Brighton & Hove Albion’s trio set to light up FIFA World Cup in Qatar
Brighton fans will have quite the viewing this World Cup…
The 22nd staging of the FIFA World Cup finals kicks off on Sunday November 20th 2022 at 2 pm. The tournament will take place in Qatar and run from November 20th to December 18th 2022. Ecuador may not be a powerhouse in world football, but certainly they will not go unnoticed at this year’s global event. Ecuador will kick off their World Cup campaign against host Qatar at the sophisticated retractable roof Al Bayt Stadium. The Ecuadorians are set to fill over one fourth of the maximum capacity of a 60,000-seat venue in Al Khor. This stadium will host six group stage matches and three knockout games, including a semi-final.
Ecuador is making a return to the tournament after missing out in 2018. Ecuador previous appearances at this stage came in 2002, after finishing 2nd in South America. They finished 3rd in South America qualifiers and made it to their second straight World Cup in 2006. In a bid to make it to a hattrick of appearances, Ecuador finished 6th in South America and crashed out of the tournament.
With a revamped team effort and a mix of fresh young talents Ecuador made a return to the big stage in the 2014 edition but missed out again in the 2018 spectacle. After making to their fourth appearance in the last 20 years Ecuador have manage to score and win at least one match in every tournament they appeared in. Surprisingly, they managed to make it to the round of 16 in 2006 before being booted out by a lone goal from England’s David Beckham.
Much is expected of the South Americans despite being placed among European giant Netherlands and African kingpin Senegal. Ecuador qualified for Qatar World Cup 2022 after steam rolling their South American counter parts with five wins one lost, and two stunning draws against Brazil and Argentina. Ecuador prolific talisman Agustín Delgado scored Ecuador’s first ever World Cup goal, but if they are to spark in Qatar all eyes will be on captain and former talismanic striker of English Premier League outfit Everton and West Ham Enner Valencia. Valencia is Ecuador’s leading goal scorer with 35 goals and is expected to add to his world cup tally after scoring 13 goals from 12 appearances for Fenerbahçe 2022/23 season. The exciting winger Angel Mena is expected to provide Valencia with tons of opportunities.
Coach Gustavo Alfarno has added Brighton & Holve Albion trio Pervis Estupinan, Moisés Caicedo and Jeremy Sarmiento. The twinkle toes 20-year-old midfielder Moisés Caicedo, is one of the young players to watch. He has made 14 appearances and scored 1 goal for Brighton so far this season. Pervis Estupinan, has been a rock in the heart of defense for Brighton in the Premier League. Another party popper to keep an eye on is Piero Hincapie, who has featured 13 times for Bayer Leverkusen in the top flight of German football. Since former Liverpool Bruce Grobbelaar and Colombian Rene Higuita no one has displayed more flare and drama in goal than 35-year-old keeper Alexander Domínguez, who was ejected from the game against Brazil after a Kang Fu kick into Matheus Cunha’s neck.
Qatar is playing in their first ever World Cup after qualified as being the host will want to give their home supporters something to cheer for, but Ecuador is hoping to disrupt the host nation’s party with a win on the first day. Ecuador would be agonizingly disappointed if they were to lose the opener after entering the tournament with such an impressive record. The Netherlands is expected to emerge as group winners, and with Senegal Sadio Mane out due to injury they might struggle for goals giving Ecuador a chance to qualify for the round of 16 for only the second time.
Ecuador has the youngest team at the tournament except for the United States and are hoping youthful exuberance will triumph over experience. Ecuador may be the continent’s underdogs, but they still have plenty of bite.
Ecuador slate of games are as follow
November 20
Qatar-Ecuador 11:00 am ET / 08:00 am PT
November 25
Netherlands-Ecuador 11:00 am ET / 08:00 am PT
November 29
Ecuador-Senegal 10:00 am ET / 07:00 am PT
Next. The 12 Chelsea players playing in the World Cup. dark
How far do you think they will go in the World Cup?