Being local to Guayaquil, La Tri beat Highlands 4-0 and reached 16 points in the qualifying table. La Verde leaves seventh place, which enters the playoffs.
Thursday for the eleventh day of the South American Qualifiers ended with a solid victory for Ecuador. The team led by Sebastián Beccacece left Quito, its natural and traditional habitat, to play in Guayaquil. Being local to the Monumental Isidro Romero Stadium, home of Barcelona, La Tri beat Bolivia 4-0 to consolidate their position in the qualifying zone for the 2026 World Cup.
La Verde had generated unusual anticipation as they were fully committed to the fight for a place in the World Cup, or at least the playoffs, which It is based above all on the move of its home port to El Alto, playing at an altitude of 4,150 meters, which intimidates rivals. However, on a visit, the story is different (except against Chile). The Highlands entered the matchup as one of two teams that had never beaten Ecuador as visitors in the qualifiers, a trend that was endorsed.
Bolivia started the match in the playoff zone, with 12 points, but the point that Venezuela took from Brazil forced them to get something from Guayaquil. The course of the match was very far from this, as the superiority of Guayas’ team was evident from the start. In possession of the ball, the yellow jerseys cornered the visitors on their territory.
The Greens’ resistance began to break in the 22nd minute, when the VAR examined a possible penalty in favor of the home team. A late review by Argentine referee Maximiliano Ramírez ends with the maximum penalty being awarded and José Sagredo being sent off for handball. Enner Valencia executes and makes the score 1-0. With the score against and a player less, the prospects for the Bolivians became difficult. Two minutes later the score was 2-0 thanks to a fine finish from Gonzalo Plata, who sent the ball to goalkeeper Viscarra.
Ecuador played well against a rival who was on the canvas. In the 43rd minute, Enner Valencia scored again with a header. It was, without fear of failure, the end of the match with time remaining. However, the goal was ruled out due to the forward position of the Ecuadorian striker and captain. The best thing for Bolivia was to go to halftime.
The panorama has not changed in the supplement. On the contrary, the difference between one team and another has become more acute. In the 49th minute, Gonzalo Plata made it 3-0. with a shot after action from Valencia. A few minutes later, Jhon Yeboah scored the fourth goal with a low left-footed shot, but goalkeeper Viscarra cleared it. Of course, the Bolivian goalkeeper could not cope with the shot of Alan Minda, who scored 4-0 in the 61st minute.
With this result, The Ecuadorian team occupies fifth place in the standings with 16 points, tied with Uruguay and Paraguay . It presents a difference of 4 units compared to the seventh, Venezuela. Bolivia stagnates at 12 points, and is momentarily out of everything, with a worse goal difference than Vinotinto.
Source: Latercera
I’m Scott Moore, a professional writer and journalist based in the US. I’ve been writing for various publications for over 8 years now, and have been working as an author at athletistic for the past five years. My work has been featured by some of the leading sports websites and magazines across Europe.
