Ecuador World Cup Performance: Betting Review
Ecuador certainly performed better than many had expected. In fact, except for the hosts Qatar, all teams had a chance to qualify for the knockout stage in the last round of the group stage.
The hosts certainly had the faith of many in the betting markets, at least for some handicap bets, as the host nations tend to underperform.
Ecuador was in the spotlight as they had the mission of beating the host nation in the prestigious first game of the tournament. However, although this initial step was an accomplishment in the history books, that wasn’t enough to allow the South Americans to get out of the group. However, Ecuador certainly will arrive in the next Copa America as a stronger team, after a decent World Cup performance.
Betting Performance: Ecuador in Group A of the World Cup
The Netherlands were expected to top Group A, but the Ecuadorians were able to collect a draw against the team that would only be eliminated by the Champions Argentina eventually.
The Dutch side failed to win a game where they had odds of 1.83 on average in the 1×2 betting markets. The match draw on that occasion paid odds of 3.44, meaning the South Americans were brave against a more traditional international team.
The victory of Ecuador in the first game of the 2022 FIFA World Cup paid odds of 2.24 on average. The South Americans were the favourites and played quite well.
In their final game of Group A, the markets were impressed with their good performances during the first two games, and they were the favourites to win in the 1×2 markets with odds of 2.48, while the Africans of Senegal had odds of 3.23, on average.
Overperforming? The Impressions of Ecuador in the World Cup
Ecuador had an impressive start in the CONMEBOL jurisdiction qualification, ending 4th in the table, losing only 6 of 18 games.
So, it’s not fair to say that it was not possible to see it coming, the Ecuadorians deserve some credit. The team has quite a few players like Caicedo playing on the Premier League, as well as names in leagues like La Liga and the Bundesliga too.
The Ecuadorians lost the big clash against Senegal that could have meant a historic qualification to the knockout stage, but collecting a point against the Netherlands is not an easy task and they did it.
The betting markets should be very different when the next cycle of the CONMEBOL qualifiers start, and Ecuador will be a much different team in the eyes of the markets in the upcoming COPA America too.
Some analysts have said that Ecuador was among the teams that deserved the most to be in the Round of 16, but that saw their journey in the World Cup ending early as of Matchday 3, which is accurate in my opinion.
Time will tell what this Ecuadorian generation will be able to do in the coming years!
