Brighton trio in Ecuador World Cup squad
Ecuador called up three Brighton players as they became the final team to confirm their 2022 World Cup squad.
Left-back Pervis Estupinan and midfielders Moises Caicedo and Jeremy Sarmiento – a former England youth international – have made the cut.
Fenerbahce striker Enner Valencia, the country’s all-time top scorer with 35 goals, captains the 26-man squad. Gustavo Alfaro’s Ecuador play hosts Qatar in the opening game of the World Cup on Sunday (16:00 GMT).
Byron Castillo has been left out though. Chile and Peru both tried to get Ecuador kicked out of the World Cup as they claimed the Leon right-back was actually Colombian and not eligible for Ecuador.
Fifa and the Court of Arbitration for Sport both cleared Ecuador to play, although Castillo – who played eight qualifying games – has not made their squad.
Despite Ecuador being first up, the other 31 teams all confirmed their squad before the South American side. Senegal and the Netherlands are the other teams in Group A.
Full squad
Goalkeepers: Moises Ramirez (Independiente del Valle), Alexander Dominguez (LDU Quito), Hernan Galindez (Aucas).
Defenders: Piero Hincapie (Bayer Leverkusen), Robert Arboleda (Sao Paulo), Pervis Estupinan (Brighton), Angelo Preciado (Genk), Jackson Porozo (Troyes), Xavier Arreaga (Seattle Sounders), Diego Palacios (Los Angeles FC), Felix Torres (Santos Laguna), William Pacho (Royal Antwerp).
Midfielders: Carlos Gruezo (FC Augsburgo), Jose Cifuente (Los Angeles FC), Alan Franco (Talleres), Moises Caicedo (Brighton), Angel Mena (Club Leon), Jeremy Sarmiento (Brighton), Jhegson Méndez (Los Angeles FC), Ayrton Preciado (Santos Laguna), Gonzalo Plata (Real Valladolid), 22. Romario Ibarra (Santos Laguna). Forwards: Djorkaeff Reasco (Newell’s Old Boys), Kevin Rodriguez (Imbabura), Michael Estrada (Cruz Azul), Enner Valencia (Fenerbahce)
