The match started at a frantic pace, with both teams eager to establish themselves physically. However, Uruguay slowly began to take control of proceedings thanks to the contributions from two of their key performers, Federico Valverde and Darwin Nunez.
The former came close to breaking the deadlock in the 12th minute courtesy of a thunderous free-kick from 30 yards out, only to see Hernan Galindez deny him with a majestic save. Facundo Pellistri and Maximiliano Araujo also had decent opportunities, but the visiting goalkeeper was equal to each attempt.
Midway through the first half, there was little doubt that the 37-year-old veteran shot-stopper was the contest’s stand-out performer as Ecuador struggled to deal with their opponents’ intensity. Nunez had one final chance before the break with a shot on the turn from around the penalty spot, but his effort rattled the right post when Galindez was finally beaten.
As such, Uruguay returned to the dressing room still on level terms, yet there was no question Marcelo Bielsa’s men had the better of the opening 45 minutes and were well poised to make their superiority count after the interval.
However, La Celeste struggled to match their first-half display after the restart, with Ecuador deserving praise for their defensive strength as the match progressed.
A sudden lack of ideas from the home side translated into very few openings, and even though Uruguay continued to dominate possession, they didn’t do much with it. Ecuador, meanwhile, played on the counter and, while the pace of substitute Kevin Rodriguez proved to be an asset, La Tri barely threatened Sergio Rochet between the Uruguay sticks.
Uruguay went all out on the attack in the final minutes, but their attempts to break the deadlock were ultimately in vain.
Ecuador will undoubtedly be happy with the point, which means manager Sebastian Becaccece has lost just one of his first four matches in charge of the team while keeping them in the qualification spots. Bielsa and co on the other hand, will feel they deserved better, particularly based on their first-half showing. Now, they are winless in four and have not scored in 379 World Cup qualifying minutes.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Hernan Galindez (Ecuador)
