Preview: Ecuador vs. Curacao - prediction, team news, lineups

Aiming to bounce back from their defeat to Ivory Coast, Ecuador are strong favourites to beat debutants Curacao in their second Group E fixture at the 2026 World Cup.

Saturday's game at Kansas City Stadium comes six days after La Tri were beaten for the first time in two years, but they will back themselves to inflict another defeat on the island nation.

Match preview

Ecuador arrived at the 2026 World Cup on a 19-match unbeaten run, with 13 clean sheets, and they appeared to be closing in on 20 against the Elephants.

However, Amad Diallo had other ideas, with the Manchester United man scoring in the closing minutes to hand Sebastian Beccacece's side their first defeat in two years.

La Tri return to action in Kansas on Saturday night when they face debutants Curacao, looking to avoid being left on the brink of elimination.

With Germany and Ivory Coast, who both won their opening games, meeting in the group's other fixture, the South American side will close the gap if they win, regardless of the outcome in Toronto.

While that opening loss means Ecuador risk ending the group stage with only three points if they lose their final match to Germany, La Seleccion cannot afford to look that far ahead or underrate their modest opponents this weekend.

Although Beccacece's side are expected to claim maximum points, Curacao showed they have the potential to engineer an upset in Sunday's opener against Germany.

Even though the 7-1 scoreline suggests a rout, the island nation held the four-time world champions at bay for 38 minutes, with both sides close to going in level at the interval.

However, Julian Nagelsmann's team struck twice before the break to knock the stuffing out of Pantera Negra before adding four more after the break.

The challenge for Dick Advocaat now is to get his players to sustain the level they showed for 38 minutes against Germany across the full 90 in Saturday's meeting with their South American opponents.

That is easier said than done, given their lack of experience at this level and Ecuador's desperation to put right the mistakes of the Ivory Coast defeat.

Ecuador World Cup form:

Ecuador form (all competitions):

Curacao World Cup form:

Curacao form (all competitions):

Team News

Having been unsure of Enner Valencia's fitness before facing the Elephants, the veteran forward started the defeat and played the full 90 minutes.

Even if Beccacece's men are heavy favourites, La Tri's reliance on the 36-year-old is underlined by the fact that no other player has reached double figures for goals.

Ecuador may lack a long list of prolific centre forwards, but La Tricolor boast several standout players across the pitch: Piero Hincapie and Willian Pacho at the back, Moises Caicedo and Kendry Paez in midfield and Gonzalo Plata and Jordy Caicedo in attack.

Curacao appeared to come through unscathed against Germany, giving the experienced Advocaat a healthy squad to choose from this weekend.

Livano Comenencia scored the Blue Wave's first-ever World Cup goal against Germany on Sunday, and the midfielder is expected to start again on Saturday night.

While that strike was only his third for Curacao, Juninho Bacuna and captain Leandro Bacuna, with 14 and 16 goals respectively, are expected to shoulder much of the attacking burden for the Tricolours.

Up front, former Man Utd forward Tahith Chong and Brandley Kuwas of FC Volendam could play important roles, although the latter may not start on Saturday.

Ecuador possible starting lineup:

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

Curacao possible starting lineup:

Room; Floranus, Bazoer, Obispo, Fonville; Comenencia, L. Bacuna, J. Bacuna; Chong; Locadia, Hansen

We say: Ecuador 2-0 Curacao

It is hard to make a convincing case for Curacao despite their commendable 38 minutes against Germany on Sunday.

Given Ecuador's drive to return to winning ways after seeing their 19-match unbeaten run ended, La Tri should have enough to claim a routine victory over the debutants.

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