Ecuador's Unbeaten Streak Ends with Diallo's Last-Minute Goal

Ecuador arrived with swagger and a streak. Nineteen games without defeat, a midfield anchored by Moisés Caicedo, and the look of a side that had forgotten how to lose.

For 89 minutes, that aura held. Then Amad Diallo ripped it up.

Caicedo, starting in central midfield, set the tone early. He hunted the ball high, snapped into tackles, and turned defence into attack in a heartbeat. One of those trademark challenges, pinching possession in enemy territory, sparked the move that should have put Ecuador in front. The ball broke, the move flowed, and Alan Minda crashed a shot against the crossbar when the net seemed to be waiting for him.

Before that, John Yeboah had already rattled the frame of the goal, Ecuador repeatedly stretching Ivory Coast and finding space between the lines. The South Americans carried the sharper edge in the first half, their pressing game pinning the Ivorians back and forcing hurried clearances.

Ivory Coast were never passive, though. They absorbed, then bit back.

After the interval, their threat grew. Elye Wahi offered the first serious warning, drifting into space and steering a shot that beat the goalkeeper but not the bar. One thud of woodwork answered another, and the contest tightened. The game tilted into a tense, open fight: Ecuador pushing for the win that would extend their run, Ivory Coast waiting for the one clean break.

For a long stretch, neither found it. Attacks broke down on the edge of the box, final passes went astray, and the clock began to smother the ambition of both sides. A goalless draw started to feel inevitable.

Then Wilfried Singo decided otherwise.

The right-back surged down the flank with purpose, brushing off challenges as he drove into space. His low ball found Diallo, who didn’t hesitate. One touch, first time, guided coolly into the bottom corner. Precision where others had snatched at chances all evening.

Ninetieth minute. One chance. One finish. Ecuador’s 19-game unbeaten run gone in an instant.

For Ecuador, the defeat cuts deep not just because of the timing, but because they had carried the initiative for so much of the night. The woodwork twice denied them, and a familiar Caicedo-led intensity seemed to have laid the platform for yet another result.

Now they have to respond. Curacao await next weekend, a side coming off a bruising 7-1 loss to Germany. On paper, it is the ideal fixture to start another run.

On the pitch, after a punch like this, Ecuador must prove that the streak was a foundation, not a comfort blanket.