By Nick Mulvenney
June 5 (Reuters) - A glance at the team sheets for last week's Champions League final gave a big clue as to why Ecuador might end up being one of the toughest teams to score against at the World Cup.
Centre half Willian Pacho anchored the Paris Saint-Germain defence in their Budapest shootout triumph over Arsenal, for whom Piero Hincapie played all 120 minutes at left back.
The longtime friends will be reunited for their country at the World Cup in a rearguard also featuring AC Milan
full back Pervis Estupinan and Club Brugge centre half Joel Ordonez, the 22-year-old target of some of the biggest clubs in Europe.
Add in front of that defence Chelsea's Moises Caicedo, who many consider to be the best defensive midfielder in the world, and it is perhaps not too hard to see why Ecuador managed 13 clean sheets in 18 South American World Cup qualifiers.
Conceding only five goals over that campaign, La Tri finished second behind world champions Argentina and three spots above Brazil -- despite having three points docked for fielding an ineligible player in 2022 qualifying.
"The goal was to qualify for the World Cup and be on par with Uruguay, Colombia, and Paraguay," coach Sebastian Beccacece said in an interview last month.
"I think we've achieved that, and then we can take the next step and aspire to be a Brazil or Argentina someday. Today, we've set our sights on having the best World Cup in history."
Ecuador managed to reach the last 16 in 2006 where they lost 1-0 to a David Beckham goal for England, but otherwise failed to get out of their group in 2002, 2014 and 2022.
Without their two Champions League finalists, Ecuador beat Saudi Arabia 2-1 last weekend in New Jersey to extend their unbeaten run to 18 games going back to a loss against Brazil in September 2024 -- Argentine Beccacece's first game in charge.
That it was only a third win in the last 12 matches hints at Ecuador's Achilles heel -- they might be tough to score against but are hardly prolific at the other end of the pitch with only 14 goals over 18 qualifying matches.
VALENCIA GOALSCORING THREAT
In teenager Kendry Paez and Flamengo's Gonzalo Plata, La Tri have exciting and pacey wide players who can cause problems for defences but they will again be almost entirely reliant on Enner Valencia for goals.
The 36-year-old scored a record-extending 50th goal for his country against the Saudis with a trademark header and is going into his third World Cup seeking to add to his tally of six at soccer's global showpiece.
Airtight defence might get you out of an opening-round group stage at a major championship but you usually need goals to progress any further.
Ecuador have reached the knockout stage at three of the last four Copa Americas but fallen at the first hurdle each time, most recently in a penalty shootout at the hands of eventual winners Argentina.
A group draw that has pitched them against Germany and Ivory Coast as well as Curacao will not help their cause, but the forgiving format in the first 48-team World Cup should see them through to the last 32.
From there, it will all be about whether they have enough quality in the final third of the pitch to win a World Cup knockout match for the first time and give their compatriots, who are expected to turn out in numbers, something to cheer.
"It's very important to see our fans and the Ecuadorean people in the stadium supporting us, chanting our names, and applauding us," Caicedo said this week.
"That fills us with joy ... we do it for them."
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing By Ken Ferris)
