Ecuador beat Guatemala 3-0 in Columbus last night, delivering a clean sheet for Sebastián Beccacece as he fine tunes a 4-2-3-1 that is starting to hum ahead of Copa America selection. Luis Fernando Tena’s 5-4-1 block survived half an hour but could not cope with the volume of passing Ecuador generated across 90 minutes.
The contest hinged on the 18th minute when José Morales mistimed his challenge on Jordy Caicedo, took a yellow card and left Guatemala exposed from the spot. Caicedo scored in the 19th minute, and from there Ecuador owned the rhythm. Jeremy Arévalo kept finding pockets between the lines, logging five key passes, while Alan Minda’s willingness to drive inside forced the visitors constantly onto the back foot.
Beccacece reset the structure at half-time, sending on Pedro Vite, Piero Hincapié, Ángelo Preciado, Moisés Caicedo and Joel Ordóñez. The new quintet lifted the speed of circulation instantly: Moisés Caicedo’s 64 from 66 passing and two key balls pinned Guatemala deep, Preciado provided the overlap the first half lacked, and Vite kept the ball moving away from pressure. Jackson Porozo and Ordóñez made sure the back door stayed locked, absorbing the rare long pass Tena’s side could launch.
The bench completed the job. Nilson Angulo, introduced in the 60th minute, doubled the lead in the 73rd minute after Ecuador recycled possession yet again around the Guatemala box. Five minutes later Pervis Estupiñán, who entered in the 77th minute, made it 3-0, capitalising on another spell of pressure with a simple finish in the 78th minute. By then Tena’s substitutions could not alter the pattern: Guatemala finished without a shot on target and without a corner, testimony to Ecuador’s control.
Discipline mattered too. Jackson Porozo’s yellow card in the 33rd minute was the only lapse in a dominant display from the defender, while Alan Franco’s booking for dissent in the 44th minute summed up the frustration at a first half where Ecuador felt they should already have been clear. Pedro Vite added the third caution in the 56th minute yet still managed to shape the tempo after the interval. Guatemala’s sole booking remained Morales’ early foul, emblematic of a back line perpetually stretched.
Key stats
- Possession: Ecuador 66 percent, Guatemala 34 percent
- Shots: Ecuador 18, Guatemala 3
- Shots on target: Ecuador 6, Guatemala 0
- Corners: Ecuador 6, Guatemala 0
- Passing: Ecuador 674 accurate from 740, Guatemala 313 accurate from 380
Beccacece’s notebook will be full of positives: depth options such as Angulo and Estupiñán delivered, Moisés Caicedo looks ready to anchor the midfield in competitive action, and the defensive unit kept a clean sheet. Attention now turns to trimming the squad before the next friendly window. For Guatemala the task is stark: Tena needs more incision before World Cup qualifying resumes, otherwise this window will be remembered only for the damage limitation. For more on this week’s international tune-ups, see Colombia vs Jordan.
