The final week of World Cup qualification in South America takes place over the next seven days. Ecuador could book their spot in the tournament for the first time since 2014 with a win on the road against Paraguay.
World Cup Qualifier Preview
It could be a famous night for the Ecuador national side on Thursday evening, as they look to reach the World Cup for the first time since 2014. It would also continue their strong record at reaching the finals in recent tournaments, as they have managed to qualify for the World Cup on three occasions since 2002.
Before that World Cup in South Korea and Japan, Ecuador had never previously reached the World Cup finals. However, success in qualification this year would mark a return to qualification after failing to reach the 2018 tournament in Russia four years ago.
They have already assured their place of at least a playoff spot, but victory this week would effectively seal their third-place finish, as they are already four clear of fifth place Peru. However, they come into this game having failed to win in their previous three. On all three occasions they have been held to 1-1 draws, which includes their most recent outing against Peru.
Paraguay are the hosts this week, as they look for a rare success in what has been an extremely disappointing qualification campaign for the World Cup this year. They have already been eliminated from contention this year, having won just twice in their 16 fixtures.
They will be battling for nothing more than the best possible finish in the group, but they could yet finish bottom of the standings. Paraguay come into this fixture having lost their previous two. They have conceded five goals in those games, and failed to score in both.
Paraguay vs Ecuador Head to Head
Ecuador picked up their first victory in four attempts against Paraguay in the most recent fixture between the sides. That win was a 2-0 home success in September last year. Paraguay had won the previous two before that success for Ecuador.
Paraguay vs Ecuador Prediction
The recent form may not favour Ecuador, but Paraguay have been very disappointing throughout qualification. Therefore, we believe that the visitors will get the win that they need to progress through to the World Cup finals in Qatar later in the year.
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