United States vs Ecuador 22/03/19

22 March 2019

The United States and Ecuador go head-to-head at the Orlando City Stadium for a friendly international fixture.

The hosts come into this meeting after securing back-to-back triumphs over two CONCACAF rivals, Costa Rica and Panama, in which they’ve scored five goals while keeping a clean sheet in the process. Although won both of his first two games at the bench of the national team after replacing Dave Sarachan, Gregg Berhalter has everything to prove, and an encounter with the South American team will be his toughest challenge so far. Still, the one thing Berhalter has managed to improve is USMNT’s defense that has preserved two clean slates after conceding in seven successive outings. Another promising fact for the home fans ahead of this fixture is that the Stars and Stripes have bagged 2+ match goals in two consecutive games for the first time since 2017,

Meanwhile, the visitors have also clinched two triumphs in the build-up to this meeting, beating Panama and Peru. Just like their rivals, La Tricolor have endured a difficult period that has seen them lose five of seven games (W1, D1, L5) before putting together two straight triumphs. Interestingly, all 20 of Ecuador’s previous wins across all competitions (including friendlies) have seen them score over 1.5 goals per match. Hernán Darío Gómez can be more than satisfied with his team’s attacking output given the fact Los Amarillos have bagged 2+ match goals in five of their last six games. In the same period, Ecuador has kept four clean sheets, allowing over 1.5 goals per match only once along the way.