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Ecuador will invite Paraguay to Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers on Thursday. The hosts have won four of their eight games in the campaign and are in fourth place in the league table. Los Guaraníes have two wins and are in seventh place with nine points, two fewer than the hosts.
La Tri returned to winning ways after three games in their previous outing, with a 1-0 home win over Peru. Enner Valencia scored the match's only goal in the 54th minute as they kept their fourth clean sheet of the campaign.
The visitors went unbeaten in their two games in the September international break. They played out a goalless draw against Uruguay and, in their previous outing, they registered a 1-0 home win over Brazil. Diego Gómez opened his goalscoring account for the national team, scoring in the 20th minute.
Ecuador vs Paraguay Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- The two teams have met 41 times in all competitions. The visitors have the upper hand in these meetings with 22 wins. La Tri have 12 wins to their name and seven meetings have ended in draws.
- They last met in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers and both teams registered home wins.
- The visitors have kept four clean sheets in their last five games in the World Cup qualifiers while failing to score in three games.
- The hosts have also kept four clean sheets in their last five games in the competition.
- Ecuador are unbeaten in their last 10 home games in the World Cup qualifiers, recording six wins.
- Paraguay are winless in their last 12 away games in the qualifiers, failing to score in the last 11 games.
- Five of the last six meetings between the two teams have produced over 2.5 goals.
Ecuador vs Paraguay Prediction
La Tri have suffered just one loss in their last seven games in the World Cup qualifiers. Three of their four wins in the ongoing campaign have been registered at home. They are unbeaten in their last 10 home meetings against Los Guaraníes, recording eight wins, and are strong favorites.
La Albirroja registered an impressive 1-0 win over Brazil last time around, keeping their second clean sheet on the spin, and will look to continue that momentum here. Interestingly, they have seen under 2.5 goals in their eight games in the qualifying campaign thus far.
Gustavo Alfaro, who coached Ecuador between 2020 and 2023, has enjoyed an unbeaten start to his reign as the Paraguay head coach, with his team keeping clean sheets in two games.
Considering the current form of the two teams and their defensive records, a low-scoring draw will likely ensue.
Prediction: Ecuador 1-1 Paraguay
Ecuador vs Paraguay Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Draw
Tip 2: Goals - Over/Under 2.5 Goals - Under 2.5 goals
Tip 3: At least one goal to be scored in the second half - Yes
Tip 4: Enner Valencia to score or assist any time - Yes
