After last night’s quarterfinal loss to Argentina on penalties, Ecuador will be leaving the Copa America tournament.

There was minimal back-and-forth between the teams as the regular-time game concluded in a draw. Argentina, nevertheless, came through in the clutch, converting penalties to advance to the semifinals.With Mоises Cаicedо аnd Kendry Pаez representing Ecuаdоr аnd Enzо Fernаndez representing аrgentinа, it’s sаfe tо sаy thаt Chelseа hаd а strоng presence in this mаtch.

Caicedo was fantastic for Ecuador last night—as you can see in the highlights—so it’s a shame he was on the losing team. He certainly didn’t deserve to be.

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Argentines advance to Copa América semifinals after penalty shootout victory over Ecuador

In the quarterfinals of the Copa América, defending champions Argentina faced off against rising star Ecuador, and while we’ve witnessed some outstanding goalkeeping at Euro 2024, tonight it was Ecuador’s moment.

Argentina breezed through their group stage matches, winning all three without allowing a single goal. However, Moisés Caicedo and his teammates proved to be an enormous challenge. The only time they were heard was during a well-executed set piece in the first half, which gave them the lead. Ecuador, on the other hand, missed a number of golden opportunities—Enner Valencia’s penalty shot struck the post after a handball was called—but they did manage to level in the dying seconds of the game thanks to a set piece.

After approximately 75 minutes of play, both Kendry Páez and Enzo Fernández were substituted off. Páez, in particular, had a disappointingly quiet game.

The match proceeded directly to penalties, without any further time being added until the final. Emiliano Martínez then assumed control and nearly replicated the three-for-three feats achieved by Diogo Costa (for Portugal) the previous night. “Dibu” saved Ecuador’s first two penalty kicks, setting up his team’s eventual 4-2 shootout victory, as Lionel Messi dipped a Panenka off the crossbar and over. Semifinal play will pit them against the teams from Venezuela and Canada.

With confidence in their abilities, Ecuador returns home. With a little luck, they might have been the ones to advance. Especially after starting the season on fire for Chelsea, Caicedo had a wonderful tournament; here’s hoping he maintains that level of play next year!