Youthful La Tri may be foundnd wantinwanting up front

ECUADORR’S World Cup pediigree is modest aand their best perfoormance in their thhree previous finals came in 2006 when they lost 1-0 to England in a scrappy last-16 tiie in Stuttgart.

However, earning automatic qualification from the South American section is aan achievement in itselff and Brazil coach Titee tipped Ecuador as daark horses when the draww for the group stage was made.m

Even after clinchinng fourth spot in Conmebol quualifying, behind Brazil, Argenttina and Uruguay, Ecuador weere given a scare when rivals Chiile claim med they had fielded an inelig gible player, right-back Byron n Castillo.

Fifa a dismissed the protest, allow wing La Tri to focus on prepa aring for their fourth appe arance at a World Cup finals s, having also qualified in 2002, , 2006 and 2014.

Eig ght years ago they were knock ked out in the group stage despi ite beating Honduras and holdi ing France to a goalless draw w on matchday three.

Enn ner Valencia and goalk keeper Alexander Dom inguez are two survivors from the 2014 crop but Argen ntinian coach Gustavo Alfaro o has freshened up the squad d he inherited from Jordi Cruyf ff just before the start of the eepic qualifying campaign.

Alfaro wants to play a hightempo, flexible style and well over half the players called up for the September friendlies against Saudi Arabia and Japan were aged 24 or younger.

Brighton trio Moises Caicedo, Pervis Estupinan and Jeremy Sarmiento, along with centre-back Piero Hincapie, are among the young players establishing themselves in top European leagues.

A lack of quality up front could hamper Ecuador, who scored only five times from open play in nine away qualifiers, although an opening win over hosts Qatar would set them up nicely for their clashes with Senegal and the Netherlands.

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DLThe former Senegal captain has been national-team manager since 2015, leading his side to the 2018 and 2022 World Cup finals and seeing them crowned African champions for the first time in February.

• Claimed maiden Africa Cup of Nations title in February Solid defence based around Koulibaly

• Coach Cisse has overseen steady improvement in the last seven years

• Goalkeeper Mendy has had a

patchy season at Chelsea • Lack midfield guile to break

down stronger opponents • Mane’s injury is a huge blow given the shortage of reliable goalscorers in the squad