Ecuador dominated from start to finish but somehow failed to find a breakthrough as Curaçao held on for a famous 0-0 draw.
The South Americans created chance after chance, only to be denied by a sensational goalkeeping display and a mixture of missed opportunities, whilst Curaçao showed tremendous resilience to claim a historic first-ever FIFA World Cup point.
Here are our Scout Notes from the game, featuring match stats from our World Cup Toolkit page.
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ECUADOR 0-0 CURACAO
- Chances created bonus: Yeboah
- Shots on target bonus: Valencia, Plata
- Top points scorers: Room (14), Brenet (9), Floranus (9), Estupinan (9), Obispo (9), Fonville (9), Hincapie (9), Pacho (9)
TEAM STATS
PLAYER STATS
SCOUT NOTES
- Ecuador controlled the match from start to finish. The South Americans finished with 75% possession, generated a huge 2.84 xG (expected goals), created six big chances and registered 27 attempts on goal.
- The biggest surprise when the teamsheets dropped was Joel Ordóñez ($3.9m) starting on the bench. Curaçao also made two notable defensive changes from the defeat to Germany, bringing in Juriën Gaari ($3.5m) and Joshua Brenet ($3.7m).
- Ecuador began on the front foot. Their first major opportunity came when Moisés Caicedo ($6.8m) clipped a perfectly weighted pass over the top for Enner Valencia ($5.6m). The striker raced through one-on-one with the goalkeeper but failed to convert from close range.
- Valencia soon threatened again. Piero Hincapié ($4.7m) surged down the left before delivering an inviting cross into the penalty area. Valencia worked himself into space. However, he could not squeeze his finish beyond the goalkeeper.
- Ecuador continued to create chances. Many of the efforts from Gonzalo Plata ($5.6m) and John Yeboah ($5.1m) travelled straight at Curaçao goalkeeper Eloy Room ($3.9m).
- Ecuador raised the tempo after half-time. They maintained 75% possession, generated 1.75 xG, created four big chances, registered 19 attempts on goal and won eight corners.
- Curaçao still managed to threaten on the counter. Around the hour mark, Juninho Bacuna ($5.1m) played in Leandro Bacuna ($4.1m), whose powerful left-footed effort forced Hernán Galíndez ($4.2m) into an important save. A couple of weaker efforts followed soon after. Ecuador’s defence remained solid.
- Ecuador quickly resumed their dominance. Yeboah whipped another dangerous cross into the box for Valencia, whose header crept towards the near post before Room produced another excellent low save. The Curaçao goalkeeper then denied substitute Kevin Rodríguez ($4.9m) from the resulting corner.
- Ecuador continued to create chance after chance but simply could not find a breakthrough. Valencia received the bulk of the opportunities, but Room delivered an outstanding display between the posts to preserve a clean sheet.
- Although Ecuador have conceded just one goal at this World Cup, their defensive potential still looks limited ahead of a difficult meeting with Germany. Meanwhile, Côte d’Ivoire will fancy their chances of scoring against Curaçao after an encouraging display against Germany in Round 2.
