USA vs. Ecuador score: USMNT result, highlights, stats as Balogun scores in October international friendly draw

Kyle Bonn

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USA vs. Ecuador score: USMNT result, highlights, stats as Balogun scores in October international friendly draw image

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It may have finished level on the scoresheet, but Mauricio Pochettino will be encouraged by the performance as the U.S. played to a 1-1 draw with South American side Ecuador in a friendly from Austin, TX on Friday evening.

Folarin Balogun’s equalizer 16 minutes from full-time cancelled out Enner Valencia’s first-half opener, but the U.S. was largely the better side throughout the match and was unlucky not to come out ahead in the end.

Valencia struck on the counter-attack before the half-hour mark, taking advantage of the space in midfield which Aidan Morris and Tanner Tessmann could not close down when the ball was turned over.

Ecuador, ranked 24th in the world after finishing second in the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying standings for the 2026 cycle, struggled to deal with Balogun all evening, who fully deserved his goal. The Monaco striker was denied several times by world-class saves from goalkeeper Hernan Galindez, who made two stunning stops in the first half to keep the U.S. at bay.

While results like this could be more damaging in a competitive environment, overall the U.S. will take solace knowing they were the dominant side while playing with energy and spirit against a very quality opponent.

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USA vs. Ecuador final score

Team ScoreGoal scorers
USA1Balogun (74')
Ecuador1Valencia (24')

Location: Q2 Stadium (Austin, TX)
Referee: Filip Dujic (CAN)

Starting lineups:

USA (3-4-2-1, right to left): 24. Freese (GK) — 12. M. Robinson (Freeman, 63'), 3. Richards, 13. Ream (McKenzie, 81') — 21. Weah (Pulisic, 74'), 23. Morris (Roldan, 74'), 4. Tessman, 18. Arfsten — 17. Tillman, 8. McKennie (Luna, 63') — 20. Balogun (Wright, 81').

Ecuador (4-4-1-1, right to left): 1. Galindez (GK) — 17. Preciado, 4. Ordonez, 6. Pacho, 7. Estupinan (Medina, 44') — 21. Franco, 8. Alcivar, 15. Vite, 9. Yeboah (Angulo, 46') — 10. Paez (K. Rodriguez, 46') — 13. Valencia (Campana, 74').

USMNT HQ: Predicted World Cup roster | 2025 schedule and results | How World Cup draw will work

USA vs. Ecuador stats

USAStatEcuador
11Shots8
6Shots on target4
66%Possession34%
510Accurate passes224
8Corners4
9Fouls13
2Yellow cards2

USA vs. Ecuador live updates, highlights from international friendly

FULLTIME: USA 1-1 Ecuador

It's disappointing for the U.S. not to come through with the victory, but the hosts looked by far the better side throughout much of the game against a strong opponent.

Mauricio Pochettino will surely take many more positives than negatives from this match in the end!

89th min: Chance, USA! Haji Wright does well to create space one-on-one with his defender shaded to the left of center, but his right-footed cut shot is too central and into the arms of the goalkeeper.

84th min: Yaimar Medina is booked for a foul on the touchline.

80th min: Haji Wright is brought on for Folarin Balogun, which wraps up the U.S. substitutions.

Within a minute Wright has a glorious opportunity to run a dangerous attack, but flubs it thanks to some indecision after a high turnover.

75th min: Both sides have made changes here in the wake of the U.S. goal.

Mauricio Pochettino brings on Christian Pulisic, Mark McKenzie and Cristian Roldan, who were all ready to come on even before the U.S. equalizer.

Ecuador have brought goal scorer Enner Valencia off, with Leo Campana now on the pitch up front.

71st min: GOAL! USA! THERE'S THE EQUALIZER! IT'S FOLARIN BALOGUN FROM POINT-BLANK RANGE!

Joel Ordonez gives it away in his own defensive third, and the U.S. pounces with a deserved goal! Tanner Tessman feeds it vertically to Malik Tillman inside the penalty area, and he squares it for an onrushing Balogun who beats Willian Pacho to the ball!

71st min: Chance, USA! The hosts are feeling it now, as a brilliant move from Tim Weah to Malik Tillman to Folarin Balogun back to Weah sees the Marseille man blaze a shot over the crossbar! It feels like a goal is coming!

69th min: Chance, USA! A lovely scything pass from Malik Tillman the right flank near the corner flag all the way to the top of the penalty area finds Diego Luna in space, but his shot is too central and all too easy for Hernan Galindez to save.

The U.S. forwards are getting frustrated at how much physicality the Ecuador defenders have managed to get away with by the Canadian referee.

63rd min: With the U.S. losing a bit of steam over the last five minutes, Mauricio Pochettino has gone to his bench to make two changes. Weston McKennie and Miles Robinson are withdrawn, with Diego Luna and Alex Freeman brought on.

This means the U.S. will move to a traditional back four, with Tim Weah pushing back up into the attack.

50th min: Mauricio Pochettino is livid with the referee after Malik Tillman is pulverized on the top edge of the penalty area by a thumping hip-to-hip challenge. It's late, and absolutely a foul, and the referee just let it go. When the U.S. is then called for a foul on the near touchline, the USMNT coaching staff lights up the Canadian official.

