Two nations that made losing starts in Group E meet at the Kansas City Stadium in the early hours of Sunday morning as Ecuador take on debutants Curacao.
Livano Comenencia’s name will go down in Curacao folklore, as he scored the Caribbean side’s first-ever goal at the World Cup finals, remarkably equalising against Germany just past the opening 20 minutes.
However, that was as good as it got for Dick Advocaat’s men, as they would go on to ship a further six goals without reply.
Ecuador also suffered defeat on MD1, but that came in far more agonising fashion, as Manchester United’s Amad Diallo scored a 90th-minute winner for the Ivory Coast.
With Germany to come in New Jersey in their final group fixture, Sebastian Beccacece will know three points will be pivotal here if they are to have any hopes of reaching the knockout stages.
How the bookies view it: Ecuador clear favourites
Unsurprisingly, Ecuador are clear favourites to pick up all three points in Missouri in the early hours of Sunday morning, with bet365 pricing La Tri at just 1/11.
Curacao are massive 20/1 underdogs to claim their first-ever victory at the World Cup finals, whilst picking up their first point also seems unlikely, with that priced at 10/1.
Head to head: First-ever meeting
Sunday morning’s clash in Missouri will be the first-ever competitive meeting between these two nations.
Players to watch: Enner to fire for Ecuador again?
Enner Valencia is Ecuador’s all-time leading scorer, firing in 49 goals across his 106 caps, with six of those coming in World Cup qualifying.
The ex-Hammers striker has scored six times in seven appearances at the World Cup finals for La Tri – including a goal against the Netherlands and a brace against hosts Qatar at the last World Cup – and is priced at 8/11 at bet365 to get on the scoresheet.
Backed a player to find the net? Check our Goalscorer Betting guide to see how the markets work and where to find value.
Predicted line-ups:
Neither nation appeared to pick up any fresh injury concerns or suspensions from their losses on MD1.
Ecuador: Galindez, Franco, Ordonez, Pacho, Hincapie, Yeboah, Caicedo, Vite, Minda, Plata, Valencia
Curacao: Room, Floranus, Bazoer, Obispo, Fonville, L Bacuna, Comenencia, J Bacuna, Chong, Hansen, Locadia
Anything else catch the eye?
After losing their Group E opener to Ivory Coast and with Germany to come, Ecuador can ill afford to drop points here if their hopes of reaching the knockout stages for the second time are to come true.
Unsurprisingly, Sebastian Beccacece’s men are short-priced favourites, so finding value is extremely tough, with Ecuador to Win to Nil paying just 2/5.
Whilst Ecuador's are formidable defensively, they do struggle to score goals, and I don’t envisage them coming close to repeating the seven that Germany put past Curacao.
Therefore, I’m happy to combine a La Tri victory with under 3.5 goals, which pays 5/6 at bet365.
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