The Tricolor was reunited with victory! Ecuador beat Paraguay 2-0 in Quito for the Qatar 2022 tie | Football | sports

Ecuador recovered its triumphant memory, defeated Paraguay 2-0 and resumed the World Cup path after the match played this Thursday at the Rodrigo Paz stadium in Quito, for the ninth date of the South American qualifying round for Qatar-2022.

Defender Félix Torres led the way to victory with an agonizing head blow in the 87th minute of the fight and striker Michael Estrada sentenced the commitment after an individual play at 90 + 5.

Only at the end did the imbalance come in a tight match by the strong visiting defense that was deployed with order in a stadium that once again had a public presence after 17 months of restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Ecuador completed 12 points to establish itself in the upper part of the direct classification zone, while Paraguay remained with 7 units.

On Sunday the tricolor will receive Chile and the following Thursday it will visit Uruguay. The Guarani, for their part, will receive Colombia and Venezuela in Asunción, in the following days of the regional qualifier.

Locked up looking to surprise

The redhead ordered herself expectantly behind the dividing line. In the background it contained up to five in the fold, having to correct Fabián Balbuena or Junior Alonso, alternately.

In the bands, a habitual area of ​​infiltration of the Ecuadorians, the Guarani arranged a double lock with the offensives of each strip making post with the markers.

At times, the team under the command of Argentine Eduardo Berizzo, dared to attack with the solo striker Luis Amarilla and disturbed the portico of Hernán Galíndez with a couple of shots from Ángel Romero.

The round-trip deployment of Romero, on the right, and Santiago Arzamendia, on the left, to help his defense paid tribute in the final minutes of the first stage.

The locals only managed to get closer with danger through Byron Castillo and Ángel Mena, the most incisive of the tricolor offensive, whose centers were finished off by Fernado Gaibor and Joao Rojas near the door of Antony Silva.

The process for the second half showed vertigo in the Ecuadorian intentions and a pause in the Paraguayan response, which in each restart in its favor hid us in the burning of time.

The venue lacked a combined game and the balls from the defenders were neutralized by an attentive Guarani defense that easily deciphered the predictable tricolor onslaught.

Local changes paid off

The Ecuadorian coach, the Argentine Gustavo Alfaro, ordered the entry of the left-handed and skilled Gonzalo Plata to break the visiting lock, with his diagonals on the right, with which he began to harvest fouls and medium-distance shots.

The Guarani fell back to hold the last minutes and Alfaro bet on striker Michael Estrada and creative Junior Sornoza as the last offensive cards.

After a corner kick, the rebound ended in Sornoza, who without seeing Pervis Estupiñán running, who alone on the left raised a precise center at the head of central Torres, who surpassed Héctor Martínez in the jump for the local delirium to the 87 minutes of a close match.

The Guaraní cadre tried but the physical arrests were not enough.

The tricolor began to defend itself with possession and thanks to this, it achieved a new individual detachment from the striker Estrada who surpassed two defenders and when facing goalkeeper Silva, he made a tunnel for the local revelry at 90 + 5 of the lawsuit.

The Toluca striker from Mexico celebrated for the fourth time in this knockout round.

There was no time for more and Ecuador resumed the triumphal path after the drought of two previous pre-world cup matches and the unsuccessful passage through the Copa América.

On Sunday he receives Chile in his Quito fort in order to maintain the streak. (D)