The Fort Lauderdale Stadium plays host to a thrilling international friendly fixture as Ecuador and Cape Verde go head to head on Saturday.

With their Africa Cup of Nations qualification game against Eswatini on the horizon, victory this weekend will serve as a morale booster for the Blue Sharks who are eyeing a second consecutive AFCON appearance.

Match preview

© Reuters

Ecuador failed to make it two wins from two for the first time since last November as they were held to an uneventful goalless draw by Mexico on Monday.

In a friendly fixture where clear-cut chances were at a premium, both sides failed to tuck away their chances at the attacking end of the pitch before settling for a share of the spoils.

This followed a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Nigeria on June 3 when Villarreal full-back Pervis Estupinan scored inside the opening three minutes to see off the Super Eagles.

Prior to both friendly outings, Ecuador secured a place in the forthcoming World Cup as they picked up 26 points from 18 games to finish fourth in the CONMEBOL qualification standings.

Gustavo Alfaro's side head into this weekend's encounter on a run of one win from their last seven games across all competitions, picking up five wins and one draw in that time.

© Reuters

Cape Verde, on the other hand, got their Africa Cup of Nations qualification campaign up and running as they claimed a comfortable 2-0 victory over Togo on Tuesday.

Former Dijon forward Julio Tavares put the hosts ahead in the 10th minute before setting up 28-year-old Jamiro Monteiro, who put the result beyond doubt with a 95th-minute strike.

Manager Bubista will be delighted with his side's immediate turnaround after suffering a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Burkina Faso when the sides squared off in the Group B opener last Friday.

Cape Verde have now won four of their last five games across all competitions, scoring 12 goals and keeping four clean sheets since their round-of-16 exit from the Africa Cup of Nations against eventual winners Senegal back in January.

Team News

© Reuters

Fresh off the back of an impressive defensive performance against Mexico, Alfaro could name a back four of Xavier Arreaga, Robert Arboleda, Piero Hincapie and Villarreal's Estupinan.

Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Moises Caicedo and 23-year-old Jose Cifuentes could partner at the centre of the park for the third game on the spin, with Carlos Gruezo pushing for a starting role.

Meanwhile, Tavares turned in a performance of the highest quality as he scored one and created the other against Togo last time out and he should spearhead the attack once again.

The 33-year-old forward, who is now fourth in the nation's all-time top scorers chart, should be joined in the final third by Jovane Cabral and Rayo Vallecano man Bebe.

With his strike against the Sparrow Hawks, Monteiro has now been involved in six goals in his last six games for club and county and the San Jose Earthquakes man should team up with 22-year-old Kenny Rocha Santos at the centre of the park.

Further down the pitch, 30-year-old Elber Binha could come in for just his second international appearance, standing behind a centre-back pairing of Shamrock Rovers' Roberto Lopes and 25-year-old Dylan Tavares.

Ecuador possible starting lineup:
Dominguez; Arreaga, Arboleda, Hincapie, Estupinan; Caicedo, Gruezo, Cifuentes; Ibarra, Estrada, Plata

Cape Verde possible starting lineup:
Binha; Duarte, Lopes, D Tavares, Stopira; Furtado, Santos, Monteiro; Bebe, J Tavares, Cabral

Head To Head

Head To Head text here (delete section if 30-min preview)

We say: Ecuador 2-1 Cape Verde

With their AFCON qualifying game against Eswatini just around the corner, we expect Cape Verde to name a weakened and reshuffled side in this one. Ecuador, who are 25 places higher in the latest FIFA world rankings, boast a superior and more-experienced squad and we predict they will come out victorious.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Written by
Joshua Ojele

Previews by email