Quito (Ecuador), Sep 2 (IANS) Ecuador’s national football team gathered for their first training session in the lead up to upcoming friendlies against Bolivia and Brazil.
Both games, to be played in the United States Sep 6 and Sep 9 respectively, aim to prepare players for the 2015 Copa America Championship in Chile, the Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF) said Monday, reports Xinhua.
The Ecuadorian players called up by coach Sixto Vizuete met at the team’s headquarters here to train prior to travelling Tuesday to Miami, Florida, for their first friendly against Bolivia.
National team members playing for foreign clubs are to meet up with the rest in Miami, according to an FEF press release, including Walter Ayovi, who plays for Mexico’s Pachuca; Segundo Castillo (Al-Hilal, Saudi Arabia); Enner Valencia (West Ham, England); Carlos Gruezo (Stuttgart, Germany) and Cristhian Noboa (Dynamo Moscow, Russia).
The Ecuador-Bolivia match will take place at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, while the game against Brazil will be in New York.
The team is to train from Tuesday to Thursday at the campus of the Florida Atlantic University, and spend Friday on a familiarisation tour of the stadium.