Ecuador vs Bolivia Prediction & Betting Tips - International Friendlies

Prediction published on 16/06/2023, 15:28  by Kennedy Kechula in Football Predictions

Ecuador will on Sunday host fellow CONMEBOL members Bolivia in a friendly match to be played in Harrison, New Jersey. Both teams are using the match to help prepare for the start of the South American 2026 World Cup qualifying process in September. Ecuador are unbeaten in six matches against Bolivia. They have won five of those encounters with two being noncompetitive fixtures. Felix Sanchez’s charges come to this match after a 2-1 success over Australia in a test match played in March. La Tri played two build-up matches against the Socceroos in Australia and lost the first by three goals to one. Both matches came after their 2022 World Cup exploits where they had narrowly missed out on qualifying for the knockout rounds. Ecuador finished third in their group with four points and defeated the hosts Qatar before managing a draw with the Netherlands.

Bolivia last played in a FIFA World Cup in 1994. They will seek to halt this long wait by qualifying for the next edition in 2026, especially with the increase in qualifying slots. To do so they have to build good habits by the time they play their first qualifier. And hence this latest test match with Ecuador. Bolivia last defeated Ecuador in 2015, during the group stages of that year’s Copa America campaign. That 3-2 success stands as the only win that La Verde have managed against their South American counterparts since 2004. They have lost 11 of the 14 matches they have played in that time frame. Gustavo Costas’ charges ended a seven-game losing streak during the last international window when they beat Saudi Arabia 2-1 in Jeddah.