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Despite agonising exit, Ecuador's 'kids' came of age at World Cup

DOHA : Ecuador's young team in Qatar will forever rue the few centimetres that came between them and World Cup history.

Had 22-year-old Gonzalo Plata's second half shot against the Netherlands gone in, giving them a victory they deserved, the South Americans would have reached the knockout stage after two games, equalling their previous best finish in 2006.

Instead, one of the tournament's youngest teams heads home at the first hurdle in gut-wrenching fashion.

Ecuador came to Qatar as outsiders, their only big name Enner Valencia viewed by many as a has-been in a team otherwise full of little-known youngsters who could easily have frozen.

But the 33-year-old rolled back time and wrote himself into the tournament's history with another three goals to match his tally in Brazil eight years ago and show why he is still revered as "Superman" back home.

He and his energetic team mates may have run out of steam when it counted, in Tuesday's 2-1 defeat to Senegal when just a draw would have taken them through, leaving them weeping and inconsolable on the field. But their largely impressive performances earned them plenty of new respect.

PARTY-POOPERS

Though heavyweights Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay are normally South America's main headline-grabbers, Ecuador were in the limelight from the off as they opened the tournament against hosts Qatar, ruining their party with an easy 2-0 win.

They then drew with the Netherlands before the agonising 2-1 loss to African champions Senegal.

Anyone who has been watching Ecuador in the last couple of years will not have been surprised at their poise. Coach Gustavo Alfaro scouted for new talent to renew virtually the whole side several years ago, then watched as they hauled themselves out of the

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