Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo appointed Ecuador captain

Since making his senior international debut in October 2020, Caicedo has been a fixture in the Ecuador midfield. He has earned 64 caps for his country, and this summer’s World Cup is the second at which he has represented his homeland.

However, Caicedo entered the tournament as second-in-command to Valencia, the 36-year-old forward who has made 108 appearances for Ecuador and is the country’s all-time leading goalscorer, having netted 49 times.

Valencia captained Ecuador in their opening two World Cup fixtures: a disappointing 1-0 defeat to the Ivory Coast and a frustrating 0-0 with Curacao.

It meant victory over Germany in their final group game was imperative if Ecuador were to reach the Round of 32 – and it was ahead of that fixture that Caicedo took on the captaincy from Valencia.

Caicedo wore the armband for that contest against Germany, and produced an impressive performance to help his country battle back from a goal down to record a 2-1 victory and reach the World Cup knockout stage for just the second time in the country’s history.

Ecuador’s Round of 32 fixture takes place on Wednesday morning (UK time) and sees La Tri face co-hosts Mexico at the Azteca .