He had to win and he delivered with a huge margin. The Ecuador national team flourished at the Unico Madre de Ciudades Stadium after thrashing Fiji 9-0 for the third date of Group B of the Argentina Under-20 World Cup in 2023 and qualified for the round of 16 as second.
Miguel Bravo’s team had no mercy in overcoming a weaker opponent, and although they could have won by a greater margin, they squandered many chances and turned Joji Vuakaka into a figurehead who also avoided several goals. However, everything was quickly resolved.
Kendry Paez was in charge of breaking parity after an assist from Nilsson Angulo and plowed inside the area with a subtle right-footed shot at the near post to leave the goalkeeper without a chance. Almost immediately, Justin Curro smashed a ball off the crossbar.
Sebastian Gonzalez also missed the free arc after saving 13, but Sterling Vasconcelos ended up making the save on the line. After a great pass from Jose Klinger, Cuerto had it again, but he dunked it in front of Wuquaka’s humanity and just lost the top.
Whilst Klinger was in charge of placing the second with great determination: swung in from the left to center and shot from the ground to the right post from the right lower back to extend the advantage. But La Tri didn’t take long to seal the third, only 120 seconds later.
Angulo stole the ball and passed it to Cuerto, who entered the area and finished with a strong high shot that left Wuakaka without a chance. And after Angulo’s effort was saved by the goalkeeper, Cuerto celebrated again with a shot that eluded the opponent and knocked the goalkeeper off his feet.
Although the story had already settled, Ecuador never diminished the intensity. In fact, Allan Minda, who entered the fifth spot after a pass from Tommy Chamba, fired a brilliant shot at the near post. Madison Mina then missed the sixth, which was not long in coming.
First, Vuakaka denied Cuero a hat-trick, but after a long shot from the left by Mina that Christopher Zambrano failed to push in at first, with the goal at his mercy, Minda only found the historic ball wide. To do this, the ball had to be sent into the net. Result.
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And in the nick of time, Minda returned the kindness by passing the ball to Chamba in the center after facing the goalkeeper and finding a solitary finish. In overtime, Zambrano sealed the win by taking a penalty and then fell in the eighth and ninth.
Ecuador celebrated with a historic win in Santiago del Estero to move past the United States in the standings. He now looks forward to meeting his next opponent, who will be the second in Group F, whom he will face on Thursday, June 1, at the same venue.
Photo: Guillermo Legaria – FIFA / FIFA via Getty Images
