Ecuador confident of going into World Cup

Quito (Ecuador), Oct 15 (IANS) Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa said he is confident the national football team will succeed in qualifying automatically for the 2014 Brazil World Cup.

Ecuador play Chile on Tuesday in the final day of the South American Qualifying Tournament, reports Xinhua.

“Tomorrow last try in Chile,” Correa said via Twitter. “It’s almost impossible to be left out” of football’s top competition.

Using the team’s nickname, Correa said he was “still happy about the Tri’s victory” last Friday, when it defeated Uruguay 1-0, putting the team just one point shy of qualifying automatically for Brazil.

By beating Uruguay, Ecuador held on to fourth place in the regional tournament, behind Argentina, Colombia and Chile. The top four teams advance directly to the World Cup, while the fifth must go to playoffs.

Ecuador heads into its away match against Chile, in Santiago, with 25 points and a goal tally of +5.

Meanwhile, Chile remains in third place after its 3-3 tie with Colombia.