asylumseeker, is this Ecuador side anything close to their frist team?
Somewhat, yes in terms of recognized and ready talent (but there arguably are some established players who could still command a place in the squad (for example Felipe Caicedo if he was inclined ) and others who could be progressed from the U23s that are currently prepping for South America's Olympic qualifiers (under the same coach)). Also there are a couple talented young players already in Europe who have been left to grow a bit (for instance the first player Ronaldo acquired at Valladolid, a player named Stiven Plaza).
That stated, this coach sees his role as one of highlighting players who are knocking on the door insistently and others who have been overlooked in recent cycles under recent coaches Quinteros and Gomez. This coach is also tacitly interested in the job, but by taking this approach he is also covering his ass a bit, especially not wanting a repeat of the 6-1 he suffered vs Argentina. There isn't much significant sentiment in his favor though, despite his undeniable success at U20 level (WC bronze medallists).
If Jose Pékerman takes the job, he will have a different elaboration of a 23-man squad, but many of these players would automatically be initial contenders.
Other consideration: 4 players went back to their club squads because their clubs are in a cup final on Saturday and there was constant pressure on the federation and caretaker coach to ignore it being a FIFA date.
Finally, Independiente del Valle (just won the Sudamericana) is stacked with young homegrown talent and only 2 players from that club are in this squad ... So the theme I discussed this morning was that the process of "recambio' in Ecuador contrasts with our retention of older players, although the randomized selection of Woo Ling and Lewis call for acknowledgement of recognizing that DL either sees it or is hitting in the dark.
Last thing, if you look at the GKs for Ecuador ... all are playing locally and they have an average age of 26 ... all are under 30. So in this sense it is good to see Frenderup on the pitch. And the questions raised about what Glenroy Samuel should be doing linger. So position by position although the Ecuador squad is anything but settled, many of the players selected are consensus NT material.
