Ecuador vs Chile Prediction & Betting Tips - World Cup

Prediction published on 19/11/2023, 16:30  by Joseph King | Modified on 21/11/2023 at 10:30 in World Cup Prediction

Sixth-place Ecuador host a struggling eighth-placed Chile in Quito for the sixth of the 18-match CONMEBOL World Cup 2026 qualifying campaign. Ecuador has been facing an uphill battle from the very start of qualifying after having three points deducted for falsifying a player’s birth documents. Luckily for them, the expanded format of the 2026 World Cup means that the top six teams out of 10 in this region earn an automatic entry to the finals. The team that finishes seventh will contest an intercontinental playoff to determine their fate. Despite the early hole, La Tri have been able to dig themselves out fairly quickly with two wins, two draws and one defeat in their five games so far. Ecuador kicked things off with a 1-0 defeat to defending champions Argentina but have since gone on a four match unbeaten run. Wins over Uruguay and Bolivia were followed up with two consecutive 0-0 draws in their last two outings, the most recent of which came against Venezuela.

Chile are passing through a difficult stretch at the moment. After missing out on both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, failure to qualify for the world’s biggest tournament a third consecutive time would be an unmitigated disaster. Things aren’t looking good to start out as La Roja have managed just a single win in their first five fixtures. A 0-0 home draw against Paraguay in their last match resulted in former manager Eduardo Berizzo handing in his resignation. It was a particularly ugly result given that Chile had played nearly the entire second half with a man advantage but couldn’t break through. They’ve now failed to score in three of their last four, with their only goals during that stretch coming against rock-bottom Peru. Fans will be hoping for the ‘new manager bounce’ as caretaker Nicolas Cordova takes the reins. However, Chile are heavy underdogs against an Ecuador side that hasn’t lost on home soil in over two years.