Ecuador hosts Argentina in round 18 of the World Cup qualification. The match will be played on Wednesday, March 30th at Estadio Banco Pichincha (Guayaquil)
The national team of Ecuador is in third place in the standings with 25 points. Gustavo Alfaro's men have seven victories, four draws, and six losses after 17 matches. The Tricolors have no motivation for the last round of these qualifiers, as they secured promotion to the World Cup ahead of schedule. The successful performance of Ecuador is associated with excellent results at native stadiums. In eight home matches, the Ecuadorians lost only to the national team of Peru (1-2). On March 25, the Tricolors had an unsuccessful trip to Paraguay (3-1). The visitors conceded three unanswered goals by the 54th minute and got away from a major defeat thanks to a penalty, which was converted by Jordy Caicedo.
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Argentina is in 2nd place in the standings with 38 points after 16 matches. Lionel Scaloni's team gained 11 victories and five draws. Albiceleste also booked tickets to Qatar, but they continue to score points regularly. Scaloni’s men do not stop trying to catch up with the leaders of the qualification, who are four points ahead. Another motivation for Messi and company is the unbeaten run, which has reached the mark of 30 matches in all competitions. The Argentines are getting closer to at least repeating the achievement of the Italian national team, which did not lose 37 games in a row. On March 26, the champions of South America dealt with the worst team in these qualifiers, Venezuela (3-0). Goals from Nicolás González, Angel Di Maria, and Lionel Messi allowed the Argentines to gain the second whitewash in a row.
The Argentines have not lost to the Ecuadorians since October 2015, when they suffered a home defeat in the World Cup qualifiers (0-2). After that, the opponents played four head-to-head matches, in which Albiceleste were invariably stronger. As for the current qualification, Argentina and Ecuador crossed paths in Buenos Aires in October 2020. Then the hosts achieved a minimal 1-0 victory thanks to the only goal from Lionel Messi, who converted a penalty. The upcoming match in Guayaquil will actually have a friendly nature, as both teams have already accomplished the main task in these qualifiers. However, the visitors will have a little more motivation. Messi and his partners will want to extend their unbeaten streak and maintain a chance of taking first place in the group ahead of the rescheduled match against the Brazilians. Most likely, this will predetermine the outcome of the upcoming game in favor of Albiceleste.
Prediction for the match: Argentina to win
