Sebastian Beccacece is stepping down as coach of Ecuador following their exit from the 2026 FIFA World Cup following a 2-0 defeat at the hands of co-hosts Mexico in the round of 32.
The Argentine confirmed his decision after the match, saying his contract has ended at the conclusion of Ecuador’s time at the World Cup. “Our contract ended with the World Cup,” Beccacece said.
“I do not think that we did all that we promised that was for it to be the best World Cup of all time and so for me it is time to leave”.
Beccacece took charge of Ecuador in August 2024 and led them to their second-ever appearance in the World Cup knock-out stages, after a tough group in which they suffered an opening-day defeat 1-0 to Ivory Coast and secured a 0-0 draw against Curacao.
The Ecuadorians then secured a shock 2-1 comeback win against Germany to qualify as one of the best third-placed teams, but their impressive run was ended by a dominant first-half performance from Mexico, who recorded a two-goal victory through Julian Quinones and Raul Jimenez. “We tried to make a comeback, but we could not score a goal that could have motivated us.”
Beccacece conceded after the defeat. Beccacece, who is 44, now becomes the seventh coach to leave his position in the course of the tournament alongside Marcelo Bielsa, Steve Clarke, Miroslav Koubek, Ronald Koeman, Sabri Lamouchi and Hong Myung-bo.
