5 days to go! Castillo accused of falsifying his nationality left out of Ecuador's World Cup squad

Ecuador leave out Castillo in last-named World Cup squad AP

Ecuador's was the last squad to be known among the 32 in the World Cup, and its coach Gustavo Alfaro did not include a player who put the team's presence in the tournament in doubt.

Alfaro announced his squad on Monday evening, close to the deadline, and did not include defender Byron Castillo despite all the legal troubles Ecuador soccer authorities went through since they qualified in March.

Chile and Peru argued before sporting authorities that Castillo was actually Colombian and illegally played several World Cup qualifiers. The claim was rejected and Ecuador was allowed to feature in Group A with hosts Qatar, Senegal and the Netherlands.

Ecuador and Qatar will open the tournament on Sunday.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled last week that Ecuador will lose three points before the start of South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup due to the use of false information on Castillo's birthday and birthplace in its proceedings to grant him a passport.
Alfaro called up striker Kevin Rodriguez, who plays in Ecuador's second division.

Ecuador is in the World Cup for the fourth time, all in this century.

Goalkeepers: Moises Ramirez (Independiente del Valle), Alexander Dominguez (Liga de Quito), Hernan Galindez (Aucas).

Defenders: Piero Hincapie (Bayer Leverkusen), Robert Arboleda (Sao Paulo), Pervis Estupinan (Brighton), Angelo Preciado (Genk), Jackson Porozo (Troyes), Xavier Arreaga (Seattle Sounders), Diego Palacios (Los Angeles FC), Felix Torres (Santos Laguna), William Pacho (Royal Antwerp).

Midfielders: Carlos Gruezo (Augsburg), Jhegson Mendez (Los Angeles FC), Moises Caicedo (Brighton), Jose Cifuentes (Los Angeles FC), Jeremy Sarmiento (Brighton), Alan Franco (Talleres), Angel Mena (Leon), Ayrton Preciado (Santos), Gonzalo Plata (Valladolid), Romario Ibarra (Pachuca).

Forwards: Djorkaeff Reasco (Newell's Old Boys), Enner Valencia (Fenerbahce), Kevin Rodriguez (Imbabura), Michael Estrada (Cruz Azul).