Amad Diallo's Late Goal Ends Ecuador's Unbeaten Streak
Ecuador arrived with a swagger and a statistic. Nineteen games without defeat since September 2024, Moisés Caicedo anchoring midfield, and a team that has quietly grown used to leaving stadiums with something in hand.
For almost the entire night, they looked like stretching that run again.
Caicedo, snapping into tackles and dictating the tempo from the centre, set the tone early. Ecuador pressed high, hunted in packs, and created the better chances before the break. Twice the woodwork shuddered, twice the South Americans were a fraction away from a lead that would have felt deserved.
First, John Yeboah cut inside and let fly, his effort crashing off the bar with the goalkeeper beaten. Then Alan Minda arrived at the end of a sweeping move that began with a trademark Caicedo intervention high up the pitch. The midfielder won the ball, Ecuador broke with purpose, and Minda should have finished. Instead, the crossbar rescued Ivory Coast again.
The Africans never looked entirely comfortable, but they never disappeared either. They carried a threat of their own, especially after the interval.
Elye Wahi offered the clearest warning. Early in the second half he found space, shaped his body and steered a shot past the keeper, only to see it cannon back off the bar. One chance each against the frame of the goal, one reminder that this was never going to be a gentle friendly.
As the clock ticked down, the game tightened. Legs tired, gaps opened, but the final ball kept letting both sides down. A goalless draw began to feel inevitable, the kind of hard-fought stalemate both coaches could quietly live with.
Then Wilfried Singo changed everything.
The Ivory Coast right-back surged down the flank with real intent, driving past tired challenges and refusing the safe option. His run tore open Ecuador’s defensive shape, and when the ball reached Amad Diallo, the winger supplied the touch of class the game had been waiting for.
One glance. One swing of the boot. A first-time finish, guided neatly into the bottom corner in the 90th minute.
Ecuador’s resistance broke in an instant. So did that 19-game unbeaten run.
There was barely time to respond. The final whistle arrived with the South Americans still processing the shock of seeing a long-standing streak snapped at the very last.
Next up is Curacao, who were thrashed 7-1 by Germany earlier on Sunday. On paper, it offers Ecuador a soft landing, a chance to clear the head and start again.
After a night like this, though, the question is simple: how quickly can a team so used to surviving remember how to respond to a punch in the 90th minute?
