Two sides yet to register a victory in this year’s Copa América (CA) go H2H in the final game of Group C as Ecuador (FIFA rank: #60) face Japan (#28). Both sides can still qualify through the third-placed rankings so there’s still a big incentive to win.
The rankings usually ring true as far as Ecuador is concerned, as they have registered just four victories in all games since the start of 2018 (W4, D3, L5), three of which were against lower-ranked sides than themselves. Moreover, Ecuador is yet to win in five matches against higher-ranked opposition in 2019 (D1, L4).
Ecuador hasn’t seen a goalless first half in any of their four games since the beginning of this month (1.75 total first-half goals average). [Read more…]