Ecuador qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 2002 and then had a fantastic qualification in 2006 finishing third in the CONMEBOL group. Ecuador surprised a lot of people in the 2006 World cup with wins over Costa Rica and Poland gave them a place in the knockout stages.

Many people relate Ecuador's success to the fact that they play their home matches at altitude. Ecuador seemed to have answered these critics with some brilliant football in qualifying for two consecutive World Cups and in reaching the knockout stage in 2006.