FIFA Friendly Match up Ecuador vs. Colombia

Summary: It seems that qualifying for the World Cup in South America has become very difficult. For Colombia in the last two editions far from that magnificent campaign.

It seems that qualifying for the World Cup in South America has become very difficult. For Colombia in the last two editions far from that magnificent campaign made by the "Cafeteros" in the 94' edition in USA and the 98' edition in France, Colombia did not qualify for the for Germany 2006. They fell to sixth place in the South American region just one point behind Uruguay that had another chance to qualify for the World Cup in a playoff series against Australia but failed. The Colombian team continues to have friendly matches in order not to loss continuity, since they are not going to the World Cup. This is the only way to expose their players to the international World Cup scenario. It was very disappointing for the Colombians that their National Team did not qualify for this year edition. All the Colombians are fanatics of this sport. They have a big tradition in football and they are preparing for the next edition. They can't let another ticket to the World Cup slip away; so expect this team to be very good for the next qualifying round in South America. Ecuador was one of the South American teams that did qualify for Germany. They have a series of friendly games to prepare for the June. One of those matches will be against the Colombian squad, a team that they know very well because they meet in all the South American qualifying rounds. The purpose of these friendly games is to test the performance of the team; in both physical shape and strategies to tune up those last minute details that might be failing. Ecuador has a tough group stage, they'll meet Germany, Costa Rica and Poland but they may be a surprise with all the talent and discipline they've shown so far. When Ecuador coach Luis Suarez released the names of the 23 players in his squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the feeling in the air was one of cautious optimism. "I called up the players I've always called up, which allows us to carry on the work we've been doing over all this time." Indeed the only notable absentee was midfield player Franklin Salas. El Mago (The Magician), as he is known, has been unable to recover from a knee operation in time for this summer's showpiece event. Most big sports books will have lines for this friendly match, so if you love soccer like many people do, there's no harm in giving more excitement to the game by betting on a game like this. .