The Ecuadorian coach, Gustavo Alfaro, affirmed that it will represent “a nice opportunity” to close the South American Qualifiers heading to the World Cup in Qatar against Argentina.
“We have to close the qualifying round with a full stadium and it’s a nice opportunity, because it will be against one of the best teams in South America, which, alongside Brazil, are the only two undefeated teams in the qualifiers,” Alfaro highlighted in a virtual press conference.
The coach of the Ecuadorian team assured that the Albiceleste, champions of the Copa América 2021, will arrive next Tuesday for the match against his team in Guayaquil in an “optimal process of evolution and maturation”.
This condition places the Argentine team among the six best teams on the planet and as a candidate to win the World Cup in Qatar.
“It is not a minor fact, we have also hosted Brazil; now we are hosting the best in the world, which is a very good and beautiful test, with demands and experience for us. We have to try to take advantage of that and prepare ourselves for the maximum challenge, like the World Cup,” Alfaro remarked.
After the recent 3-1 loss away against Paraguay, the Argentine coach in charge of Ecuador revealed part of his tactics for the next duel: “We must try to return to our roots, recovering players and taking care of others who have been carrying injury problems, to put out the best team and close the qualifiers well.”
On this point, Alfaro acknowledged that the defeat against Paraguay “hurt a lot, not because of the score but because of the way each goal was conceded.” And he recalled that, within the learning process, the team “worked to correct and improve, to avoid mistakes that cost a lot.” That concept will guide them facing the World Cup, a competition in which, according to him, “You can’t make those mistakes, because they send you home.”
Likewise, the coach from Santa Fe anticipated that after the game against Argentina he will begin a stage of preparation to go to the World Cup in the best shape, and said: “I hope that the light that illuminated Ecuador in the first matches of the Qualifiers stays lit, even after Qatar.”
Alfaro said that during the qualifying campaign, his strongest message was to build the faith of the young players he leads, so that they would believe in their abilities and possibilities.
“With young players, you have to work constantly, after defeats or triumphs, in the ongoing adjustment of experiences, and drawing conclusions so that they stay on the path in which they always work,” he said.
In this regard, the coach recognized the willingness of young players to believe in his proposal, but he also highlighted the contribution of the most experienced, such as goalkeepers Alexander Domínguez (formerly of Colón de Santa Fe and Vélez Sarsfield) and Hernán Galíndez (an Argentine-born naturalized Ecuadorian), in addition to attackers Ángel Mena and Enner Valencia.
For the game against the Argentine national team, Ecuador will miss the latter, their top scorer, and defender Félix Torres, both due to suspension, while welcoming back midfielders Alan Franco, Moisés Caicedo and Gonzalo Plata.