Enner Valencia could not prevent Ecuador from falling to a 2-1 away defeat to Paraguay in a World Cup qualifier on Thursday night.
The on-loan forward was selected in Gustavo Quinteros’ starting line-up and played the full game, but Ecuador would slip two places to fifth in the South America qualifying group with five games to play.
Should Ecuador finish in that position, they would go through to a play-off game with a side from the Oceania region, while the top four teams in the group will qualify for next summer’s finals in Russia.
There was better news for Ramiro Funes Mori’s Argentina - but the Blues defender missed the game through suspension.