Ecuador entered the qualification for Italia ’90 firmly as underdogs to Colombia and Paraguay. They had not done a whole lot during the recently held Copa América to suggest that they had enough in their locker to rival the other two, though under Yugoslav coach Dušan Drašković they certainly left a competent impression. 

Their opening tie in Colombia had been lost by a margin which had probably been expected even before departure. Centre-back Wilson Macías had failed to contain Colombia’s top striker Iguarán, who had scored with two world-class headers. Up front, the Ecuadorians had looked light-weight, not producing anything even nearly threatening to goalkeeper Higuita.

Ecuador continued in much the same 4-4-2 in the home tie against the Colombians two weeks after. A couple of changes in personnel saw to that they looked improved, though, through the imposing Tulio Quinteros at the back, as well as the burly Byron Tenório up top. Despite creating a few decent openings themselves, Ecuador were probably a tad fortunate not to concede, and 0-0 must have been a very good return from their point of view. 

Another step in the right direction proved the journey to Asunción, despite a second away defeat of the campaign against a very experienced Paraguayan outfit. Ecuador had left out captain Hamilton Cuvi, with Drašković giving gangly stopper Hólger Quiñónez the armband. With less emphasis on the two wide players, Cuvi and young and hugely talented Álex Aguinaga, working as a playmaking pair, even midfield man Julio César Rosero looked more comfortable. Aguinaga had been switched to a forward role alongside the domestic league’s leading scorer Raúl Avilés. Despite battling well against their hosts, Ecuador left Paraguay with a 2-1 defeat. 

Two weeks on, it was time for the final tie of the group, with visiting Paraguay needing a win in order to finish atop the pile. They had looked gradually poorer during the qualification, however, and with Ecuador’s arrow pointing in the opposite direction, perhaps had one ought to see this one coming: A 3-1 home win left the visitors stunned, and for the second successive game against Ecuador, Paraguay had a player sent off. Drašković had set his team up in a compact manner, and against an unbalanced and highly attack-minded opponent, they profitted from quick breaks. In addition to the three goals, Ecuador had created a further number of opportunities to score. 

They could take pride in their campaign, and finishing just two points off the top spot must have been a fine feather in the cap for their Yugoslav manager. Mr Drašković could well have a bright future with this team, which should be kept together for the next Copa América in two years’ time. 

Stand-out players had been midfielder Kléber Fajardo and full-back Luis Capurro, who had followed up his excellent, individually speaking, Copa tournament with some fine displays in the qualification. In addition, Avilés had notched in both their two final matches, and a player like the richly talented Aguinaga would only benefit from his move to Mexico, where he would come up against better opponents to enhance his own level. 

Did they have some issues between the sticks, though? Neither of their two goalkeepers impressed: Carlos Morales kept goal for their first three ties, while his back-up Víctor Mendoza was given the opportunity in the final match against Paraguay. His was the weakest of the four goalkeeping performances. 

Final position: 3 (out of 3)
Total record: 4 1 1 2 4-5 3
Home record: 2 1 1 0 3-1 3
Away record: 2 0 0 2 1-4 0