Italy vs Ecuador
Harrison’s Red Bull Arena sets the stage for an intriguing international friendly between Italy and
Ecuador.
After squeaking past Venezuela 2-1 at Inter Miami’s Chase Stadium, courtesy of Mateo Retegui’s brace,
Italy will be out to cap March’s international window off in style. Luciano Spalletti’s men take the field
unbeaten in their last three internationals (W2, D1), looking to keep their near-flawless H2H record
intact (W1, D1). But it’s been nearly two decades since Gli Azzurri last faced Ecuador, though they can
draw confidence from going unbeaten in all seven games as pre-match favorites since the start of 2023
(W5, D2). They’ve notably scored 2+ goals in each victory, suggesting a repeat of a 2-0 H2H win at the
2022 World Cup in South Korea could be in store. Yet, only one clean sheet in their last four outings
could compromise that effort.
Ecuador.
After squeaking past Venezuela 2-1 at Inter Miami’s Chase Stadium, courtesy of Mateo Retegui’s brace,
Italy will be out to cap March’s international window off in style. Luciano Spalletti’s men take the field
unbeaten in their last three internationals (W2, D1), looking to keep their near-flawless H2H record
intact (W1, D1). But it’s been nearly two decades since Gli Azzurri last faced Ecuador, though they can
draw confidence from going unbeaten in all seven games as pre-match favorites since the start of 2023
(W5, D2). They’ve notably scored 2+ goals in each victory, suggesting a repeat of a 2-0 H2H win at the
2022 World Cup in South Korea could be in store. Yet, only one clean sheet in their last four outings
could compromise that effort.
On the other hand, Ecuador’s preparations for the 2024 Copa America in the United States commenced
with a routine 2-0 triumph against Guatemala earlier this week, maintaining their imperious form under
new manager Felix Sanchez. Since taking charge of La Tri after the 2022 World Cup, Sanchez has
overseen just two losses from 11 matches (W7, D2), with Ecuador racking up four consecutive clean
sheets in the build-up to this fixture. It’s worth noting Chile and Colombia were among the teams to
have failed to score against them in the stretch. Interestingly enough, Ecuador’s last victory as pre-
match underdogs came against Chile in 2021, indicating that punching above their weight is not their
strong suit.
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