Ecuador's Unbeaten Run Ends with Amad Diallo's Late Goal

Ecuador’s long unbeaten run snapped by Amad Diallo’s late sting

For 89 minutes, Ecuador’s proud record looked like it would survive another test. Nineteen games without defeat, control in midfield, the better chances, the familiar rhythm of a team that had forgotten how to lose.

Then Wilfried Singo put his head down and ran.

Moises Caicedo, anchoring the centre of the pitch, had set the tone early. Ecuador pressed high, snapped into tackles, and moved the ball with conviction. Caicedo’s trademark surge and crunching challenge in advanced territory lit up the first half, launching the move that should have given them the lead. Alan Minda, teed up after that turnover, could only watch his effort crash against the crossbar.

It was a recurring sound. Before Minda’s near-miss, John Yeboah had already rattled the frame of the goal, Ecuador carving through Ivory Coast with quick combinations and sharp movement. The South Americans carried the greater threat, their front line constantly probing, their midfield winning second balls and pinning Ivory Coast back.

Yet the Africans never disappeared from the contest. They absorbed pressure, then punched back. When space opened up after the interval, Elye Wahi almost flipped the script, steering a precise strike that cannoned off the bar early in the second half. Ecuador, so close to leading, suddenly looked just as close to falling behind.

The game loosened. Legs tired, gaps widened, and both sides sensed that one clean moment could decide it. For long stretches, though, the final pass lacked quality, shots flew just off target, and a stalemate crept into view.

Then came the twist.

With the clock ticking into the 90th minute, Singo surged down the right flank, brushing off challenges, driving into space. His low ball found Amad Diallo on the edge of the box. One glance, one touch, one guided finish. Diallo opened up his body and stroked a first-time effort into the bottom corner, the kind of composed strike that silences a stadium in an instant.

Ecuador’s 19-game unbeaten run was gone, punctured by a single, ruthless moment.

For Caicedo and his teammates, the performance offered plenty of encouragement but no consolation. They had dictated large spells, hit the bar twice, and still walked away with nothing. The margins at this level are brutal; one lapse, one unchecked run, and months of invincibility disappear.

There is no time to dwell. Curacao await next weekend, wounded themselves after a 7-1 defeat to Germany earlier on Sunday. Ecuador now face a different kind of test: not how long they can avoid defeat, but how quickly they can respond to it.