Preview:Canada vs Ecuador - prediction, team news, lineups

Meeting for only the fourth time in an international affair, Canada and Ecuador will square off in a friendly on Thursday at BMO Field in Toronto.

In their previous match, the Canucks played to a 0-0 draw with Colombia, while Ecuador drew 1-1 against the reigning CONCACAF Gold Cup champions Mexico.

Match preview

The year may have begun disappointingly for the Canadians, who lost their opening match of 2025 versus Mexico (2-0), but this team have reeled off plenty of positive results since then.

Jesse Marsch’s men enter this contest having suffered just one defeat in normal time in their previous 11 competitive fixtures, losing 1-0 to Australia in a friendly last month.

Defensively, they have been solid over the past few months, conceding a goal or fewer in nine successive encounters, while posting three clean sheets in their previous four outings.

This team are unbeaten in their previous four international games played in Toronto, drawing 0-0 with the Ivory Coast and defeating Ukraine 4-2 at the Canadian Shield tournament last summer.

Canada have not lost any of their last 15 matches played across all competitions when scoring first, in normal time, but have not won after conceding the opener since a 2-1 friendly win over Japan in 2022.

Les Rouges have never lost a game against Ecuador, scoring late at BMO Field to earn a 2-2 draw when they squared off in a 2011 friendly.

Ecuador are getting a feel for what the atmosphere may be like when they travel to Canada, the United States and Mexico for the upcoming World Cup.

The South Americans have already booked their place in the finals, finishing second in the CONMEBOL table with the fewest defeats among South American nations (two).

Sebastian Beccacece has only suffered one defeat since taking charge of La Tricolor (1-0 versus Brazil in September 2024), with his side currently on a 13-match unbeaten run across all competitions.

At the same time, this team have only won one of their previous seven international affairs, blanking the reigning world champions Argentina 1-0 in a chippy September clash.

Since a 2-1 defeat versus Venezuela at the 2024 Copa America, they have not conceded more than once in a single match, collecting five clean sheets in their previous seven encounters.

La Tri have not lost a single game against CONCACAF opposition this decade but are winless in their only two games versus that region in 2025.

Canada International Friendlies form:

Canada form (all competitions):

Ecuador International Friendlies form:

Ecuador form (all competitions):

Team News

Canadian captain Alphonso Davies will not feature for this upcoming window but is set to return from his ACL tear with Bayern Munich soon, while Alfie Jones and Marcelo Flores are the only players called up to the squad for this match without an international appearance.

On Thursday, Kamal Miller can reach 50 caps for the national team, while Cyle Larin is just two appearances shy of equaling Julian de Guzman for second all-time with the Canucks.

Dayne St Clair, who was the hero in Minnesota United’s playoff victory over the Seattle Sounders in MLS last weekend, stopped the only shot that he faced for a clean sheet against Colombia.

Only two Ecuador players selected for this window have yet to earn a senior international cap, Jeremy Alberto Arevalo Mera and Cristhian Loor.

Meanwhile, Arsenal’s Piero Hincapie is two appearances short of 50, while Gonzalo Plata and Felix Torres are just five and four caps away from that milestone, respectively.

Jordy Alcivar had their only goal against Mexico last month, the first internationally for the midfielder who features in Ecuador at Independiente del Valle.

Canada possible starting lineup:

St Clair; Sigur, Miller, Cornelius, Laryea; Buchanan, Eustaquio, Kone, Saliba; J. David, Larin

Ecuador possible starting lineup:

Galindez; Franco, Ordonez, Pacho, Ramirez; Alcivar, Vite; Mercado, Caicedo, Paez; Valencia

We say: Canada 0-0 Ecuador

The well-balanced Canadians are facing a side that are extremely well-drilled and airtight defensively, who give next to no clear-cut scoring opportunities, thus we expect a standstill when the two square off on Thursday.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.