June 17, 2023, 9:26 PM
June 17, 2023, 9:26 PM
Bolivia fell again due to an individual error. La Verde played without the ball, left the lead to Ecuador, and spent almost 70 minutes with a clean sheet. Few shots on goal from both teams, little efficiency, and signs of weakness in defense.
Ecuador was more, but not by much. Bolivia knew how to control the rival, but the poor control of Gabriel Villamil, the speed of the Ecuadorians and the experience of Enner Valencia determined the 1-0.
The first minutes were Ecuadorian. La Tri constantly drilled down the right wing with Estupiñán proposing a one-on-one. Bolivia defended itself with marks in the zone, maintaining the line of five in defense.
On offense, La Verde had Carmelo Algarañaz and Miguel Terceros as pointsto which Diego Bejarano was added from time to time as a winger on the right.
Little by little, La Verde took advantage of the pressure. Ecuador constantly played with the ball between the center-backs and the goalkeeper, so Bolivia had some options after stealing at the rival start.
The team led by Gustavo Costas tried to play with long balls, seeking to pivot and approach Ramírez’s goal without so much possession. In these attempts, several times the Ecuadorians applied the physical and they cut the national tries with infractions in the middle of the field.
In the first half, Bolivia lacked prominence, but neither could it prevail before the siege of Ecuador. The rival played with speed in the last third, but it was not effective. Both defenses leaked before the attacks of one and the other.
The second half did not change the script. Ecuador maintained the intensity on the wings, penetrated to the final line, but they never had a connection to take direct shots that put Carlos Lampe in real danger.
Ecuador found a prize for insistence at 69′. Gabriel Villamil lost the ball under pressure from Carlos Gruezo, he gave way to Gonzalo Plata near the area and Enner Valencia was awarded, who crossed the shot from the left.
The loss of the ball at the start played a terrible pass on Bolivia. As the offensive trident found La Verde at the start, he saw many spaces and the forward of Inter from Porto Alegre defined for the 1-0.
With the final minutes at stake, Bolivia went over to Ecuador, but they lacked legs and clarity to get to score. The rival on duty did not have complete certainty for victory, and neither did they take advantage of the spaces that La Verde left in their desire to achieve the tie.
On offense, Marcelo Martins had his individual attempts, but it did not disturb the arc of La Tri either.
Chile now awaits Bolivia. La Roja will visit La Verde this Tuesday in a second FIFA friendly. The meeting will begin at 8:00 p.m., from the Tahuichi Aguilera.
