Sebastian Beccacece cut an emotional figure as he embraced family members, fans and friends after Ecuador beat Germany to secure their place in the World Cup knockout stages. The Argentine had made clear beforehand that he would walk away if his side failed to advance, telling reporters: “We have the possibility of moving forward and, if things don’t work, I will have to leave a place I love very much but I know it’s all about results.”
For long stretches of the match, that departure looked inevitable. Former England captain Alan Shearer, speaking on BBC One, said Beccacece “wouldn’t have been in the job” had Ecuador not won. “He was looking for a reaction from his players and boy has he got one,” Shearer added. “Him and his players put a shift in – they gambled, they fought, they scrapped and they’ve come out on top.”
Ecuador’s route to this tournament has been far from straightforward. Their 2026 qualifying campaign was shadowed by the fallout from a three-point deduction imposed in 2022 after they fielded Colombia-born Byron Castillo in the Qatar qualifiers, with Chile having claimed he was ineligible. They started the new cycle under Felix Sanchez, who took three wins from six matches before being dismissed in July 2024 following a Copa America quarter-final defeat by Argentina.
South American football expert Tim Vickery told BBC Sport the circumstances of Sanchez’s exit were stark. “They lost the shootout, and Sanchez was sacked in the dressing room after the game,” he said. “They treat their coaches with great harshness.” Beccacece stepped in that August, losing his first match 1-0 to Brazil before going unbeaten in his next 11 games as Ecuador qualified as South America’s runners-up.
That form meant Ecuador arrived at the World Cup carrying genuine expectations and an unbeaten run stretching back 19 games. Beccacece has now extended it further — and kept his job in the process.
Image credit: BBC Sport / BBC Sport
