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2006 FIFA WORLD CUP: Ecuador and England keep eyes on the prize

/noticias.info/ by FIFAworldcup.com

It is winner-takes-all time at the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™. England and Ecuador go head-to-head on Sunday, with a coveted quarter-final place at stake. While the winners can start looking ahead and continue to dream of glory, the losers face catching an early flight home, and inquests into what might have been.

Luis Suarez’s Ecuador team have made comfortable progress up to now, showing glimpses of genuine quality in their 2-0 win over Poland, and their 3-0 mauling of Costa Rica. England’s passage from the group stage, however, was less serene. Although unbeaten in their three matches so far, Sven-Goran Eriksson’s side have not convinced, and seem to be feeling the heat of being many pundits’ top tip for the Trophy. A shaky 1-0 win over Paraguay got their tournament underway, and they followed it up with a 2-0 success over the minnows of Trinidad and Tobago, and an exciting 2-2 draw against bogey side Sweden.

The 1966 champions may have tallied just one more point than their Round of 16 opponents during the first phase, but the gulf in expectations between the opposing sets of fans is startling. For the South Americans, simply reaching this stage of the tournament is a significant victory in itself. This is only the Andeans’ second FIFA World Cup™, and their confident and accomplished displays against Poland and Costa Rica will have been an enormous fillip for their Colombian-born supremo Luis Suarez.

In many ways, Ecuador have nothing to lose, although having come this far, they will be determined to give a good account of themselves. England, roared on by their expectant and demanding fans, will be hoping to shake themselves out of their slumber, and put in the kind of performance that their star-studded line-up undoubtedly has up its sleeve.

Colours for the game:
England: White shirts, navy blue shorts, white socks.
Ecuador: Yellow shirts, blue shorts, red socks.

The line-ups:
Much as there are certain similarities in style between the two teams, most of all in terms of their orthodox 4-4-2 formations, the match-up in Stuttgart will provide the capacity crowd with the prospect of a classic Europe versus Latin America clash.

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Suarez owes a great deal to his Colombian footballing education. The influence on Ecuador’s game plan of the Colombian teams of the 1980s is unmistakable. Suarez likes his team to play expansive attacking football, moving the ball around quickly with flair and width, following a blueprint developed by Colombia’s former national coach, and Suarez’s mentor, Francisco 'Pacho' Maturana.

England’s 4-4-2 is a more defensive alignment, and Eriksson’s back four will be keen to cut out the long diagonal balls favoured by the Ecuadorians to capitalise on the aerial strength of strikers Agustin Delgado and Carlos Tenorio. The experience of centre-backs John Terry and Rio Ferdinand will be crucial if the English are to win that particular tactical battle.

As Manchester United defender Ferdinand made clear, there is room for improvement at the back. “We didn’t defend well against Sweden, and that’s not something that you can usually say about England. But it’s better that it happened now as opposed to happening against Ecuador.”

In the absence of goalscorer Michael Owen, expected to be out for five months with a cruciate ligament injury, Eriksson will be forced to go with the twin spearhead of Wayne Rooney and target-man Peter Crouch. The two strikers will be comforted to know that their injured team-mate is behind them all the way. “I’ll watch all of the games, and I’ll give the team all my support, hopefully right through to the Final in Berlin,” said the England No. 10.

The duel
The match-up between Ecuador’s evergreen centre-half Ivan Hurtado and England prodigy Wayne Rooney will be one of the game’s main talking points. After his recent injury frustration, the sublimely talented Rooney will be itching to prove his fitness, and Eriksson will look to the powerful 20-year-old to provide a cutting edge up front. It will fall to the veteran Hurtado to keep Rooney in check, an unenviable task at the best of times.

For his part, the young Manchester United striker feels that he has made a full recovery from the metatarsal injury that put his inclusion in Eriksson’s final 23-man squad in severe jeopardy. “I don’t feel any extra responsibility. I’m almost fully fit, and so the fact that I haven’t scored yet isn’t a problem. The goals will come.”

Hurtado, meanwhile, is a talismanic figure in Ecuadorian football. The experienced stopper is playing in what is likely to be his last FIFA World Cup. He will be hoping to sign off with a stellar performance, and the Andeans’ chances of making the quarter-finals depend to a large extent on his individual battle with the young Englishman.

Past meetings
The two nations have never played each other at full international level.

Injury doubts
Ecuador have a full complement of players from which to choose. England striker Michael Owen will play no further part in the tournament (ruptured anterior cruciate ligament).

What they say
Luis SUAREZ (ECU): The England team is one of the best in the world, and it’s not going to be easy at all. But it’s not a case of all or nothing, because regardless of the result, we should take pride in what we have achieved so far.

Frank LAMPARD (ECU): They (Ecuador) lost their last game against Germany, but they were playing without a few regulars. I think that we were more impressed with their first two games, and now they are going to be keen to get back to that standard. notas_de_prensa_archivo