Brazil vs Ecuador prediction: SOUTH AMERICA: World Championship – Qualification betting tips on match 2024-09-06 01:00.
[p]After a fairly dismal Copa América campaign which ended at the quarter-final stage, Brazil will look to put that disappointment behind them by correcting their course in World Cup qualifying (WCQ). Head coach Dorival Júnior admitted that his team didn’t earn “the expected results” over the summer, and has responded with a squad selection conspicuous by the absence of Raphinha, who scored a hat-trick for Barcelona last weekend. [/p]
[p]He’ll hope that can inspire a turnaround in Brazil’s uninspiring start to their WCQ campaign (W2, D1, L3) that’s seen them suffer three consecutive defeats! The Seleção may well fancy their chances against upcoming opponents Ecuador though having not lost to them in any of the last 12 H2Hs (W8, D4), though that record could have been even better as they led in three of those four draws, including in both fixtures in the previous WCQ cycle. [/p]
[p]Ecuador can certainly take heart from those two draws, as the core of their squad from those fixtures remains intact. La Tri’s summer went the same way as Brazil’s as they were also eliminated from the Copa América on penalties at the quarter-finals, although losing to reigning world champions Argentina, who went on to defend their Copa title, is no disgrace. [/p]
[p]Reaching that point of the tournament was not enough for Félix Sánchez to keep his job however, with Sebastián Beccacece coming in to replace him. Beccacece inherits a side sitting above Brazil in the WCQ standings ahead of kick-off having avoided defeat in five of their last six such matches (W3, D2), so he has a solid foundation to build on as he looks to guide them to a fifth World Cup.[/p]
[p]Players to watch: Frontrunner for the 2024 Ballon d’Or, VinĂcius JĂşnior produced Brazil’s best individual display at the 2024 Copa AmĂ©rica when netting twice against Paraguay, but he’s been booked in eight of his last ten goalscoring appearances for club and country! Leverkusen defender Piero HincapiĂ© will form part of a backline tasked with tying him down, but he’s shown his prowess in attack recently, scoring in both of Ecuador’s last two wins. [/p]
[p]Hot stat: If they concede here, Brazil will have failed to keep a clean sheet on home soil in four successive games for the first time since the 2014 FIFA World Cup. [/p]
[p][i]Written by Alex Bowmer[/i][/p]