Marcelo Gallardo’s first FIFA window in charge of Ecuador ended without a win, but it gave the new coaching staff plenty to work with. La Tri played three games in Asia between September 24 and October 5, 2026.

The results

Date	Match	Result
Sep 24	South Korea vs Ecuador (Suwon)	3-0
Oct 1	Japan vs Ecuador, Kirin Cup (Yokohama)	0-0, Japan won 5-4 on penalties
Oct 5	Ecuador vs Panama, Kirin Cup third-place game (Tokyo)	1-1, Panama won 7-6 on penalties

Against Panama, Josué Vergara opened the scoring for the Central Americans in the 38th minute and Juan Riquelme Angulo (Sunderland) equalized for Ecuador in the 58th, according to the Panamanian Football Federation’s official match report.

Full rotation

According to PRIMICIAS, Gallardo rotated the squad constantly and used 25 of his 26 call-ups. The outlet also reported that he made his debut against South Korea after just one training session with the full group.

The squad included new faces such as defender Fricio Caicedo (Inter Miami) and striker Juan Riquelme Angulo, plus 16-year-old center back Deinner Ordóñez, who traveled as a training player. Moisés Caicedo was not called up: according to football.london, he used the break to finish his recovery from a calf injury at Chelsea.

The full tour squad

• Goalkeepers: Gonzalo Valle (LDU Quito), Hernán Galíndez (Huracán), Moisés Ramírez (Kifisia).
• Defenders: Ángelo Preciado (Atlético Mineiro), Félix Torres (Internacional), Fricio Caicedo (Inter Miami), Jackson Porozo (Tijuana), José Hurtado (Bragantino), Leonardo Realpe (Famalicão), Pervis Estupiñán (AC Milan), Willian Pacho (PSG).
• Midfielders: Alan Franco (Atlético Mineiro), Alan Minda (Atlético Mineiro), Anthony Valencia (Flamengo), Denil Castillo (Midtjylland), Gonzalo Plata (Flamengo), Jeremy Sarmiento (Middlesbrough), John Mercado (Sparta Prague), John Yeboah (Venezia), Jordy Alcívar (Independiente del Valle), Keny Arroyo (Cruzeiro), Nilson Angulo (Sunderland), Pedro Vite (Pumas).
• Forwards: Jordy Caicedo (Huracán), Juan Riquelme Angulo (Sunderland), Kevin Rodríguez (Union Saint-Gilloise).

Next up are November’s home friendlies against Costa Rica (November 13, Quito) and Bolivia (November 17, Guayaquil).

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Sources

• PRIMICIAS: Esta es la primera lista de convocados de Marcelo Gallardo
• PRIMICIAS: Marcelo Gallardo conoció a sus jugadores
• FEPAFUT (Oct 5, 2026): Panamá vence a Ecuador en penales y se queda con el tercer lugar de la copa en Japón
• EFE via Infobae (Oct 16, 2026): Asia tour results
• football.london: Moises Caicedo provides promising Chelsea fitness update

Image credits

• Featured graphic: Footy Condor.
• Suwon World Cup Stadium: Jpbarrass, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Marcelo Gallardo: Jimmy Baikovicius, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.