A lot can change over ninety minutes of football.
It is safe to assume that, of the millions that tuned in to watch the Netherlands take on Ecuador, the vast majority did so to see the Oranje in action. However, at least some of them, if not most, would have left the stadium or switched off their televisions utterly mesmerised by the spirit with which the Ecuadorians played the game.
They might have worn blue against the Dutch, but on a usual day, they wear yellow shirts and blue shorts. On Friday, in terms of sheer entertainment, they would have given the other team in yellow and blue a run for their money.
Ecuador's football team are the unlikeliest of heroes. No author of South America's illustrious football history would devote more than a footnote to them they did not even qualify for a World Cup until 2002. There were question marks over their participation in Qatar until just a few days before the tournament after Chile filed a complaint alleging they had fielded an ineligible player in the qualifiers.
Off the field, their footballers often come from nothing.
According to official figures in 2020, 33 per cent of their 18.6 million people were living in poverty. For many people, football is a break from reality.
Esta historia es de la edición November 27, 2022 de The Morning Standard.
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