Ecuador vs Italy prediction 24.03.2024

• Competition: Friendly International
• Date: Sunday, 24th March 2024
• Kickoff: 20:00 UTC / 21:00 CET
• Venue: Red Bull Arena (Harrison, NJ)

After winning the Euro 2020, Italy experienced a massive setback as they failed to secure the World Cup appearance (second in a row). But after a failure in the WC Qualifiers, Italy played well in the UEFA Nations League, winning the group and finishing 3^rd in the Playoffs. In the EURO Qualifiers, Italy were not too impressive. Yes, they secured the EURO appearance but were on a level with points with Ukraine, which played their home games on a neutral pitch. The general impression is that Italy are a step behind the best teams in the World at this moment, but they are still a dangerous team capable of a lot.

Ecuador are 31^st on the FIFA World Ranking list and the number five in the South America region. They were solid in the previous World Cup in Qatar, as they had the opportunity to advance to the knockout phase in the final game of the group phase but lost to Senegal and blew the historic opportunity. After the World Cup, Ecuador started another WC Qualification cycle well, holding 5^th place with eight points. But they had a three-point deduction, and if it weren’t for that, they would have had an even better situation.

Italy vs Ecuador pick: Italy to win

Lately, Italy were solid in the previous eight matches, losing only 2:1 to England in London in a close game. The biggest problem for Italy in recent years was the striker position. The federation tried to fix that by adding an Argentine-born Mateo Retegui, which seems to be the right move. The young striker scored four goals in five appearances and two goals in the last match vs Venezuela. He could be a real game-changer for this squad if he is healthy.

Ecuador are in good form, losing just once in the last ten matches. But they mostly faced mediocre teams, objectively weaker than Italy. Lately, their defensive performances have been impressive as they have kept a clean sheet in the last four games, and Italy will surely have the challenging task of scoring. Still, we believe that Italy are a better team overall and should walk away with a victory.