CURITIBA, June 21 — Having revived their World Cup hopes with a 2-1 win over Honduras, Ecuador could use some help from former coach Luis Fernando Suarez to help put them into the second round.
Ecuador face Group E leaders France in their last match on Wednesday, while rivals Switzerland meet the Hondurans who have lost both games and are almost certain to be knocked out.
“The France game is going to be very difficult. We have to focus on our game and hope we get a positive result,” said Ecuador coach Reinaldo Rueda.
Honduras are coached by Suarez who was in charge of Ecuador when they made the last 16 in 2006, their best performance in a World Cup and an achievement that Rueda has admitted he is under pressure to match.
“Hopefully they (Honduras) can get a great result against Switzerland and that would help us,” said Rueda, who himself coached Honduras at the 2010 World Cup.
France lead the group with six points and their healthy goal difference means qualification looks assured. Ecuador and Switzerland have three points and the second spot appears to be between them.
Striker Enner Valencia was Ecuador's hero yesterday, scoring in each half to give them victory after Honduras had taken the lead with their first finals goal since 1982.
The forward has scored three goals in the tournament after being a comparatively late addition following the sudden death last July of regular striker Christian Benitez due to a heart attack.
France, the 1998 champions, are in majestic form after brushing aside Honduras 3-0 and thumping Switzerland 5-2 yesterday.
Valencia is expecting a tough game but the tournament's joint top scorer is confident that Ecuador can find weaknesses to exploit.
“We will have to study them to see how we can do most damage,” he said.
Valencia's goals helped to make up for a subdued showing on the flanks from namesake Antonio Valencia and Jefferson Montero.
Antonio Valencia, the Ecuador captain, may be in a more settled frame of mind after announcing today that he has renewed his contract at Manchester United.
Honduras have now played eight World Cup games without recording a victory.
Coach Suarez effectively acknowledged that the Hondurans could start packing their bags but wanted to salvage something from their World Cup campaign.
“We need to bow out on a high note,” he said. “If you don't try everything it will play on your conscience forever. We don't want that to happen when we leave the World Cup.” — Reuters
