u/thecindy_

Today I heard this in a video, it was Fox Sports, I think, but don’t quote me on this: “Ecuador struggles when it has to take the initiative.”

Tactically, that means something very specific. There are teams that perform better when reacting. In other words:

- they win back the ball
- they find space
- they attack quickly.

Simply put, that is called playing on the counter-attack or in transition. But if we say to them: “Here, take the ball. Let’s see you break down an organized defense.”

I think that might make them nervous. And also, some of y'all are saying they have good defense and you talk about every opponent as if our team were just a bunch of helpless little
boys who don’t know how to play and just got lucky. Everyone is in awe of Cabo Verde (same, and I am rooting for them), but make no mistake. They would on average stop 15 attempts at goal/on target. That tells you that they gave their opponents plenty of chance to get close to that point and the goalie was giving his all.

Mexico on average gave his opponents 2-3 attempts per game and just 1 of them would hit target. So, we have a solid defense and with Gil Mora and Fidalgo we could get more creative in attack.

Come on guys! Let’s not be cocky but let’s also not forget that we have a 50/50 chance just like them.