Plata plays 45 minutes as Ecuador draw with Canada in friendly match | OneFootball

Gonzalo Plata came on at halftime in the friendly played in Toronto

It was a hectic week for Gonzalo Plata. After arriving late for Ecuador's training camp, the player made it in time to play 45 minutes in the 0-0 draw against Canada, a match held in Toronto at BMO Field Stadium.

Plata was unable to participate in training sessions, as he only reported to coach Sebastián Beccacece on Wednesday night (12th), when preparations for the match had already been completed. For this reason, the Flamengo player, who is a guaranteed starter in the coach's mind, began the game on the bench.

HOW WAS THE GAME BETWEEN CANADA AND ECUADOR?

Despite being a friendly, the match started off heated, with a sending-off right at the beginning. In the sixth minute, Ali Ahmed of Canada went in studs up on Alan Franco, the Ecuadorian who plays for Atlético-MG, and was shown a straight red card. Even with one man down, the home team managed to create good chances.

At halftime, Gonzalo Plata was called upon and made a good impact. The Flamengo player took on the responsibility for set pieces and almost provided an assist with a free kick into the box. Additionally, the athlete played in a different role than he usually does for Mengão.

The red-and-black played as a ‘number 10’, behind striker Enner Valencia and opening up spaces for John Yeboah to cut in from the right, as Plata usually does at Flamengo. However, even with a man advantage for almost 90 minutes, the South American team couldn't secure the win.

WHEN IS ECUADOR'S NEXT GAME?

In summary, with Gonzalo Plata available, Ecuador returns to the field this Tuesday (18th), at 10:30 p.m. (Brasília time), against New Zealand. After the match, the forward will fly to Rio de Janeiro to be available for Filipe Luís for the game against Fluminense, which takes place on the 19th.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.