Becaccece: Ecuador Aims for History Despite Logistical Hurdles

Ecuador's head coach, Sebastian Becaccece, expressed confidence in his team's ambition to achieve historic success at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, despite significant logistical challenges faced by the squad in Mexico City.

Mexico returns to the iconic Azteca Stadium for their Round of 16 clash against Ecuador. The hosts aim to extend their unbeaten streak at the historic capital stadium. Javier Aguirre's team advanced to the knockout stages after winning all three of their Group A matches without conceding a goal. Ecuador, for their part, secured their progression with a 2-1 victory over Germany in their final group stage match.

At a pre-match press conference, Becaccece did not hide his fatigue and frustration with the organizational mishaps.

"Good evening. It took us three hours to get started. I truly don't know why. We had planned everything for 6:00 PM. Even the players haven't arrived yet. It should have taken us an hour and twenty minutes to the hotel, but the flight ended up being nine hours long. I apologize if I seem tired," stated the Argentine specialist.

He contrasted this with the perfect organization in previous host cities: "In the previous matches in Philadelphia, New York, and Kansas City, everything was organized perfectly. Every detail. Everything ran like clockwork, but that's not the case here."

Despite the difficulties, Becaccece emphasized that the team's spirit remains high.

"The team is doing well. The players are enthusiastic, in good spirits. They want to make history and realize that our opponent was the best in the group stage. They didn't concede a single goal. Their preparation is exceptional; they had a lot of time for training and played friendly matches. We took a big step after the fourth match, and our dream is to play a fifth," he added.

Commenting on the upcoming clash, the coach recalled a previous friendly against Mexico and outlined his expectations for the match.

"It was a tough match then, and tomorrow's will be just as difficult, especially in the first fifteen minutes. The Mexican team is very technical, physically strong, excellently prepared, and playing at home. We will showcase our strengths, which we demonstrated to the world in the World Cup qualifiers. We are a young, yet quite mature team, and we are determined to make history," Becaccece concluded.