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Ecuador
Ecuador at the World Cup? Where did they come from?
That was a common reaction after the small South American nation qualified for football's biggest tournament. But if you followed their CONMEBOL campaign, then you know that its qualification was no accident. The Ecuadorans beat Brazil and Paraguay and impressed throughout their qualifiers. Considering the fact they have made for the finals for the first time ever, not many people expect much from them in Asia.
But then again, no one expected them to be in Japan and South Korea in the first place.
As the countdown to the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan continues, CNNSI.com's Pedro Pinto will take a close look at all of the nations that will contend for football's greatest prize.
Pinto is an anchor on World Sport, the international sports show that airs live on CNN/Sports Illustrated and CNN International.
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Ecuador is a well-organized side that finds inspiration in two men: manager Hernan Dario Gomez and captain Alex Aguinaga. The experienced Gomez, who managed his native Colombia for years, has quickly become a cult hero in his new nation. He gave the side tactical awareness and installed that underrated quality that every winning side needs: a spirit of sacrifice. Ecuador may not have many stars on the team, but the players will work very hard for each other. One man who makes sure of that on the pitch is Aguinaga. A veteran midfielder, Aguinaga leads by example. He has the leadership skills to go along with his incisive vision and goalscoring instincts.
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Aguinaga. It is a pity that this talented midfield maestro never played in Europe, because he is one of the most influential players I have ever seen. The 33-year-old has led Mexican club Necaxa to a variety of titles, and now has helped his nation qualify for the World Cup. It is not an accident that striker Agustin Delgado led the South American goalscoring charts; half of his goals came courtesy of Mr. Aguinaga. One to watch in the finals.
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International experience. Manager Gomez has been at a World Cup, but none of his players have ever made the trip to the finals. Will they be in awe? Probably. It might take them a couple of matches to settle down, and by then it will probably be too late. Only Aguinaga, Delgado and Kaviedes have played in big matches at club level, so this is a team with very limited international experience all around.
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Goalscoring.
Who else besides Delgado will score in the finals? The Southampton striker had nine goals in 18 qualifiers, but no one else had more than three. Needless to say that the big center forward will be tightly marked, so who will step in? Kaviedes must, and Aguinaga should. Others like Ariel Graziani and Cleber Chala have to share the load.
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Ecuador finished in second place in the South American qualifying behind Argentina, winning nine, drawing four and losing five of their 18 games. They scored 23 goals and conceded 20.
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None. Ecuador is making its first ever appearance in the finals.
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Ecuador may have been one of the fairytales of 2002 qualifying, but reality will hit them hard in the finals. I would not be surprised if Ecuador could pull off one surprising result, but I still expect them to go home after the first round. They just lack the experience and know-how to deal with the world's top teams.
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