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Ecuador has historic win over Germany. Can it keep World Cup dream alive?
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- Ecuador has historic win over Germany. Can it keep World Cup dream alive?
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Once it was over, Sebastián Beccacece, the Ecuador ian coach, bounded over to his family sitting in the first row, his flowing, blond hair trailing behind. He climbed the wall and embraced his wife and daughters.
This was the second time in the day he had done so.
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Near midfield, players mobbed each other, basking in the moment. The match had ended, but the fans adorned in yellow were bobbing up and down in the lower bowl, refusing to leave. They were in tears or dancing or clutching their flag, chanting "E-CUA-DOR! E-CUA-DOR!"
Downstairs, those who had filtered outside, packed the perimeter road that curls around the stadium. They were chanting something else: "Sí se pudo. Sí se pudo" or, essentially, We did it .
In its final match of the group stage, Ecuador stunned Germany 2-1 behind a 77thminute thunderstrike from forward Gonzalo Plata that launched La Tri into the knockout round of a men's World Cup for only the second time in the nation's history.
The result revived a country that, just five days prior, had been demoralized during a goalless draw against Curaçao on Saturday, June 20 . The result also saved Ecuador from a humiliating crash out from the tournament after it had entered with some promise for a historic run.
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Yet, Ecuador's escape from the group stage revealed some essential flaws the team must address as it awaits its next opponent in the round of 32. This side can defend; after allowing Germany to strafe 9 shots in the first half, La Tri bodied Germany's attackers, limiting the four-time world champions to just a pair in the second half.
But for Ecuador to reach the round of 16 for the second time in its history, it must generate more consistent offense. La Tri entered Thursday not having scored a single goal. They like to play in the mud and deploy their defensive physicality, waiting until possession pinballs back and forth enough for a chance to crack open. As competition intensifies and the teams they face get better, however, that alone won't be enough.
After the match, an exasperated reporter asked Beccacece why Ecuadorian fans had to suffer, why they needed to wait until the very end, when no one believed it would be possible to advance, for the team to respond the way it did.
Beccacece went on to philosophize for seven minutes. It was a monologue in which he pondered the merits of faith and hard work, in which he invoked South American liberators Simón Bolivar and José de San Martín and one in which he — an Argentinian by birth — described how his time and travels across Ecuador brought him to understand the spirit of the country. It's a spirit he said he's vowing to instill in his players.
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"There's the answer to your question," Beccacece said. "You asked why, what for. Well, to believe. To believe that as long as there's a chance, we must try to see the light. And if it's not in the cards, well, we'll deal with the pain and suffering of not getting what we want, what we dream of, what we long for.
"But I will never question this group's heart in the face of adveristy because now we're talking about an entire country that has supported us and is out celebrating."
This was, for La Tri, historic. Not only did Plata's last-ditch strike advance Ecuador, it marked the first time that the country defeated a European opponent since February 2013, when it topped Portugal , 3-2, in a friendly. Given the stakes and the stage, it was one of the great moments in the country's footballing history.
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The question now becomes whether Ecuador can keep the dream alive.
Ecuador is the second-youngest team in this World Cup, at an average age of 25.6 years old. It has seven players younger than 23 years old, tied for most in the tournament.
It's looking increasingly likely that it will face Mexico in the round of 32, though that is still fluid.
Beccacece did make some tweaks that paid off. He asked center back Piero Hincapié to play further up the formation, helping get more bodies out in the opposing half. In the 64thminute, he substituted Ecuador's top goal-scoring threat, forward Énner Valencia , for forward Kevin Rodríguez , who had an instant impact. None was more consequential than the glanced header off of the corner that led to the ball finding Plata's boot for the match-winning goal.
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Perhaps there might be an avenue for Beccacece to consider giving Rodríguez a bigger role.
Ecuador's Gonzalo Plata celebrates with teammates scoring his team's second goal in a 2-1 win over Germany.
After the match, however, Beccacece seemed to favor continuity and belief.
"I'm happy with this team — I love them," Beccacece said. "I love them, I love them, I love them, regardless of what happens. No result will change that."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ecuador stuns Germany to reach knockout round for just the second time
