The Mini Tri’s run at the FIFA U-15 World Cup & Festival in Baku is over. After beating Bulgaria on penalties on Wednesday morning, Ecuador’s under-15s lost 4-1 to Spain in the Tier A round of 16 that afternoon, then fell 4-0 to Poland in a placement game early on Thursday.
Spain too strong
Playing their second knockout game of the day, Ecuador were 3-0 down inside 24 minutes against Spain. They pulled one back in the 34th minute before Spain added a fourth in the 39th, according to FIFA’s match data. La Tri still called it a good tournament: “Entre los mejores 16 del mundo” (among the best 16 in the world), it posted after the game.
A tough finish against Poland
Ecuador met Poland on Thursday at 2:30 AM Ecuador time (3:30 AM ET) on Pitch 3A and lost 4-0. FIFA’s calendar doesn’t list another game for Ecuador before Friday’s final.
What this group showed
Cristian Cachipuendo’s team went unbeaten through Group U, with four wins and a draw, 17 goals scored and only one conceded, then knocked out an unbeaten Bulgaria side in the round of 32. They finished the tournament with three straight knockout games in about a day, two of them against European opposition.
| Date | Result |
|---|---|
| Oct 24 | Cabo Verde 0-1 Ecuador |
| Oct 25 | Ecuador 3-0 Kyrgyz Republic |
| Oct 25 | Tonga 0-6 Ecuador |
| Oct 26 | Ecuador 1-1 Uganda |
| Oct 26 | Equatorial Guinea 0-6 Ecuador |
| Oct 28 | Ecuador 1-1 Bulgaria (3-2 pens) |
| Oct 28 | Spain 4-1 Ecuador |
| Oct 29 | Ecuador 0-4 Poland |
Next up for Ecuador’s youth teams and La Tri is on our schedule page.
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