Ecuador Stays in World Cup at the Cost of 2026 Qualifying Points

Ecuador is officially back in the World Cup. As of Tuesday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) agreed with FIFA over the eligibility of Byron Castillo as a player for Ecuador. However, the team will have a three-point deduction at the start of the qualifying campaign for the 2026 World Cup. Plus they need to pay a fine of 100,000 Swiss Francs ($101,605.36) for the, according to the CAS, "use of a document containing false information.”

In June, FIFA ruled Castillo eligible to play international football for Ecuador, which led to Chile and Peru making an appeal to the CAS. In their appeal, they accused Castilo of being Colombian and falsifying his age. According to a statement by CAS after Ecuador’s clearance, Castillo was free to play as the Ecuadorian authorities acknowledged the right-back as an "Ecuadorian national".

Ecuador play against Qatar in the opening game of the 2022 World Cup on November 20th.