Costa Rica Falls 2-0 to Ecuador in Quito as the Bryan Ruiz Era Begins

Costa Rica opened the Bryan Ruiz era with a 2-0 loss to Ecuador on Friday night in Quito. The team finished the friendly with 10 men and lost a defender to a knee injury, four days before it faces Argentina. Jordy Caicedo put Ecuador ahead in the first half. Moisés Caicedo, the Chelsea midfielder and Ecuador captain, sealed it from the penalty spot late in the second half at Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, which sits about 2,850 meters (9,350 feet) above sea level. The result gave Argentine coach Marcelo Gallardo his first win in charge of Ecuador. It was Ruiz’s first match as Costa Rica’s permanent head coach. The former national team captain won both of his games as interim coach, against Nicaragua and Haiti in the Concacaf Nations League, before the Costa Rican Football Federation gave him the job. Costa Rica set the early tempo. The visitors pressed high and won the ball back quickly in the opening minutes. Striker Manfred Ugalde, back with the squad after serving a suspension, forced a save from Ecuador goalkeeper Hernán Galíndez around the ninth minute. Ecuador struck midway through the half. Jordy Caicedo, who plays for Argentine club Huracán, ran onto a long ball from Piero Hincapié. He went around goalkeeper Patrick Sequeira and finished with his left foot for his fifth international goal. Costa Rica came closest to an equalizer early in the second half. Andrey Soto shot after a pass from Carlos Mora, and Ecuador defender Jackson Porozo cleared the ball off the line. Ruiz made four changes shortly before the hour mark. Alexis Gamboa, Celso Borges, Josimar Méndez and Kenyel Michel came on for Francisco Calvo, Roan Wilson, Soto and Josimar Alcócer. The changes quickly turned costly. Gamboa went down after a collision with Ecuador’s John Yeboah a few minutes after coming on and was carried off on a stretcher. The federation said he has a left knee injury and will return to Costa Rica on Saturday for further tests, which rules him out against Argentina. Diego Mesén replaced Gamboa around the 65th minute in his first appearance for the national team. He was sent off a few minutes later for a foul on Jordy Caicedo. Playing a man down at altitude, Costa Rica could not hold on. Ecuador was awarded a penalty for a foul on Yeboah in the box, and Moisés Caicedo converted with less than 10 minutes left. Ruiz said after the match that he left Quito satisfied with what he saw. He said many of the things the coaching staff asked for were carried out and the team showed personality, and he called the result secondary to what the squad learned. He also acknowledged that the game became an uphill battle and said the team’s style of play still needs fine-tuning. Gallardo said Ecuador grew into the match after an uncomfortable start and called it a constructive performance. He added that the win was a good way to reconnect with the home crowd. The loss extended Costa Rica’s winless run against Ecuador, which dates back to 1992. Ecuador has now won six straight meetings, including a 3-0 win at the 2006 World Cup in Germany and a 3-1 friendly win in Chester, Pennsylvania, in June 2023. Costa Rica plays Argentina, the 2026 World Cup runner-up, on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes in Córdoba. It is the team’s last match of the year. The federation tried to call up Kendall Waston as cover, but Saprissa said the veteran defender is still recovering from an injury and will not travel. For a team rebuilding after missing this year’s World Cup, the night in Quito showed what Ruiz has to work with. There were early signs of the aggressive approach he wants, but also how quickly a thin squad can come apart. Tuesday’s game against the world’s runner-up will show how much of that can be fixed in four days.