The Players
1 Máximo Banguera goalkeeper, Barcelona SC
2 Jorge Guagua defender, Emelec
3 Frickson Erazo defender, Flamengo
4 Juan Paredes defender, Barcelona SC
5 Alex Ibarra midfielder, Vitesse Arnheim
6 Cristhian Noboa midfielder, Dynamo Moscow
7 Jefferson Montero midfielder, Monarcas Morelia
8 Édison Méndez midfielder, Independiente
9 João Rojas forward, Cruz Azul
10 Walter Ayovi midfielder, Pachuca
11 Felipe Caicedo forward, Al Jazira
12 Adrián Bone goalkeeper, Nacional
13 Enner Valencia forward, Pachuca
14 Segundo Castillo midfielder, Al Hilal
15 Michael Arroyo midfielder, Atlante
16 Antonio Valencia (captain) midfielder, Manchester United
17 Jaime Ayoví forward, Tijuana
18 Oscar Bagui defender, Emelec
19 Luis Saritama midfielder, Barcelona
20 Fidel Martínez midfielder, Tijuana
21 Gabriel Achilier defender, Emelec
22 Alexander Domínguez goalkeeper, Quito
23 Carlos Gruezo midfielder, Stuttgart
Star man
Antonio Valencia was named captain after the death of his friend Christian “Chucho” Benítez – he has a tattoo in his honour – with the coach Reinaldo Rueda reasoning “making him the captain was a way of rallying the group”.
Most likely to be sent home in disgrace
Defender Jorge Guagua, the squad’s self-styled guv’nor – he prefers to be referred to as “El Patron” – is no stranger to controversy. El Nacional of Quito cried foul when Guagua joined the Ecuadorian champions Emelec two days after El Nacional had announced his signing. Guagua was unrepentant: “A national team player has to be at a big club like Emelec.”
The coach
Reinaldo Rueda. Or, more correctly, Professor Reinaldo Rueda. The 56-year-old Colombian used to teach sports science at a university and managed Honduras at the 2010 World Cup.
Grudge match
Several neighbourly spats: putting one over on Colombia, with whom Ecuador briefly severed diplomatic relations in 2008 over a border incursion by their bigger northern neighbours, would be sweet – a meeting of the teams is known as El Clásico Tricolor. There is also a historic rivalry with Peru, developed over a 19th-century border conflict, and there have been a succession of dramatic and often tense recent encounters with Uruguay.
Holed up
The secluded Hotel Vila Ventura in Viamão in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul is a luxury eco resort with its own full-sized football pitch, palm-lined ponds and a vast swimming pool with a rather unnerving prison-campesque watchtower looming over it. The hotel has been asked to provide a basket of Ecuadorian varieties of banana in each room daily.
How they qualified
Edged out Uruguay for the final automatic spot in South America, after overcoming the death of striker Chucho Benítez midway through the qualifying campaign.
World Cup high
Beating Poland and Costa Rica to make the second round in 2006, where they gave England an almighty scare.
World Cup low
Throwing away a 1-0 lead against Mexico and being eliminated from the 2002 tournament.
Familiar faces
Antonio Valencia (Manchester United).
Title odds: 150/1
The stereotype is …
If they had to play at sea level they would never win a match.
The reality is …
Their home fortress helps, but so does their fairly simple approach of keeping it tight at the back, getting it out wide and pinging some crosses in.
Ecuador were unbeaten at home (altitude: 2,800m) but couldn’t buy a win away in qualifying. Benítez’s death last July, at 27, was a huge blow that robbed the side of their star striker. In his absence, the powerful but limited former Manchester City forward Felipe Caicedo will probably lead the line. They’ll aim to get at teams with pacy wide play, with Antonio Valencia on the right and the individualistic Jefferson Montero on the left. The team have experience in defence, in which Walter Ayoví will go into the tournament with more than 90 caps.
What are they known for?
Volcanoes 57 per cent
The Galapagos 28 per cent
That Sash song 15 per cent
How Google translates the national anthem
The heat of the lid was heard; victory after the lid flew; freedom after the victory came; and the lion was heard broken
Duration
Two fairly painless minutes.
How to dress like their fans
Contrary to popular myth, Panama hats actually hail from Ecuador, and flamboyant headgear is an integral part of the Ecuadorian fan’s garb.
Commentator’s go-to stat
Ecuador have been described as a potential banana skin, which makes sense when you find out that it is the world’s biggest exporter of bananas.