Ecuador at the FIFA World Cup the group was played in Rio de Janeiro against France, but nobody scored any goal. These results were not enough to make the country qualify to the next phase of the tournament. Ecuador at the FIFA World Cup The Ecuadorian national football team has appeared at three FIFA World Cups, the world's premier football tournament for national football teams. Ecuador's first participation in the World Cup was in 2002. Their best performance was in 2006, where they were eliminated in the Round of 16. From 1930 to 1938, Ecuador did not enter to qualify in the FIFA World Cup. Ecuador
National team appearances in the FIFA World Cup group stage. The first host ever to fail to advance past the first round was South Africa in 2010. † denotes the best result in the team's history, ‡ - the best result at the time of the competition (improved later). The defending World Cup champions were formerly granted an automatic spot in the Cup finals field. As of the 2006 tournament, this berth is no longer guaranteed. However, no defending World Cup champion has yet failed to qualify. Automatic berths have never been given for defending World Cup runners-up. Defending runners-up are 15-for-18 in qualification efforts for the following