Without a win and out of form, pressure is building on Ecuador but there is a togetherness within the squad at the Copa America.
Ecuador slumped to a 1-0 loss to Colombia in their Copa opener last week, condemning La Tri to a third consecutive defeat.
Gustavo Alfaro's side will have the chance to arrest their slump against Venezuela in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, but Copa history is against them.
Ecuador have not beaten a CONMEBOL opponent at the showpiece South American tournament since 2001, their 4-0 defeat of Venezuela followed by a 14-game winless run in such matches.
The team's only victories in the intervening period have come against CONCACAF pair Mexico and Haiti.
Despite the cause for concern, Sebas Mendez insists Ecuador remain united heading into their second Group B fixture.
"We have a great responsibility, which is to represent the country, people are following us," Mendez said as Ecuador – who have never progressed beyond the quarter-finals and exited in the 2019 group stage – look to kick-start their campaign in Brazil.
"The group is united. We know the goal we want so we are working in every way to be able to do it."
Ecuador will come up against a Venezuela team buoyed by their gritty performance in Thursday's goalless draw with Colombia.
While Venezuela only have one point from their opening two matches, the minnows have shown great resilience in the absence of Tomas Rincon and Romulo Otero due to COVID-19.
Venezuela, despite their coronavirus issues, will be chasing a long-overdue win over Ecuador, having not tasted victory against them since the 2011 Copa America.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Venezuela – Wuilker Farinez
Farinez almost single-handedly kept Colombia at bay to earn a point for Venezuela last time out. There was no way past the 23-year-old Lens goalkeeper, who made eight saves to keep a clean sheet. It was double the number of saves he made in the three games he played with Lens during the 2020-21 Ligue 1 season. His eight saves are the joint-most by a goalkeeper that kept a clean sheet at the Copa America since 2007, following Paraguay's Gatito Fernandez in 2019.
Ecuador – Pervis Estupinan
A Europa League winner with Villarreal in 2020-21, the 23-year-old left-back has made a strong start to the Copa America. While Ecuador missed out on three points against Colombia, Estupinan was a handful, particularly in attack. He forced a strong save from David Ospina, finishing the clash with a team-high two key passes and one of Ecuador's two shots on target.
KEY OPTA FACTS
- This meeting is one of the less common matches in the history of the tournament – it will be only the fourth match between Venezuela and Ecuador at the Copa America.
- The record currently favours Ecuador, who have won twice and lost just once, with the other game drawn. However, Venezuela won the last Copa America meeting between the teams, triumphing 1-0 in 2011.
- Venezuela will seek to score a goal in the Copa America after failing to achieve it in the last three matches in the competition.
- Ecuador are undefeated for six consecutive games against Venezuela in all competitions.
- Ecuador is the second-highest team in terms of possession in the current Copa America. Their average so far is 58.59 per cent, only behind Paraguay, who average 77.85 per cent.
Maanum stunner inspires Arsenal turnaround against Bayern, Barca ease past Roma into semi-finals
Arsenal defeated Bayern Munich 2-0 at Emirates Stadium to complete a 2-1 turnaround on aggregate and reach the semi-finals of the Women's Champions League.
Trailing to a Lea Schuller header from last week's first leg, Frida Maanum fired in a sensational 20-yard effort to level up the tie within 20 minutes of Wednesday's return game.
Stina Blackstenius powered in a header six minutes later to give Arsenal the lead in the tie for the first time in front of the 21,307 watching spectators in north London.
Jonas Eidevall's side missed chances to kill off the tie, but they saw out the victory to set up a meeting with the winners of Thursday's tie between Paris Saint-Germain and Wolfsburg.
Barcelona earlier booked their spot in the semi-finals, where either Chelsea or Lyon await, with a commanding 5-1 win over Roma at Camp Nou sealing a 6-1 aggregate victory.
Two-goal Fridolina Rolfo scored either side of Maria Leon's curler to put Barca, who finished runners-up to Lyon last season, out of sight before half-time.
Asisat Oshoala tapped in a fourth a minute after the restart and Patricia Guijarro headed in from a corner to complete the rout.
Competition debutants Roma registered a couple of attempts on target in the remaining 40 minutes, but it was plain sailing for Barca in their quest for a second European crown.
Arsenal and Aston Villa technical staff charged by FA after altercation
Members of Arsenal and Aston Villa's technical teams have been charged by the Football Association over an altercation during their Premier League game last month.
The Gunners staged a remarkable 4-2 comeback at Villa Park on February 18, sealed by a dramatic own goal courtesy of their former goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
It came after earlier goals from Bukayo Saka and Oleksandr Zinchenko had helped the visitors draw on level terms, while Gabriel Martinelli added a fourth deep in injury time.
Celebrations were marred between a clash between Villa’s head of performance analysis Victor Manas and Arsenal's technical analyst Miguel Molina, and now the pair have been charged by the FA.
"Aston Villa's head of performance analysis, Victor Manas, and Arsenal's technical analyst coach, Miguel Molina, have been charged following their Premier League game on Wednesday 18 February," read a statement.
"It's alleged that Miguel Molina's behaviour and/or language during the 94th minute was improper and/or abusive and/or insulting, and that his behaviour in the tunnel after the final whistle was also improper."
Manas and Molina have until Friday to provide a response to the FA.
Tottenham seek urgent clarification after FIFA extends Paratici ban worldwide 'with no advance notice'
Tottenham have reached out to FIFA for urgent "further clarification" after Fabio Paratici's ban was extended worldwide "with no advance notice" to the club.
Paratici was one of 11 individuals banned by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) in January after Juventus were found guilty of alleged breaches in relation to historical transfer dealings.
The Bianconeri were docked 15 points in Serie A as part of the punishment, with Paratici and Juve denying any wrongdoing and lodging an appeal for the initial sanctions to the Italian Olympic Committee.
Paratici was handed a 30-month ban by the FIGC but continued his role with Spurs due to his punishment only falling under the jurisdiction of Italian football's governing body.
But FIFA confirmed on Wednesday those FIGC sanctions have been extended worldwide, with Tottenham demanding immediate clarity over the bans on their managing director of football Paratici.
"Following media reports today regarding the FIFA Disciplinary Committee decision to extend worldwide the sanction imposed by the FIGC Federal Court of Appeals on Fabio Paratici on 20 January 2023, the club made urgent enquiries to FIFA," a club statement read.
"FIFA has late this afternoon responded to us in writing notifying us today, Wednesday 29 March 2023, that a decision has been made by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee to extend the FIGC sanction worldwide.
"This committee deliberation has been taken with no advance notice to any of the parties involved. We are urgently seeking further clarification from FIFA as to the details of the extension and its variance from the FIGC sanction."
The announcement came just a day after Paratici had addressed the club's media and stated head coach Antonio Conte's dismissal from Spurs was the "right decision for everyone".
Paratici placed his full faith in interim boss Cristian Stellini, who will be in charge until the end of the season, and Spurs sought to clarify the interview took place prior to any knowledge of FIFA's sanctions.
The statement added: "We should like to make clear that when Fabio conducted the interview on club channels yesterday neither he nor the club had any indication of this decision being made by FIFA, based on the fact the FIGC sanction was taken on 20 January 2023 and remains subject to an Appeal on 19 April 2023.
"We shall update on this matter in due course."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
