Ecuador coach Sebastian Beccacece cut a frustrated figure after his side’s 19-match unbeaten run came to an end with a late 1-0 defeat to Ivory Coast in their World Cup Group E opener on Sunday, insisting his team had done enough to win the match.
Amad Diallo struck in the 90th minute to secure all three points for Ivory Coast after Ecuador had dominated large stretches of the contest, hit the woodwork three times and wasted several clear chances.
“It hurts because it was an unfair defeat,” Beccacece told reporters. “I think there are very strong arguments to clearly show that the team competed very well, had the clearest chances and could have won the match, but because of one detail at the end, we leave with nothing.”
Ecuador entered the tournament unbeaten since September 2024 and with one of the strongest defensive records in international football, but they were punished for failing to convert first-half dominance into goals.
“When a team is clearly superior and doesn’t take its chances, it gives the opponent the feeling that it is still alive,” Beccacece said. “I never felt they deserved to win the match, but football is not about what you deserve. It’s about taking your chances.”
The Argentine coach also expressed frustration over a second-half incident involving Ivory Coast defender Guela Doue, which he believed warranted a sending-off.
“We all saw what was clearly a second yellow card and a sending-off,” he said. “Those are things we cannot control. They hurt, but we have to accept them.”
Despite the defeat, Beccacece said Ecuador’s qualification hopes remain intact ahead of upcoming Group E matches against Curacao and Germany.
“When you don’t start the way you wanted, the anxiety appears,” he said. “But now we need more conviction than ever, more belief than ever, more confidence than ever.”
He also praised Ecuador’s supporters, who created a strong atmosphere in Philadelphia throughout the match.
“What hurts me the most and makes me the saddest is not being able to give something back to the people,” Beccacece said. “When you do enough to win, with the atmosphere that was created here, and you don’t achieve it, it hurts.”
