Long faces and expressions of restlessness were the culmination of Ecuadorian fans of Los Angeles who could not believe the stumble of the “Tricolor” team in its debut against the Ivory Coast, winner on Sunday in Philadelphia by the minimum difference of 1-0. The goal of the Ivory Coast “Elephants” fell like a bucket of cold water in the 89th minute.

“The team has a good level of soccer,” said Julio Saad, a fan originally from Guayaquil who watched the match at the “… donde Angie” restaurant in the city of Norwalk. “I don't know what happened to us today.”

“You don't have to lose faith,” added the worker at a mattress factory in the city of Fullerton, in Orange County.

Patricio Landázuri, originally from Quito and GED teacher for adults in Palmdale, could not hide the pain of the defeat. "It does hurt because we could have won; we had two shots on the woodwork," he said.

"Sometimes luck works against us, but the competition continues; the World Cup is not over, and the last thing we can lose is hope."

The Ecuadorian national team has participated in five FIFA World Cups: Korea-Japan 2002, Germany 2006 (where it achieved its best historical result, reaching the round of 16); Brazil 2014, Qatar 2022 and now the World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

"A bio, a la bao, a bim bom ba! La Tri! La Tri! Rá, rá, rá!" sang Karen Jacho, originally from Valencia, province of Los Ríos, while playing with her six-month-old baby, Aylani.

José Luis Armas stated that the hope of 18 million Ecuadorians is that 'La Tri' recovers in the next game against Curacao in Kansas City and closes with everything against Germany, which beat the Curacao team 7-1 also yesterday. “We unite in one cry and one heart,” Armas said.

Ecuador arrived at the World Cup debut with a 19-game unbeaten streak, which committed it to giving more from the point of view of the result against the Ivory Coast.

The Ecuadorian fan stated that although there have not been many goals from the team led by Argentine Sebastián Beccacece, they had the strength of the midfield and two of the best defenders in the world: Willian Pacho (Paris Saint-Germain) and Piero Hincapié (Arsenal), who against the Ivory Coast were overwhelmed by the physical build and speed of the Ivorians.

"Definitely, we are missing a scorer, apart from the fact that a mistake did not cost the goal; we had many opportunities and, unfortunately, Enner Valencia missed two clear ones," he added. "We didn't know how to take advantage. My initial prediction was 2-0, but those are the fan's dreams. Sometimes they come true and sometimes they remain dreams."

Multicultural football meeting

Regardless of the result, a multicultural party was held in the restaurant with fans from various Latin American countries supporting the Ecuadorian team and enjoying typical dishes: empanadas de viento, seca de chivo, fish bun, guatita (menudo for Mexicans), shrimp ceviche and many more that were accompanied by white rice and chifles (plantains).

"And you, creatures of God, aren't you going to eat?" “Nachito” Cedeño asked Sergio Granda, son of Ecuadorian parents, and his girlfriend, the Mexican Cecilia Reséndez. In the end, they ordered shrimp ceviche and patacones (crushed fried plantains/tostones).

Nor could we miss the main dish that defines Ecuadorian culinary culture: encebollado, which is a dish that is prepared with albacore fish, yucca, onion, cilantro and lemon and chifles are added.

“I feel very excited to welcome all my people and all the citizens of the world,” said Angela Moreno, owner of the restaurant “… donde Angie”, located on Rosecrans Avenue in Norwalk.

The family of Óscar Mera, his wife María Dolores Paredes and his daughter Belén made the trip to the United States to be at the three matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

“From Los Angeles we are going to Kansas and then to New York,” said Mera, who announced that the trip cost him around $20,000.

“It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said the 75-year-old man from Quito. “It was money that we had saved and that perhaps in the end could have had another destination.”

“They played for nothing and paid the price of offensive ineffectiveness,” criticized Patricio Varela, a transporter born in Ibarra, Ecuador. His Honduran wife, Vanessa Sierra, was more forceful: “Ecuador played terribly…disgusting.”

However, despite the defeat, Ecuadorian fans were encouraged to display a 25-foot-long tricolor flag, while chanting “Ecuador!, Ecuador!, Ecuador!”

This has just begun.