Ecuador Draws 1-1 against Venezuela; Minda Features as Substitute

Ecuador tied 1-1 against Venezuela Tuesday in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying. After getting a big win last week over Chile at home, Ecuador ventured on the road for today's match, and getting four points in this round of qualifiers is probably a good haul. The scoring opened early, with a rocket shot from about 40 yards out by Juan Arango in the 6th minute to give Venezuela the 1-0 lead. Segundo Castillo evened the score in the 24th minute for Ecuador, as he took a ball in the box and shot it across his body after a quick turn.

Chivas USA midfielder Oswaldo Minda saw action in the match, as he came off the bench in the 70th minute for Ecuador. It is his return to the field for his country after receiving a shellacking among Ecuadorean fans following the Uruguay game, when he was the fall guy for Edinson Cavani's equalizer. The fact that he got the nod in this match bodes well moving forward for his international prospects.

The result leaves Ecuador in second place in CONMEBOL's table, three points behind Argentina and a point ahead of Colombia. This is just past the halfway point in South American qualifying, and Ecuador remains in a favorable position for Brazil 2014.

Oh, and perhaps the main memory of this match will be that Ecuador had to listen to Mexico's national anthem before the game instead of their own. Was this incompetence by Venezuela or a bit of gamesmanship? We may never know.

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