Ecuador Manager Sebastian Beccacece Leaves After Round-of-32 Exit to Mexico

Ecuador manager Sebastian Beccacece is leaving his role after a 2-0 defeat to Mexico in the World Cup round of 32. Mexico scored both goals in the first half through Julian Quinones and Raul Jimenez. Beccacece, appointed in August 2024, said his contract ended with the tournament.

He added that the team did not achieve the goal of making the tournament Ecuador's best World Cup performance and that he would have preferred to continue but accepted the outcome. Ecuador reached the knockout stage for only the second time in its history after finishing second in South American qualifying behind Argentina.

The team lost 1-0 to Ivory Coast in its opening Group E match, drew 0-0 with Curacao in its second match, and defeated Germany 2-1 in its final group match. Beccacece said Ecuador were outplayed in the first half by Mexico. "We fought back, but we couldn't find the goal that would have given us a boost," he said.

Beccacece is the seventh manager to depart after his team's elimination at the 2026 World Cup. The others are Marcelo Bielsa of Uruguay, Steve Clarke of Scotland, Miroslav Koubek of the Czech Republic, Ronald Koeman of the Netherlands, Sabri Lamouchi of Tunisia, and Hong Myung-bo of South Korea.