Australia and Ecuador play an international friendly match on Wednesday, March 5, 2014 (12:00 PM Pacific) at Millwall’s ground The Den, in London, England. Both teams have qualified for this summer’s World Cup Finals and it will be a strong test for them, as the tournament in Brazil is only some months away.
New-look Australia
Australia booked their place in the World Cup finals through the Asian Confederation Qualifiers, securing a ticket for Brazil a full year before the start of the tournament. Two consecutive 6-0 defeats by Brazil and France in following friendlies diminished the morale of the team though, so the manager Holger Osieck was sacked despite achieving qualification and was replaced by Ange Postecoglou.
The new manager vowed to present a new-look Socceroos side in Brazil and is already keeping his promise, naming a much changed squad for the Ecuador friendly. Household names like Lucas Neill, Mark Bresciano, and Josh Kennedy were left out, with uncapped players like Curtis Good, Chris Herd, Massimo Luongo and Ben Halloran stepping in.
Postecoglou insists that those who were left out still hold some hope of making it to the final squad, as long as they can show good club form. But for the London friendly, the Socceroos are going to be very different compared to previous matches.
Australia squad:
Goalkeepers: Matt Ryan (Club Brugge), Brad Jones (Liverpool), Mitchell Langerak (Borussia Dortmund).
Defenders: Luke Wilkshire (Dinamo Moscow), Matthew Spiranovic (Western Sydney Wanderers), Ryan McGowan (Shandong Luneng Taishan), Ivan Franjic (Brisbane Roar), Jason Davidson (SC Heracles Almelo) Curtis Good (Dundee United), Alex Wilkinson (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors).
Midfielders: Matt McKay (Brisbane Roar), Mile Jedinak (Crystal Palace), Mark Milligan (Melbourne Victory), Dario Vidosic (FC Sion), Tommy Oar (FC Utrecht), James Hollland (FK Austria Vienna), Tommy Rogic (Melbourne Victory), Adam Sarota (FC Utrecht), Oliver Bozanic (FC Luzern), Massimo Luongo (Swindon Town).
Attackers: Tim Cahill (New York Red Bulls), Matthew Leckie (Frankfurt).
Νο major problems for Rueda
Ecuador managed to win a place among the 32 World Cup finalists by finishing fourth in the CONMEBOL qualifying group, and will face Switzerland, France and Honduras in Group E.
Manager Reinaldo Rueda will take a good look at his options during Wednesday’s friendly, and he is without the experienced striker Jaime Ayovi (Tijuana) and midfielder Renato Ibarra (Vitesse).
The Ecuadoreans are without a win in two matches, after draws against Argentina and Honduras in friendly matches last November.
Ecuador squad:
Goalkeepers: Alexander Domínguez Carabalí (LDU de Quito), Máximo Banguera Valdiviezo (Barcelona), Adrián Bone Sánchez (El Nacional).
Defenders: Juan Carlos Paredes (Barcelona), Gabriel Achilier Zurita (Emelec)
Jorge Guagua Tamayo (Emelec), Frickson Erazo Vivero (Flamengo), Walter Ayoví Corozo (Pachuca), Christian Ramírez (Fortuna Dusseldorf), Oscar Bagui Angulo (Emelec).
Midfielders: Luis Antonio Valencia (Manchester United), Christian Noboa Tello (Dinamo Moscow), Fernando Gaibor (Emelec), Segundo Alejandro Castillo (Al Hilal), Edison Méndez Méndez (Independiente Santa Fe), Fidel Martínez Tenorio (Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles), Luis Fernando Saritama (Barcelona), Jefferson Montero Vite (Morelia).
Αttackers: Enner Valencia Lastra (Pachuca), Felipe Caicedo Corozo (Al Jazira).
Ecuador vs Australia Prediction
It’s difficult to predict how exactly Australia will play with so many new faces, while Ecuador have shown their strength during World Cup qualification. We expect a close affair with not many goals. The Ecuador vs Australia match will end in a 1-1 draw.
Ecuador vs Australia Television
The Ecuador vs Australia match will be televised on beIN Sports en Espanol.
The Ecuador vs Australia match highlights will be posted as soon as the game ends.
