Ecuador and Bolivia continue their preparations for the 2024 Copa America when they square off at Subaru Park in Pennsylvania on Thursday.
The two nations meet for the first time since October last year when Ecuador secured a 2-1 away victory in the 2026 CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers.
Match preview
© Reuters
Ecuador made a promising start to life under head coach Felix Sanchez - formerly of Qatar who was appointed in March 2023 - as they picked up three wins and two draws from their opening six matches in 2026 World Cup qualifying.
La Tri then experienced mixed fortunes earlier this year during March's international break, with a 2-0 friendly win over Guatemala followed by a 2-0 loss to Italy, and they have since begun their 2024 Copa America preparations with a slender 1-0 friendly defeat to holders Argentina.
Sanchez's side were unable to pose a threat in the final third and failed to register a single shot on target throughout the 90 minutes, with the match ultimately decided by Angel Di Maria's strike five minutes before half time.
Ranked 31st in the world by FIFA, Ecuador still have two more warm-up matches remaining to turn their fortunes around before preparing for their opening Copa America group-stage fixture against Venezuela on June 22, with Thursday's clash against Bolivia followed three days later by an encounter with Honduras.
Ecuador will be confident of success against Bolivia as they have won each of their last six meetings by an aggregate score of 14-4, scoring at least twice on five of those occasions.
Bolivia, meanwhile, last came out on top against Ecuador back in June 2016 when they claimed a 3-2 victory in the 2015 Copa America group stage, and they head into Thursday's contest following a mixed spell of form under new head coach Antonio Carlos Zago.
Appointed in October 2023, Zago has won two and lost three of his opening five matches in charge of La Verde, who followed up back-to-back defeats to Uruguay and Algeria with a narrow 1-0 friendly win over European minnows Andorra, before losing by the same scoreline against Mexico last weekend.
Similarly to Ecuador against Argentina, Bolivia lacked a cutting edge in the final third against Mexico, firing just one of their 10 shots on target, despite boasting nearly 60% possession, and an early second-half strike from Efrain Alvarez ultimately sealed the victory for El Tricolor in Illinois.
Ranked 85th in the world by FIFA, Bolivia will hope to find a winning formula across their final two warm-up matches against Ecuador and Colombia, facing the latter on Saturday, before they prepare for their opening Copa America group-stage game against host nation USA on June 23.
Team News
© Reuters
Seventeen-year-old Kendry Paez, who has agreed to join Chelsea in 2025, was handed his seventh international cap last weekend and is in contention to start again in the number 10 role on Thursday.
Ipswich Town loanee Jeremy Sarmiento operated as a false nine to begin with last time out, but he could be replaced by experienced striker Enner Valencia, who has scored 40 goals in 84 international appearances.
Veteran winger Angel Mena and midfielder Carlos Gruezo, who both have 57 caps, will be pushing to start after beginning as substitutes against Argentina and could replace Alan Minda and Joao Ortiz respectively.
As for Bolivia, Erwin Saavedra, Miguel Villarroel and Gustavo Mendoza have all pulled out of the first-team squad, while Moises Villarroel and Henry Vaca have withdrawn due to injury.
Santos attacker Miguel Terceros was the only player named in the starting lineup against Mexico who plays his club football outside of his homeland, and he is expected to continue in an advanced role in behind central striker Carmelo Algaranaz.
Ecuador possible starting lineup:
Dominguez; Preciado, Pacho, Torres, Hincapie; Caicedo, Gruezo; Mena, Paez, Franco; Valencia
Bolivia possible starting lineup:
Lampe; Rocha, Quinteros, Je. Sagredo, Jo. Segredo; Saucedo, Justiniano; Chavez, Terceros, R. Vaca; Algaranaz
We say: Ecuador 2-1 Bolivia
A closely-fought contest could be on the cards on Thursday between two evenly-matched nations, but Ecuador will be regarded as slight favourites and should have enough quality in the final third to outscore their opponents en route to a slender friendly victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
