Ecuador will be aiming to win their third successive match when they host Colombia in World Cup qualifying on Tuesday.

Colombia, meanwhile, are unbeaten so far in this campaign with five points from three matches.

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Had they not been deducted three points for fielding an unregistered player throughout the previous qualifying campaign, Ecuador would be sitting above their opponents in third position in South America's qualifying table ahead of Tuesday's showdown.

Ironically, the player in question was Bryan Castillo, who was born in Colombia and deemed to have moved to Ecuador illegally without the proper documentation. Many other South American nations called for Ecuador to be removed from the recent World Cup in Qatar last year as punishment, but leniency was shown.

That issue has very much been buried now, with La Tricolor bouncing back from a defeat against Argentina in their opening game to record back-to-back 2-1 victories against Uruguay and Bolivia.

Felix Sanchez's side appeared to be heading for a frustrating draw in Bolivia last Friday when Rodrigo Ramallo equalised for the hosts with only seven minutes remaining, but Kevin Rodriguez struck in the sixth minute of injury time to inflict a third consecutive defeat on their opponents.

With six automatic qualifying spots on offer for the 2026 World Cup - which has expanded from 32 to 48 teams - Ecuador will feel supremely confident of qualifying for their fifth World Cup, particularly if they can claim a positive result against Colombia on Tuesday.

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Likewise, after suffering the major disappointment of reaching the recent World Cup in Qatar at the end of last year, Colombia will be desperate to bounce back and make amends this time around.

After a 16-year hiatus on international football's grandest stage, Los Cafeteros reached the knockout stages at both the 2014 and 2018 World Cup's, so they are clearly a nation whose absence can be felt given their general ability to make a significant impact at them.

Nestor Lorenzo's side opened the current qualifying campaign with a narrow 1-0 win against Venezuela, and they have since remained unbeaten by claiming draws against Chile and Uruguay, with their prospects of claiming a top six positions looking healthy as a result.

However, after squandering their lead on two occasions against Uruguay - with Liverpool's Darwin Nunez snatching a point for the visitors by converting his penalty in injury time - Colombia will be determined to secure another positive result in neighbouring Ecuador in midweek.

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Ecuador will remain without Brighton & Hove Albion full-back Pervis Estupinan, who is sidelined with a serious hamstring injury.

Jhoanner Chavez is likely to continue to deputise at left-back, but Rodriguez may have earned himself a starting berth after coming off the bench to claim a crucial victory for his side last time out.

Colombia, meanwhile, will have to make do without goalkeeper Camilo Vargas after he was sent off for two bookable offences against Uruguay. Alvaro Montero is likely to be preferred to the uncapped Kevin Mier as Vargas's replacement.

Luis Sinisterra could be recalled to the visitors' starting XI in order to provide more balance on the opposite flank to Luis Diaz, with Jhon Arias potentially making way for the Bournemouth winger.

Ecuador possible starting lineup:
Ramirez; Torres, Pacho, Hincapie, Chavez; Ortiz, M. Caicedo; Paez, Cifuentes, Valencia; K. Rodriguez

Colombia possible starting lineup:
Montero; Arias, Cuesta, Sanchez, Fabra; Uribe, Barrios; Sinisterra, J. Rodriguez, Diaz; Borre

We say: Ecuador 1-1 Colombia

With an additional automatic qualifying spot on offer to South America for the 2026 World Cup, these two nations will both expect to comfortably qualify after making positive starts to the campaign.

As such, neither manager or set of players would likely be too disappointed with a draw, and that is the result we are predicting between two evenly matched sides.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Written by
Brett Curtis

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