Decision made on Moises Caicedo's eligibility for World Cup 2026: report
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Moises Caicedo could be available for selection when Ecuador kick off their World Cup campaign next month.
World Cup 2026 gets underway on Thursday, June 11 and Ecuador face Ivory Coast in their Group E opener at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Sunday, June 14. It had been expected that La Tri would be without Chelsea midfielder Caicedo, who is due to serve a one-match suspension .
Caicedo was given a second yellow card in Ecuador's last qualifying match, a 1-0 win against world champions Argentina in Guayaquil in September. He was given an automatic one-match ban and ruled out of the first game of the finals.
FIFA decision boosts Ecuador and Argentina
Argentina's Nicolas Otamendi was sent off in the same match and was expecting the same sanction, but FIFA has reportedly given Ecuador and Argentina their wish by freeing Caicedo and Otamendi to play in their respective national teams' opening matches at the World Cup .
"FIFA has granted amnesty and Moises Caicedo is not suspended for the World Cup opener," reports Ecuadorian journalist Cesar Luis Merlo on X, formerly Twitter .
The same ruling has been made on the suspensions of Otamendi and Qatar 's Tarek Salman , who was dismissed late in his team's last qualifier against the United Arab Emirates in October.
Caicedo's second World Cup was expected to start when Ecuador face Curacao at Arrowhead Stadium , followed by their last group game against Germany at MetLife Stadium .
Ecuador qualified in second place in CONMEBOL qualifying, finishing behind only Argentina thanks to an impressive campaign, securing their place in a fifth World Cup since 2002.
The freshly eligible Otamendi and the world champions are set to take on Algeria in their Group J opener at Arrowhead Stadium on Tuesday, June 16. They play both Austria and Jordan at AT&T Stadium .
FIFA has also addressed the implications of a probable record number of yellow and red cards at World Cup 2026 , introducing an additional amnesty after the group stage in order to avoid players missing the semi-finals because of two yellow cards.
World Cup 2026 has an extra round, and therefore an extra chance to get booked, in order to accommodate the jump from 32 participating teams to 48.
Yellow cards will be wiped after the group stage, which means that players would need to be booked twice in the early knock-out rounds in order to miss the semi-finals.
The previously installed amnesty after the quarter-finals remains, preventing players with two yellow cards from missing the final at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, July 19.
