Chile Wants Ecuador’s Place in World Cup


Concerns over Castillo’s suitability appear to be of interest to Ecuadorian officials. Carlos Manzur, vice president of the Ecuadorian football federation in March 2021, suggested this much in comments reported by local news media.

“I think it’s about playing it safe, avoiding problems,” Manzur told reporters at the time. “I think he’s a good player. If it were up to me, I wouldn’t want him to play for the national team. I wouldn’t take that risk. I wouldn’t risk everything we do.”

About a month later, an Ecuadorian court handed Castillo an identification document that paved the way for his debut for the national team. Chile. He has since played in eight games overall, including a 2-0 win over Chile in November, which nearly ended the latter’s qualifying hopes.

Ecuadorian football official Manzur explained that after questions about Castillo’s suitability were reported in regional media, any inconsistencies in Castillo’s documents were corrected and his Ecuadorian identity was confirmed. “The national team waited until it was fixed to recruit the player” said Manzur.

FIFA should determine this now.

“Based on all the information and documents gathered, we understand that the facts are very serious and need to be thoroughly investigated by FIFA,” Pablo Milad, president of the Chilean football federation, told The Times. Said. “We have always respected the principles of Fair Play and hope other federations do the same.”

Ecuador finished fourth and last automatic in South America’s 10-nation World Cup qualifying group, two points ahead of Peru, which will face either Australia or the United Arab Emirates for a place in the final in June. Chile finished below Colombia finished sixth in the standings, but Castillo did not play in any of Ecuador’s matches against Colombia or Peru. This convinced Chilean officials that the six points they needed to get from the losing games – and the six points Ecuador would lose – would jump them to Ecuador’s knockout spot.

For FIFA, Chile’s complaint adds further complexity to a World Cup qualifying campaign that has already been significantly interrupted. The coronavirus delayed games worldwide for months and meant that the entire Oceania game franchise had to be held in Doha. Other games have been postponed until the tournament draw. (One of the yet unknown countries was placed in a grouping with the United States.) Then, in March, Russia was kicked out of the European playoffs after invading neighboring Ukraine, resulting in a playoff match between Ukraine and Scotland. is rescheduled.



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