There are very slim chances for Ecuador to qualify to South Africa 2010. A hard-fought comeback against Brazil to secure a 1-1 draw in March was an excellent result for La Tricolor who then rekindled their hopes of reaching the promise land in southern Africa. But after letting a precious 1-0 lead slip away against Paraguay in the very last moments of the encounter, the task ahead of the Ecuadorians seems to be huge again.

All the same, the Ecuadorians have built a strong home fortress in this qualifying campaign. La Tri are undefeated in all World Cup qualifying home matches but one– and that was in their first match of the campaign against Venezuela back in 2007.

Countries like Bolivia, Brazil, or even Colombia have all been out to challenge Ecuador’s home record in the qualifiers, but all came out unable to hand the Ecuadorians a defeat on their own soil.

One team that completely stumbled against Ecuador’s home spirit is Peru. La Blanquirroja humiliated themselves in the first leg of this encounter, losing 5-1 on the day.

Peru’s status, chances and risks against Ecuador

Peru are the team with the worst run of matches in the CONMEBOL zone. Their form hasn’t shown any signs of improvement lately. With four defeats on the trot to Bolivia, Paraguay, Chile, and Brazil, and 26 good goals conceded, it is almost certain that Peru can wave goodbye to the dream of qualifying to the World Cup.

Even a place in the play-offs is far from their reach; the Peruvians – who languish at the bottom of the table – are 10 points behind fifth-placed Uruguay. They might have to play for nothing but pride when they clash against Ecuador at the Monumental in Peru.

They Whites and Red are way out of the contest in CONMEBOL’s group table but could have an impact on the fate of the other teams. One thing that could favor the Peruvians is complacency on the side of the Ecuadorians. But this mentality is very much unlikely to devastate the camp of Sixto Vizuete’s men.

Ecuador will aim to recover quickly from their heart-breaking score draw at home to the Paraguays. After two successive drawn home games, the squad will want to get it right against bottom side Peru. The reason behind Ecuador’s defiant mentality is that qualification to the World Cup finals in South Africa remains a possibility, but the team also knows how much work will be needed if they are to reach the promise land.