New Jersey and Red Bull arena hosted another international friendly ahead of the upcoming Copa America tournament this summer. Guatemala and Ecuador both arrived at the match with set objectives. On one side is a squad that continues to build ahead of a World Cup qualifying campaign.
The other works towards fixing the final details ahead of their participation in the continent’s most important tournament. A very cold, but interesting match that saw two loyal fanbases come together in another unforgettable soccer night.
Lessons learned
The reality of both teams was similarly different. They both were in a rebuilding phase, but one was ahead of the other. Ecuador’s most recent fixtures, including the last friendly against Bolivia at Red Bull Arena, had not been convincing. The ongoing striker issue within the national team continues to take a toll on the squad. The buildup is set alongside the talent, but without someone to capitalize on those qualities, the team falls short of its objective. Enner Valencia’s absence from the match allowed John Yeboa some much-needed minutes and an opportunity to see his involvement in the attacking front.
Ecuador saw two more long-awaited returns with Gonzalo Plata and Jeremy Sarmiento. Both players had the opportunity to display their talent once again after missing out on the recent call-ups. Sarmiento generated high expectations thanks to his recent momentum at club level. In Plata’s case, it was more of knowing when he was going to return to the level he was known to have. Luckily, everything worked out in their favor, as they all had a good match against Guatemala overall.
The game did leave pointers to consider despite the result. One of them is the presence that Jeremy Sarmiento can bring to the squad should he continue to elevate his game to the expected potential. He took it upon himself to move the ball around the left part of the field. He was able to beat his mark for most of the game.
The team can benefit from an unexpected partnership if you add the spark created between him and John Yeboa for the first goal. This was the first time they played together, and to see them connect like that brought good sensations of what the future could look like.
Gonzalo Plata also turned back the clock and showcased why he’s one of Ecuador’s top players. He was quick to understand his role when he came in late in the second half. He sealed the game for Ecuador after a box-to-box counter-attack that saw his bottom corner shot hit the back of the net.
However, Guatemala did expose some of Ecuador’s weaknesses. ‘La Tri’ relied on creating all the attacks from the wings. This allowed Guatemala’s defense to place their strongest defenders on individual duels against the Ecuadorian front line. It was a perfect scenario for Guatemala since it helped them display their physical advantage over Ecuador.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for them to create critical chances to come back into the match. Set pieces were also a small problem for La Tri; some crosses to the box were not cleared properly. The result could have been different if the rival had been sharper with those opportunities.
Guatemala’s manager Luis Fernando Tena praised Ecuador and the level of the current squad. “They have very talented players, they all play in Europe, in the end, these kinds of rivals are the ones that can help us improve”. On Ecuador’s end, manager Felix Sanchez was happy with the level displayed by the team and now sets sights on the fixture against Italy on Sunday.