Ecuador could be surprise package at World Cup 2022, thanks to Brighton pair Moises Caicedo and Jeremy Sarmiento
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APRIL was an excellent month in the career of Moises Caicedo.
Brighton’s Ecuadorian midfielder made his Premier League debut early in the month - and by the end had already established himself in Graham Potter’s starting line up, earning rave reviews from the club’s fans.
He has been playing his all round role - working up and down the pitch, snapping in with his tackles, using the ball well and playing the odd killer pass.
At just 20, this is clearly a player with a big future. But it has taken him a long time to be an overnight South Coast sensation.
Caicedo was signed at the end of the January 2021 transfer window. He spent some time with the club, was loaned out to Beerschot in the Belgian league, before being recalled and finally unleashed on the Premier League.
If Brighton have brought him along slowly, the opposite happened with his national team. Ecuador threw him into the deep end at the start of the Qatar World Cup qualifiers. And it was obvious right from the start that he could swim.
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Considerable credit has to go to coach Gustavo Alfaro. The Argentine was appointed with very little time to spare before the qualifiers got underway, after Jordi Cruyff bailed out without being in charge for a single game.
Carlos Tenorio, who hit the bar against England in the 2006 World Cup, remembers the pessimism of the time.
He said: "99.9 per of Ecuadorians didn’t think we would qualify." Instead, they made it to Qatar in relative comfort. Alfaro gambled on youth, and it paid off.
Moises Caicedo is a symbol of a side where the coach believes that if his players are good enough, they are old enough.
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Opportunities were given in qualifying to a team-mate of Caicedo, 19-year-old playmaker Jeremy Sarmiento, who was playing crunch games for his country before he had even taken the field for Brighton’s first team.
Born in Spain to Ecuadorian parents, Sarmiento represented England at youth level. The boldness of coach Alfaro means that he now belongs to Ecuador.
Along with Moises Caicedo, another star of the side is winger Gonzalo Plata, 22, currently with Valladolid in Spain. He is raw and a little bit temperamental, but his left footed surges are hard for any defence to handle.
The centre backs are also young. Left footed Piero Hincapie of Bayer Leverkeusen is just 20. Felix Torres, 25 next week, is a veteran in comparison.
It was his inclusion after last year’s Copa America that did much to tighten up the team at the back, and it is somewhat surprising that he is still based in Mexico with Santos Laguna.
Left back Pervis Estupinan, 24, was forced to do a lot of defending last week against Liverpool, and may be in for another difficult night in Tuesday’s second leg of the Champions League semi final.
But in a more balanced fight he cuts an imposing figure as he rampages down the flank.
And with plenty of young and athletic options at right back, Ecuador have the pace to defend high.
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They are young, physical and talented - Brazil coach Tite was telling anyone who wanted to listen at the World Cup draw that he thinks Ecuador could be the surprise of the tournament.
April was an excellent month in the career of Moises Caicedo. He will be hoping for something similar in November and December.