The last team of the 32 to have a known lineup for the World Cup was Ecuador, and coach Gustavo Alfaro left out any player whose inclusion may have called the team’s participation in the competition into question.
FIFA 2022: Ecuador omits Byron Castillo from the final World Cup roster
Despite all the legal issues Ecuador’s soccer officials have faced since they qualified in March, Alfaro did not include defender Byron Castillo in his team when he revealed it on Monday evening, just before the deadline.
Castillo was claimed to be Colombian and to have participated in multiple World Cup qualifiers illegally by Chile and Peru in front of sports officials. Ecuador was permitted to play in Group A alongside the hosts Qatar, Senegal, and the Netherlands after the claim was dismissed.
The tournament will begin on Sunday with Ecuador against Qatar.
The use of incorrect information regarding Castillo’s birthday and place of birth in its efforts to get him a passport resulted in Ecuador losing three points before the start of South American qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, the Court of Arbitration for Sport found last week.
Kevin Rodrguez, a striker who competes in Ecuador’s second tier, was recalled by Alfaro.
For the fourth time in this century, Ecuador is participating in the World Cup.
For the FIFA 2022 team from Ecuador:
Goalkeepers: Hernán Galndez, Moisés Ramrez, Alexander Dominguez, and Independente del Valle (Aucas).
Defenders include Piero Hincapié of Bayer Leverkusen, Robert Arboleda of Sao Paulo, Pervis Estupián of Brighton, Angelo Preciado of Genk, Jackson Porozo of Troyes, Xavier Arreaga of the Seattle Sounders, Diego Palacios of Los Angeles, Félix Torres of Santos Laguna, and William Pacho of the United States (Royal Antwerp).
Players in the midfield include Carlos Gruezo (Augsburg), José Cifuentes, Jhegson Méndez (Los Angeles), Moisés Caicedo (Brighton), Jeremy Sarmiento (Brighton), Alan Franco (Talleres), ngel Mena (León), Ayrton Preciado (Santos), Gonzalo Plata (Valladolid), and Romario Ibarra (Pachuca).
Forwards include Michael Estrada, Djorkaeff Reasco of Newell’s Old Boys, Enner Valencia of Fenerbahçe, and Kevin Rodriguez of Imbabura (Cruz Azul).