Key events
Reader Jacob writes in…
I’m watching the game on Telemundo in the US, and the Spanish commentators are showing real respect for Curacao’s tenacity. They’re calling the game with all the respect that a World Cup match deserves – even though they know Curaçao is wildly outmatched in talent.
This is great to hear and no less than Curaçao deserve. They’re clearly at a quality disadvantage but are doing well to limit Ecuador’s opportunities. All they need is one genuine chance of their own.
Reader Peter writes in…
Hi from Kansas City!
Here in the US, folks talk about KC as being between on the eastern edge of what is called the “Great Plains” and the western edge of the Midwest. Tonight, with Beccacece’s hair and Room’s “none shall pass” play between the sticks for Curaçao, I’m getting more of a Middle Earth vibe than Middle West.
And right about now is where I mildly regret having never read nor seen any of the Lord of the Rings saga.
As a KC native though I can say that I generally agree with the idea that Kansas City is the easternmost western city, while St Louis is the westernmost eastern city.
Reader Brad writes in…
Evening Alex (assuming that’s how I greet you at 1.30am),
Peter’s not wrong in his Chong-Valderrama comparison, indeed I’d thought the same. It’s not just a visual thing though, there’s a confidence and style, bordering on arrogance, when he gets his foot on the ball that evokes memories of watching Valderrama in the early 90’s.
If anything, he plays a little further up the pitch and might be more like Gullit from the same era.
I agree with everything here, but must say that Brad wrote “Chung” instead of “Chong” and I got very excited at first that I might have a chance to wax poetic about Mark Chung, another great football/soccer player to have called Arrowhead/Kansas City Stadium home. Alas…
ShareHalf-time! Ecuador 0-0 Curaçao
The first half ends scoreless as the Caribbean minnows hold their own against one of South America’s best teams. Some remonstrations between the teams and the referee, but nothing that looks like it’ll boil over.
What a solid half for Curaçao.
45+4 min: Locadia earns a free kick about 40 yards out. He finds a teammate in the box who hits a nice cutback on the volley, but nobody is there to connect with it. A shame! It was a really nice service and could have been a golden chance.
45+2 min: Curaçao forces a save from Galindez, a long-range effort from Comenencia that didn’t have a whole lot of oomph behind it.
45 min: There will be four minutes of added time.
I seem to have missed this, but Leandro Bacuna earned a yellow card in the 39th minute for a tactical foul.
42 min: Eloy Room again! The Curaçao keeper makes another big save, this time off a nice effort from Gonzalo Plata.
38 min: Yellow card! The first card of the match goes to Ecuador’s Alcívar. Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but it was a loose pass in the back that was intercepted by Chong, who was taken down on his way upfield against a backtracking backline.
36 min: With Curaçao shorthanded with Bacuna off injured, every player is behind the ball right now. They do well to snuff out an Ecuador play into the box and clear it out with some desperation.
34 min: Uh oh. Juninho Bacuna, probably Curaçao’s most dangerous player so far, is down and being attended to by training staff. He’s limping off under his own power.
33 min: Curaçao with another nice interception in midfield and stream forward with confidence, this time ending with a spinning shot attempt by Juninho Bacuna that comes to nothing.
Curaçao are making this a game! I’m having a lot of fun.
I looks like they’re having fun too! Photograph: Charlotte Wilson/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 20.36 EDT
30 min: Another moment of loose possession by Ecuador, pounced on by Juninho Bacuna, whose effort on goal was blocked by his own teammate Joshua Brenet.
28 min: Ecuador playing forward much more directly after the break, with Valencia uncorking a shot from outside the box, right at Room who saves easily.
27 min: The players are hydrated, and we’re back under way.
Reader Stephen writes in:
Honestly, games like this are actually a decent advert for an expanded World Cup. What’s the problem with giving teams like little Curacao a dance on the biggest stage, particularly if they’re playing like this? Cape Verde holds Spain to a draw, is that bad? It’s not like they ordinarily get many opportunities such as this. Good luck to all the minnows, I’m glad that they’re grasping the opportunity with both fists.
I completely agree. Curaçao have been a very nice add to this tournament, in my opinion. They clearly lack the quality of a lot of other sides, but they come to play and aren’t content just to sit back. That, IMO, speaks volumes for them and their place in this tournament. They’ve been pretty good so far tonight, too.
24 min: Curaçao players are routinely needing to fight through two, three, four waves of Ecuador pressure to work the ball upfield. Occasionally, they do, and on this occasion they earn a foul.
Good time to take it quickly? Hah! No. It’s hydration break time.
22 min: Moisés Caicedo is doing such a nice job dictating the tempo of this match, even if he is sometimes having to drop to almost behind his own center-backs in order to do it. Every positive move forward so far has started with him.
20 min: A nicely worked opportunity on the left touchline results in a line-breaking service to Valencia, whose effort is saved by Room.
Reader Peter writes in:
From behind, Tahith Chong’s bushy, dyed locks and blue-and-yellow kit are reminiscent of Colombia legend Carlos Valderrama in his 1994 World Cup pomp. Thanks for the great memory Curaçao!
I hadn’t noticed this before but now it’s all I can see. Valderrama of course no stranger to playing football at this stadium as a member of the Colorado Rapids, Miami Fusion (RIP), and Tampa Bay Mutiny (also RIP).
Tahith Chong on the move. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 20.23 EDT
18 min: Curaçao having some real problems plying through a very aggressive Ecuador press. Finally they break through and find space, but Tahith Chong’s effort in the box is blocked.
