(Reuters) – FIFA Ranking: 44
Odds: 150/1
Previous tournaments:
Having never qualified for a World Cup in the 20th century, Ecuador then made it to four out of six including Qatar.
Their best performance was in Germany in 2006 when they reached the last 16 after wins over Poland and Costa Rica, before being eliminated 1-0 by England thanks to a David Beckham free kick. They fell at the group stage in 2002 and 2014.
How they qualified:
Ecuador secured South America’s last automatic qualifying spot by coming fourth in a perennially tough group, winning seven games and scoring 27 goals in the 18-match slog.
Notable performances included a 4-2 win over Uruguay and 6-1 thrashing of Colombia, both in the altitude of Quito, and a 2-0 win away to Chile. They also managed creditable draws with heavyweights Brazil and Argentina. Only those two giants and Uruguay came above Ecuador in the 10-team group.
Form guide:
Since celebrating their berth in Qatar, Ecuador have beaten both Nigeria and Cape Verde 1-0 and drawn 0-0 against World Cup-bound Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Japan in friendlies.
(Reporting by Andrew Cawthorne; editing by Ken Ferris)
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