Overview
- Ecuador and Costa Rica, which meet Friday evening in Quito, kick off at 7:00 p.m. local time on November 13 at Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa with live TV on Teleamazonas and TC Televisión in Ecuador and Repretel and Teletica in Costa Rica.
- Marcelo Gallardo will make his first home appearance as Ecuador coach and the team is seeking its first win under his tenure while using the friendly to try formations and personnel.
- Costa Rica arrives under new coach Bryan Ruiz with a renewed roster and a notable absence: goalkeeper Keylor Navas is not in the squad after an agreed period of rest for a knee complaint.
- Media outlets published probable lineups that list key Ecuador players available such as Moisés Caicedo, Piero Hincapié, Gonzalo Plata and Kevin Rodríguez as the coach tests options.
- The match is a FIFA international window friendly played at high altitude, so both sides will use it mainly to evaluate players for qualifiers and tournaments rather than to decide standings; Ecuador holds a recent 3–1 friendly win over Costa Rica from June 2023.