game unbeaten streak, including an impressive 4-0 win over Bolivia in their most recent match. Remember, Ecuador would have finished level on points with Colombia had they not been deducted three points for fielding an ineligible player.
Ecuador currently has the best defense in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in South America, having only conceded four goals in 11 matches. This will be a big test for Colombia's attack. The match is likely to end in a draw.
In the history of confrontation from 2004 to present, Colombia and Ecuador have faced each other a total of 18 times in all competitions. Of which, Colombia won 10 matches, scoring 22 goals, an average of 1.2 goals per match. As for Ecuador, they won 4 matches, scoring 13 goals, an average of 0.7 goals per match. The remaining 4 matches were draws.
Colombia are unbeaten in their last four matches against Ecuador, with three draws and one win.
Human resources situation
Colombia will be without midfielder Jefferson Lerma due to injury. However, goalkeeper David Ospina will return.
On the other side of the front line, Moises Caicedo has returned from suspension and will start in Ecuador's midfield.
Expected lineup:
Colombia: Vargas, Santiago Arias, Sanchez, Lucimi, Munoz, Rios, Carrascal, Jhon Arias, James Rodriguez, Cordoba, Diaz.
Ecuador: Dominguez, Preciado, Pacho, Torres, Hincapie, Caicedo, Gruezo, Mena, Paez, Franco, Valencia.
The match between Colombia and Ecuador takes place at 6:00 a.m. on November 20 (Vietnam time).