16 min: Moisés Caicedo plays a nice ball forward for Gonzalo Plata, who steps over the ball on the edge of the box and is dispossessed.
14 min: Yeboah and Vite work a nice give-and-go along the right flank, with Vite attempting a curled shot in the box. It goes high and wide, but it’s nice to see Ecuador working possession for a chance like that.
13 min: Another chance, this time from Yeboah along the right, and under-hit effort on goal well saved by Room.
12 min: It seems like most of Ecuador’s plan for this is to try to draw Curaçao forward then beat them over the top. It nearly worked on that early Valencia chance, and it’s been tried 3 or 4 times more since then already.
9 min: Once again, Curaçao works a good chance against the run of play, with Locadia feeding Juninho Bacuna who hit a low effort that was blocked.
….actually, looks like the whole play was offside. But still, another warning shot from the minnows.
8 min: Just as I type that last update, Tahith Chong surges forward with the ball but his attempted service falls well short. There was a real opportunity there.
5 min: It’s early, but Curaçao is looking confident going forward. No clear chances yet but it’s not hard to imagine them getting one.
On replay, it’s clear Enner Valencia found space between the center backs way too easily on that last chance, and their positioning allowed him to be onside for the long ball from the back. Room saved the backline but that can’t keep happening if they hope to make history today.
2 min: A big chance, and a huge save by Eloy Room on Enner Valencia! He came out well to stop Valencia’s effort after a long ball over the top.
Big early chance for Enner Valencia! Photograph: Reed Hoffmann/APShare
Updated at 20.06 EDT
1 min: An early moment of nerves for Ecuador, knocking an easy pass along the backline out of bounds. Curaçao not looking afraid to press.
ShareKick-off
1 min: We are under way!
A moment of appreciation for Sebastián Beccacece, coach of Ecuador, and his excellent hair.
The national anthem of Curaçao is next: Himno di Kòrsou.
I’m enjoying the brass-forward arrangement they’re using for this.
First off, it’s the national anthem of Ecuador: Salve, Oh Patria (Hail, O Fatherland).
It sounds loud and boisterous in there.
The giant flags are out, the players are in the tunnel, kick-off looms!
What are you all thinking will happen here? Can Curaçao pull off a gigantic upset?
Game on! Photograph: Reed Hoffmann/APShare
Updated at 19.57 EDT
From the early looks at Kansas City Stadium, this looks like it’ll be a heavily pro-Ecuador crowd.
Not entirely surprising, as Curaçao has about the population of Macon, Georgia and Ecuador has, uh, way more than that.
Ecuador fans are filling in ahead of the game v Curaçao. Photograph: Amy Kontras/EPAShare
Two changes in the Curaçao lineup: Joshua Brenet replaces Riechedly Bazoer at center back. Juriën Gaari also comes in at center back, with forward Sontje Hansen making way.
Two changes as well for Ecuador: Pervis Estupiñan replaces Joe Ordoñéz in defense, while Alan Minda makes way for Jordy Alcívar in midfield.
Reader Eric writes in:
Was the point to annoy all of Texas with the BBQ dig?
What dig?! Texas BBQ is great. All BBQ is great. It’s just that Kansas City’s is better, in the opinion of this not-at-all biased native Kansas Citian.
ShareThe lineups are in!
Ecuador:
Hernán Galíndez; Piero Hincapié, Willian Pacho, Pervis Estupiñan; Alan Franco, Jordu Alcívar, Pedro Vite, Moisés Caicedo, John Yeboah, Enner Valencia, Gonzalo Plata
Curaçao:
Eloy Room; Joshua Brenet, Jurien Gaari, Armando Obispo, Sherel Floranus, Deveron Fonville; Tahith Chong, Livano Comenencia, Leandro Bacuna, Juninho Bacuna; Jürgen Locadia
The referee tonight is Ma Ning from China, where he has amassed quite a large fanbase (for a referee) owing to the country’s failure to qualify for any World Cup since 2002. He’s a big enough deal to have attracted sponsorships from the likes of Lenovo and Hisense, according to the BBC.
Nicknamed the “card master” owing to his strict approach, this will be Ma Ning’s World Cup debut – the first game officiated by a Chinese referee since the 2002 edition.
Updated at 19.04 EDT
Elsewhere in Group E…
Germany left it late but escaped with an important win against Côte d’Ivoire, thanks to a late goal from Deniz Undav.
Read Leander Schaerlaeckens’ match report:
SharePreamble
Hello folks! Alexander Abnos here, and I’m thrilled to be able to follow this match along with all of you.
Curaçao enters the game on the back of a 7-1 drubbing by Germany. The lopsided scoreline was perhaps expected, what with Germany’s status as a world power and Curaçao being the smallest country ever to qualify for a World Cup.
But then there were those 17 minutes. Those glorious, glorious 17 minutes. That was the amount of time between Liviano Comenencia’s equalizer and Nico Schlotterbeck’s goal to make it 2-1. In that period, Curaçao allowed their fans to party and to dream. If you love football and aren’t an Ecuador fan, you’ll be hoping for similar tonight.
If you’re an Ecuador fan, though, you’re probably feeling pretty confident, despite a World Cup-opening loss to Côte d’Ivoire. La Tricolor hit the bar twice in that match and only lost due to a last-gasp finish from Amad Diallo. They have one of the strongest spines in the tournament and can get a dark horse campaign underway with a solid result today.
The setting: Kansas City, the home of the four-time Super Bowl champion Chiefs and the best barbecue in all the land. Kansas City Stadium was rocking for its first game, hosting Argentina v Algeria. I’m excited to see how it looks today.