A 10-men Ecuador surprised viewers after a 1-0 away win against Colombia in the CONMEBOL FIFA World Cup qualifier, causing a first home defeat to head coach Lorenzo in six matches and a first home World Cup Qualifier defeat to Colombia in nine games.
Ecuador scored the first goal in the match in the seventh minute after Valencia moved past the host’s defense and finished placing a shot into the bottom corner, making it his fourth goal in only two games. Colombia find it difficult to equalize despite their strong home record.
Colombia’s Jhon Córdoba missed the opportunity to make it a draw when he failed to fire into the net a cross from close range by James Rodríguez.
Another opportunity to equalize was missed, and the match took another dimension when Piero Hincapié was shown a red card for a foul he committed against Córdoba after the striker replayed a rebound from goalkeeper Hernán Galíndez. The free-kick by Rodríguez was saved, and Luis Diaz’s header hit the post, ending the first half in 1-0.
Jhon Arias and substitute Jhon Duran’s efforts to equalize and put Colombia in the lead in the second half were denied by Ecuador’s goalkeeper Galíndez. While Colombia continued to pressure for an equalizer, Diaz played a shot that almost ended in the net in the final minutes.
This defeat has raised concern for Colombia under Lorenzo, having lost four of his seven games, raising questions of whether the team will qualify for the World Cup.
The win means a five consecutive World Cup Qualifiers clean sheet for Ecuador under Manager Sebastián Beccacece, placing focus on their defense after a red card.