Estupinan and Caicedo star in Ecuador draw with Netherlands
Based on what we saw as Moises Caicedo and Pervis Estupinan shone for Ecuador against the Netherlands in La Tri’s second game at the World Cup, Brighton have only been offered a glimpse so far of what the latter is capable of.
That should be a real concern to the other 19 clubs in the Premier League over what Estupinan will do to harm them when the campaign resumes following the winter break.
It will also probably mean Glow Up Graham and Chelsea coming in with a £276 million bid for Estupinan, to go with the £200 million they are going to pay for Caicedo and the £750 million joint transfer of Leandro Trossard, the team bus driver and the tea lady at the training ground.
Ecuador’s performance against the Dutch suggested that Caicedo, Estupinan and Jeremy Sarmiento could go far in the tournament.
A lot of people had them down as dark horses before the World Cup. It was hard to tell how good Ecuador actually are from their opening game, seeing as they played a woeful Qatar.
The game against the hosts was wrapped up inside of 45 minutes, after which Ecuador took their foot off the pedal to coast to three points.
Against a talented Netherlands, La Tri were the better side and deserved to win. They fell behind to a goal after five minutes which – whisper it quietly – Caicedo was unfortunate to play a part in.
Rarely have Brighton fans seen Caicedo surrender possession so precise his passing. It was his loose ball though that eventually led to Cody Gakpo finishing superbly to give the Netherlands the lead – the first goal Ecuador have conceded since March.
A lesser young player might have gone into their shell after an error on the biggest stage. Not so Caicedo, who became the dominant force in a midfield battle against £65 million man Frenkie de Jong.
Caicedo outshining a Barcelona star will have done little to diminish the apparent interest of Real Madrid in securing the midfielder’s services.
And which Brighton fan would begrudge Moises Caicedo a move to the Bernabeu, especially if it means Chelsea and Glow Up keep their grubby mitts off him?
Estupinan was even more impressive for Ecuador than Caicedo, terrorising the Netherlands defence with frequent lung-bursting runs up and down the left flank from wing back.
At one point, it felt like Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk was a one-man blocking machine of Estupinan crosses into the box.
Estupinan’s delivery duties in an Ecuador shirt do not just start and end in open play. He is also trusted as a set piece taker, a responsibility we are yet to see him given as a Brighton player.
An Estupinan free kick on the stroke of half time looked dangerous until it was turned behind for a corner. From said corner, the ball came into the box and Estupinan reacted quickest to fire home an equaliser.
Or so the world thought. VAR took a look and noticed that whilst Estupinan was onside, his teammate Jackson Porozo was blocking the view of Netherlands goalkeeper Andries Noppert in an offside position.
Ecuador were incensed and Estupinan led the protests as the sides came off at half time. La Tri did not have long to wait once the game restarted to score a genuine equaliser, however.
Four minutes of the second half had elapsed when Caicedo won possession in a manner very familiar to Brighton fans.
Estupinan drilled a low shot which Noppert parried to Enner Valencia who tucked home the rebound for his third goal of the World Cup, making it Netherlands 1-1 Ecuador.
Officially, it does not count as an assist for Estupinan as Noppert teed up the chance. But fuck what is official and what isn’t.
In the WAB book, Estupinan was the creator and he gets the assist. That makes him the first Brighton player to register an assist at this World Cup, and quite possibly any World Cup actually unless Sammy Nelson or Steve Penney managed it in 1982 and 1986 respectively.
Ecuador were much the better side for the remainder of the game with the Netherlands looking increasingly rattled by Caicedo, Estupinan and co.
Gonzalo Plata hit the bar on the hour mark, followed by Jeremy Sarmiento entering proceedings to make it three Brighton players on the pitch.
Sarmiento played more centrally than we have seen him in an Albion shirt, working off Valencia. Estupinan continued to be the main Ecuador threat, another impressive run forcing a late corner from which Angelo Preciado volleyed wastefully off target.
The gloss was taken off Ecuador’s performance slightly when Valencia left the field on a stretcher right at the end.
Having scored 100 percent of his nation’s goals in Qatar so far, Valencia is absolutely crucial to Ecuador’s chances of making it through to the round of 16.
They will do so with a point against Senegal on Tuesday. From there, who knows how far Ecuador can go? As for Caicedo and Estupinan, the Ballon d’Or beckons.
