Ecuador arrived to the United States for the Copa America Centenario as joint-leaders of 2018 CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying. Their strong start to that campaign included victories away to Argentina and at home to Uruguay, and they have continued that form into the Copa by progressing from the group stage of the competition for the first time since 1997 with draws versus Brazil and Peru and a victory over Haiti.
Head coach Gustavo Quinteros' side will be the next opponents for the United States in Thursday's quarter-final in Seattle. U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann has made it clear that he expects a tough game against a team coached by a man he came up against on U.