Ecuador vs Saudi Arabia Prediction: Clean sheet kings to grind it out again

Ecuador and Saudi Arabia step up their preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a friendly match at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey (USA).

Below are my Ecuador vs Saudi Arabia predictions, alongside all the latest team news and match odds, ahead of this international friendly (7:30pm local Saturday, 12:30am BST Sunday).

Team News

Ecuador head coach Sebastian Beccacece has named a 34-man squad for this friendly against Saudi Arabia.

Moises Caicedo (Chelsea) and Enner Valencia (Pachuca) are the headline names included, while Willian Pacho (PSG) and Piero Hincapie (Arsenal) miss out as they contest the UEFA Champions League final in Budapest on Saturday.

Football Odds

Saudi Arabia boss Georgios Donis finalised his preliminary 30-man squad for the World Cup last week, headlined by captain Salem Al Dawsari (Al Hilal) and Saud Abdulhamid (RC Lens, on loan from AS Roma).

Head-to-head record

Ecuador and Saudi Arabia have met once before, in September 2022, playing out a goalless international friendly at the Estadio Enrique Roca in Murcia, Spain.

Ecuador vs Saudi Arabia Odds

Ecuador are 8/13 favourites, implying a 61.9% probability of success, with Saudi Arabia 9/2, or an 18.2% chance, and the draw offered at 12/5.

Total Goals - Under 2.5 @ 8/13

Ecuador's biggest strength is their defensive solidity, underlined by the fact that they conceded just five times in 18 World Cup qualifiers; no other side in the South American section conceded fewer than 10.

La Tri ended their qualification campaign with five consecutive clean sheets, with the first four of those finishing goalless before they closed out with a 1-0 victory over reigning World Cup champions Argentina.

Ecuador have played six friendlies since, drawing four of them 1-1 and another 0-0, while they also beat New Zealand 2-0. Their last 11 matches have gone under 2.5 goals, with five finishing goalless, so backing two or fewer goals looks like the obvious play here, especially considering Saudi Arabia's recent struggles in the attacking third.

The Green One scored just once across two friendlies in March, suffering defeats to Egypt (0-4) and Serbia (1-2).

Clean Sheet - Ecuador @ 5/6

Ecuador have kept 12 clean sheets in their last 17 games, including two in their last four.

Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, have failed to score in half (five) of their last 10 matches, including three of the last five, and two of the last three.

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