Copa America 2020 Group D: Ecuador and Costa Rica Commence with Scoreless Draw

The following article provides an oversight for matches and tournaments taking place in 2020.

Ecuador and Costa Rica Commence with Scoreless Draw

June 22, 2020

Ecuador 0 Costa Rica 0

 

Ecuador and Costa begin their Copa America campaign with a 0-0 draw.

 

Enner Valencia had the first two shots for the match, where the first sailed over the crossbar, and the second hit the bottom of the post. Ángel Mena had a header miss to the right, though it was a tough shot with the defensive pressure, as well as the angle of the cross.

 

Down the Costa Rican end, Johan Venegas sprinted onto a looping through ball, and nearly scored the opener. Instead, the resulting corner saw no goal, as did Ecuador’s free kick from the right flank down the northern end of the field.

 

Mena had a shot in the 27th minute hit the woodwork in almost the exact same spot as Valencia’s earlier shot. Instead, Costa Rica countered, and Joel Campbell nearly scored with his header, hitting the side netting.

 

Moises Caicedo should have scored when Valencia set him up, only to not actually take the shot in time. Adrian Martínez, for Costa Rica, also had a chance, but failed to pull the trigger.

 

Down the Ecuadorian end, Valencia did pull the trigger, only to miss to the left of goal. His frustration late in the first half earned him a yellow card as neither side could break the deadlock, with zero shots on target.

 

The first one on target came from Celso Borges, whose shot required a deft save. Campbell then should have scored, only for his chip shot to miss the entire goal. Martínez managed to shoot this time in the second half, only to miss as well.

 

In the end, the two sides played out a scoreless draw, something that will influence their chances on progressing.