When Ecuador and Honduras meet at the Arena da Baixada on Friday, there’s every chance they will play in the knowledge that defeat will end all hope of qualifying for the knockout stages of the World Cup.
The two teams face each other in the southern city of Curitiba soon after Group E rivals France and Switzerland finish their second match. Should the two European sides draw, a defeat in the later game would mean certain elimination as Ecuador lost its opening game to Switzerland 2-1 while Honduras slumped to a 3-0 defeat against les Bleus.
Adding further spice is the fact that the current coach of Ecuador, Reinaldo Rueda, used to coach Honduras, steering the Central American side to its first World Cup finals in 28 years in South Africa in 2010. And his counterpart for Honduras, luis Fernando Suarez, used to be the coach of Ecuador.
And both are Colombian.
With so many connections, the local fans in Curitiba may be excused for fearing that another stalemate is in the offing after they witnessed the World Cup’s first scoreless draw between Iran and Nigeria.