Ecuador beat Colombia in the Qatar 2022 Qualifiers

The Ecuadorian Soccer Team  thrashed  Colombia 6-1 on date 4 of the Qatar 2022 World Cup Qualifiers. La Tri demonstrated its excellent moment in qualifying and secured second place in the standings, in the last official match of the year. The match is played at the Rodrigo Paz Delgado Stadium in Quito, with a field wet from the rain.

Ecuador beat Colombia in the Qatar 2022 Qualifiers

Ecuador began to dominate the game from the first minutes, with triangulations and passing game throughout the center of the field. Little by little the blockade pressed to advance lines. 

The first goal was born from a corner kick. Two headers in the area started an attack that enabled Arboleda to finish off with a volley and beat Camilo Vargas . In 7 minutes the National Team would already have the score.

Two minutes later came Mena’s score . The León de México midfielder counterattacked after a long clearance from the Ecuadorian field and took advantage of a defensive error by the Colombians to run without a mark in front of the rival goal and beat the goalkeeper.

Colombia improved in the following minutes, mainly due to failures of the national defense in starting from the bottom. A free kick by James Rodríguez passed near Alexander Domínguez’s goal , while Duvan Zapata tried a low shot that was contained by the tricolor goalkeeper.

The Tricolor had to make a change forced by a cramp from Adolfo Muñoz. When the modification was about to take place, with the entry of Gonzalo Plata , Caicedo joined with Mena to create a play on the left. ‘Angelito’ sent a low pass to the heart of the area where Estrada appeared to hole it.

Ecuador thrashed a Colombia without reaction or response and with serious deficiencies in defense. But the national team was not satisfied with the result and continued with the attacks.

Defender Xavier Arreaga came up on an offensive play and after a change of side, from left to right, the center-back received a pass in the Colombian area and beat Vargas again.

Colombia discounted on the feet of James Rodríguez, who in the additional ones charged a quality penalty kick to score the first for his country. With the 4 -1 set the first half ended.

The second half once again featured the local team. The ‘coffee growers’ were disorderly, without resistance and with a series of errors that almost cost them more goals.

Vargas regained his level and began to become the figure of his team. The goalkeeper of the Atlas of Mexico saved his country in two clear scoring opportunities, after shots made by Renato Ibarra and Estrada.

The Toluca striker scored in the 75th minute what would be the fifth for the Ecuadorian team, but the linesman nullified the action out of place. However, it was only a matter of time to enjoy the best goal of the Playoffs.

Plata confirmed that he is the best soccer player in the National Team. The U20 World Cup player made a spectacular play, after leaving a rival on the road, then with a fast dribble escaping from two defenders, he touched with Mena who returned him with a cue, opened from a new rival and shot from the left to the opposite stick of Vargas.

The emotion of the Guayaquil was such that he ran to celebrate with the rest of his teammates, but made the mistake of taking off his shirt . The referee noticed and took the second yellow card , which triggered a red and the subsequent expulsion . ‘Platita’ left the field with tears in her eyes. The March match against Venezuela will also be lost.

The cherry on the cake came at 92 minutes, with the sixth and last for the tricolor. Pervis Estupiñán was the scorer to seal a historic win, the first of its kind against the ‘coffee growers’. Social networks exploded for the result in favor.

In four games, Ecuador accumulates 9 points and +6 goal difference . The Selection will end the date among the first three of the Qualifiers, within the classification zone. If Argentina does not beat Peru, the Ecuadorian team will be second in the table. The next day will be played on March 25 and 30, against Venezuela as a visitor and Chile as a local.

Ecuador: Alexander Domínguez; Pedro Pablo Perlaza (Angelo Preciado), Xavier Arreaga, Roberth Arboleda, Pervis Estupiñán; Jhegson Méndez, Moisés Caicedo; Renato Ibarra (Beder Caicedo), Ángel Mena (Joao Rojas), Adolfo Muñoz (Gonzalo Plata); Michael Estrada.

Colombia: Camilo Vargas, Luis Manuel Orejuela (Luis Suárez), Davinson Sánchez, Jeison Murillo, Johan Mojica (Frank Fabbra); Jefferson Lerma (Edwin Cardona), Juan Guillermo Cuadrado, Matheus Uribe (Wilmar Barrios); James Rodríguez, Luis Díaz (Luis Muriel) and Duvan Zapata.

The arbitration team is Venezuelan, led by the central judge Jesús Valenzuela.  (I)