Mauricio Pochettino’s United States men’s national team will get a good challenge from fellow World Cup entrants Ecuador at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas on Friday.
The Yanks have a strong squad for this window, an improved unit from the group that lost 2-0 to South Korea before toppling Japan by the same score.
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This Ecuador team hasn’t lost in over a year, a September 2024 away loss to Brazil in World Cup qualifying. La Tricolor have since gone 11 games without a loss, all CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers with a win over Argentina the latest triumph.
Former Elche manager Sebastián Beccacece, a Jorge Sampaoli disciple, is at the wheel of a strong ship, even if Ecuador will be without Moises Caicedo for the window. They’ll face Mexico in Zapopan on Oct. 14, and play North American-based matches in November against Canada (Toronto) and New Zealand (New Jersey).
For live updates and highlights throughout USMNT vs Ecuador, check out PST’s live blog coverage below.
How to watch USMNT vs Ecuador live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 8:30pm ET Friday (October 10)
Venue: Q2 Stadium — Austin, Texas
TV Channel: NBC Universo (en Español), TNT (in English)
Streaming: Stream live en Español on Peacock
USMNT vs Ecuador live updates, score: 8:30pm ET kickoff
USMNT lineup
TBA
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Ecuador lineup
TBA
USMNT team news, focus
This team can do some damage even without Tyler Adams, Sergino Dest, Yunus Musah, and Ricardo Pepi.
RELATED — How will USMNT line up vs Ecuador?
Antonee Robinson is back in the fold despite a surprisingly-limited number of minutes at Fulham, while red-hot Tanner Tessmann of Lyon rejoins the midfield unit. Malik Tillman is also doing so well after a move to Bayer Leverkusen.
Christian Pulisic has had a sensational early run at AC MIlan this season even accounting a missed penalty in recent weeks. In-form Haji Wright and Timothy Weah will also be in the discussion to start.
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Ecuador team news, focus
The Yanks will not have to deal with several big names besides Chelsea star Caicedo, as Arsenal’s Piere Hincapie, Flamengo’s Gonzalo Plata, Quito’s Carlos Gruezo, and Cremonese’s Jeremy Sarmiento are not in the squad.
But new centurion Enner Valencia is joined by Strasbourg hotshot Kendry Paez (a Chelsea loanee), PSG’s Willian Pacho, and AC Milan’s Pervis Estupinan in the squad. It’s an excellent group.
USMNT vs Ecuador prediction
The Caicedo absence could loom large here, especially with the Americans on home soil. Let’s go for the same score as a memorable Copa America quarterfinal win for Jurgen Klinsmann’s USMNT in 2016. USMNT 2-1 Ecuador.
