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

Ecuador's final friendly game before the play at the World Cup will take place against Guatemala on Sunday at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field in the USA.

With the Ecuadorians set to take on Ivory Coast in their first group match on June 15, this weekend's clash with Guatemala will be key preparation ahead of that fixture.

Match preview

Ecuador are one of the finest defensive outfits in international football, with the nation having kept 12 clean sheets in their last 18 games.

It should be noted that they avoided defeat in that stretch, getting the better of their opponents seven times, though a stalemate on the weekend would be their sixth in eight outings.

La Tricolor have conceded exactly one goal in each of their past three matches, but they have only conceded more than one goal in one of their 26 most recent fixtures.

At the other end of the pitch, Ecuador have scored six goals in their past four games, as many as they had netted in their prior 10 clashes.

Boss Sebastian Beccacece will hope his side can head into the 2026 tournament in better form than they did for the 2022 edition considering they failed to win any of the three fixtures leading up the Qatar World Cup.

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Guatemala did not qualify for the 2026 World Cup after suffering elimination from their CONCACAF group in the third round, finishing third behind Suriname and Panama in November 2025

Their failure in the group stage means they will have to wait until 2030 at the earliest for their first tournament appearance, though they can at least prepare for the upcoming 2026-27 CONCACAF Nations League.

Ahead of their clash with Ecuador, Los Chapines have been defeated in their last three clashes, losing by a cumulative score of 11-1.

Manager Luis Fernando Tena has only guided the team to two victories in his past 10 games, and a loss on Sunday would be the nation's seventh in 11 matches.

Guatemala have met Ecuador on three other occasions, and they were beaten 2-0 in all of those meetings, the most recent of which occurred in March 2024.

Ecuador International Friendlies form:

Ecuador form (all competitions):

Guatemala International Friendlies form:

Guatemala form (all competitions):

Team News

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Ecuador's defensive record is so strong because the talent they possess at the back includes Arsenal's Piero Hincapie, Paris Saint-Germain's Willian Pacho, Club Brugge's Joel Ordonez and Atletico Mineiro's Alan Franco.

The defence has often been shielded by Chelsea's Moises Caicedo, and he is likely to be joined in the middle of the pitch by Pedro Vite.

Captain Enner Valencia is set to lead the line at the World Cup, and he may be supported up front by Gonzalo Plata.

Guatemala may name a back three on Sunday, with centre-backs Marcelo Hernandez, Jose Ardon and Jose Pinto set to be tasked with protecting goalkeeper Luis Moran.

Midfielders Jonathan Franco and Jose Rosales could start in a double pivot behind centre-forward Daniel Mendez.

Ecuador possible starting lineup:

Galindez; Franco, Ordonez, Pacho, Hincapie; Preciado, Caicedo, Vite, Angulo; Plata, Valencia

Guatemala possible starting lineup:

Moran; Hernandez, Ardon, Pinto; Yanes, Franco, Rosales, Morales; Santis, Mendez, Munoz

We say: Ecuador 1-0 Guatemala

Though Ecuador have not been the most exciting team in the world to watch, their resilience will make it difficult for Guatemala to gain a foothold.

Ecuador will likely come through their challenge on Sunday unscathed, though the game will almost certainly be low scoring.

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