Full Time
Ecuador and Curaçao played out a 0-0 draw in their Group E clash on June 20, finishing level despite Ecuador having 27 shots and an xG of 3.05 — a number that tells its own embarrassing story. Curaçao goalkeeper Eloy Room was the difference, making 15 saves to set a new World Cup record for most saves in 90 minutes since records began in 1966, which is the sort of thing that happens when you play Ecuador apparently. Both teams stay in the hunt: Ecuador face Germany in their final group match on June 25, while Curaçao need to beat Ivory Coast on the same day to have any real shot at progressing.
Pre-match Talking Points
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1Both teams lost their openers, so the loser here is almost certainly going home. Ecuador went down 1-0 to Ivory Coast thanks to a 90th-minute goal from Manchester United's Amad Diallo, which is a particularly grim way to lose a football match. Curaçao, meanwhile, were beaten 7-1 by Germany — though they actually led 1-0 early on, which made it feel slightly worse when it all unravelled. Win this and you're still in it. Lose and you're booking the flights home.
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2These two have never played each other before. Not once, not in a friendly, not in anything. This is literally the first time Ecuador and Curaçao have shared a pitch, which means there's no head-to-head record to nervously scroll through and no historical grudge to fuel anyone. It's a blank slate, which in World Cup terms is about as rare as it sounds.
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3The man to know is Moisés Caicedo — Chelsea's midfield engine and the player Ecuador run through the middle of everything. He's the kind of footballer who makes his team look organised even when they're not, and against a Curaçao side that will need to break up play in the centre to have any chance, he's the key chess piece. If he's dominant, Ecuador probably win comfortably. If Curaçao can disrupt him, the match gets interesting.
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4Curaçao actually went ahead against Germany inside the first 10 minutes — 22-year-old defender Livano Comenencia scored what became the most famous goal in the island's history before Germany immediately remembered they were Germany. The question going into this one is whether that early belief carries over or whether conceding six goals in reply leaves a psychological dent that takes more than 72 hours to fix. Ecuador will be hoping for the latter.
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5Curaçao is a Caribbean island with a population of around 160,000 people — smaller than most mid-sized cities. To put that in context, they're the smallest nation ever to play at a World Cup. They qualified through Concacaf having led the entire region in goals scored and average possession during qualifying, which almost nobody predicted. You don't need to care about football to find that story at least mildly remarkable.
Team Talking Points
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1Ecuador's World Cup ended in the Round of 32, beaten by hosts Mexico at the Estadio Azteca — a tough draw and an even tougher venue, and their tournament finished there.
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2The result everyone will remember is the one before it: Ecuador beat Germany 2-1 in their final group game, the result that effectively set up Germany's shock exit a round later. Beating a team ranked well above you, in the game that decides who tops the group, is the kind of result that gets replayed for years.
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3It wasn't all attacking fireworks — Ecuador also ground out a 0-0 draw against World Cup debutants Curaçao, the tighter, less glamorous result that ultimately meant just as much to finishing third and advancing as one of the best third-placed teams.
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4Chelsea's Moisés Caicedo was the engine of the whole run, anchoring midfield and doing the unglamorous work that let Ecuador's more attacking players get on the ball in good positions.
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5Beating Germany and reaching the Round of 32 is a genuinely strong World Cup for Ecuador — the kind of tournament that raises expectations for next time, which is either exciting or a little bit dangerous depending on how the next four years go.
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Top thing to say down the pub
Ecuador beat Germany in the group stage — the same Germany that then got knocked out by Paraguay. Ecuador saw it coming before anyone else did.
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Avoid saying
"Lucky group stage, nothing more" — they beat Germany with a game plan, not luck, then went and got a professional 0-0 against a well-organised Curaçao side. That's a team playing to a plan, not fluking it.
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1Curaçao's first ever World Cup ended in the group stage, as expected, but the story was never really about winning it — this is a nation of about 156,000 people, smaller than Iceland was when they famously qualified in 2018, and they were there at all.
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2Their signature moment was a 0-0 draw with Ecuador, secured almost single-handedly by 37-year-old goalkeeper Eloy Room, who made a stack of saves to hold out for Curaçao's first ever World Cup point. Ecuador went on to beat Germany in their next game, which tells you how good that Curaçao defensive display actually was.
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3The low point, scoreline-wise, was a 7-1 opening defeat to Germany — but even that had a silver lining. Manager Dick Advocaat, 78 years old and a fixture of Dutch football for decades, said afterwards he was moved to see people back home still celebrating in the streets, 7-1 loss and all.
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4Curaçao's tournament ended with a 2-0 defeat to Ivory Coast, finishing bottom of a group that also contained Germany and Ecuador — a tough draw for a debutant by any measure.
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5Nobody expects Curaçao back at a World Cup any time soon — qualifying at all was closer to a miracle than a trend. But they've now got the record for smallest nation ever to play at one, and a night when the whole island partied after a 7-1 loss because they were finally there. That's worth more than three points.
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Top thing to say down the pub
Curaçao is smaller than Iceland was when they made a World Cup — and their goalkeeper nearly held Ecuador, who then went and beat Germany, to nothing. Not bad for a country of 156,000 people.
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Avoid saying
"Who?" — don't. This is the smallest nation ever to qualify for a World Cup, and their fans partied in the streets after losing 7-1. Show some respect.