A replay shows the potential foul was just inside the top of the 18-yard box, and should have been blown for a penalty.

2nd half kickoff: The match is back under way in Austin as the U.S. looks for a way back into the match. Mauricio Pochettino tells the TV broadcast, "we played a good 45 minutes. We were a little unlucky to concede, and we've created a number of good chances."

He's not wrong!

Ecuador will make a double change, as John Yeboah and Kendry Paez, the two players who have drawn yellow cards so far, are withdrawn. Kevin Rodriguez and Nilson Angulo come on.

HALFTIME: USA 0-1 Ecuador

The United States goes into the half having been largely the better side through the opening 45 minutes, but trailing 1-0 on the lone goal by Enner Valencia.

Ecuador have been defensively solid, bending not breaking, but they've leaned on goalkeeper Hernan Galindez who has made multiple world-class saves to keep the U.S. out of the net. They have also counter-attacked well down the middle of the field, where Tanner Tessmann and Aidan Morris have not been able to overcome their numerical disadvantage.

The U.S. will feel if they can keep this level up, they should find the back of the net eventually, but right now they'll be nervous about the current scoreline.

45+3 min: Chance, USA! The United States have ANOTHER glorious opportunity go by the wayside as Folarin Balogun races through on goal from midfield. Unfortunately for the Monaco striker, Joel Ordonez is step-for-step with Balogun and forces him to chop it back instead of taking a shot.

With the view of goal closed down, Balogun then touches it for Tanner Tessman trailing the play, but his shot smashes into Aidan Morris and deflects wide for a goal kick!

44th min: Chance, USA! Tim Weah plays a lovely one-two with Malik Tillman and toe-pokes a shot on frame, but it takes just enough of a slight deflection that it drags JUST wide of the far post!

The U.S. has come so close on multiple occasions in this first half, but they've been cruelly denied every time to this point!

40th min: Miles Robinson is the second American center-back to pick up a yellow card as he is booked for a late tackle on Kendry Paez from behind, similar to the Richards one earlier.

During the stoppage, Pervis Estupinan goes down again and cannot continue, done in by his earlier ankle injury during a challenge with Folarin Balogun. He'll have to be replaced, as Yaimar Medina has to rush to get ready for an entrance.

37th min: Chance, USA! Hernan Galindez makes ANOTHER exceptional save!!! He prevents a Max Arfsten cross from being deflected into the top-right corner, going fully airborne to tip the ball with one hand out for a corner! The Ecuador netminder is having a sensational game!

35th min: It looks like Pervis Estupinan has picked up an ankle injury and requires treatment. It appears he will stay in the match for now, but it takes some dressing to get him match-fit as he comes to the touchline to get wrapped up.

26th min: Chance, USA! Chris Richards nearly atones in under two minutes, striking a corner on frame at the near post, but Hernan Galindez makes an INCREDIBLE SAVE!!! He dove down low to his left to stop the ball down in the bottom corner! That's sensational!

24th min: GOAL! ECUADOR! ENNER VALENCIA STRIKES ON THE COUNTER TO OPEN THE SCORING!

The veteran's first touch puts Chris Richards in an absolute blender, turning him by the wayside with a brilliant little flick as he receives the ball in midfield. Richards closed down the space well, but it was too much to do as the Ecuador star finishes with his right foot past Matt Freese!

21st min: Chance, USA! Free down the left, Folarin Balogun looks up and doesn't see any major openings, so he takes on Jordy Alcivar himself and delivers a curler that only just misses finding the top-right corner!

19th min: Chris Richards earns the first yellow card of the game as he topples John Yeboah streaking towards the attacking third. A deserved booking that leaves Richards on a knife edge the rest of the way.

8th min: Chance, USA! Folarin Balogun races free beyond the Ecuador back line on a feed from Malik Tillman, and forces a very good low save from Hernan Galindez! Balogun has been exceptional early on here, in what has been a very lively start to this match!

6th min: Chance, USA! On a U.S. corner, Chris Richards puts a header just over the crossbar! It appears to have deflected off the head of his defensive mark, so it wins a second corner, but Malik Tillman puts it over everyone and out harmlessly over the end line.

5th min: Chance, Ecuador! A shot by Jordy Alcivar all alone at the top of the penalty area on a corner somehow makes it through a crowded penalty area untouched but skitters just wide of the left post!

Ecuador is pressing VERY high in the opening stage of this match and it's caused lots of problems for the U.S.

Kickoff: They're under way at Q2 Stadium in Austin, TX!

The referee for tonight is Canadian official Filip Dujic, who went viral for his VAR announcement during an MLS match that hinged on a "however" moment which seemed to catch the crowd off guard in a humorous way.

USA vs. Ecuador: Pre-match commentary, analysis, more

15 mins to kickoff: It wasn't clear initially whether Christian Pulisic would miss the match for sure, or whether he'd be on the USMNT bench. That was confirmed now with Pulisic appearing amongst the substitutes, although it's unclear whether he'll actually be available to come into the game. Apparently the AC Milan star is dealing with ankle swelling that cropped up after Wednesday's training session, something which apparently has lingered from club preseason.

Antonee Robinson and Alex Zendejas both do not appear on the U.S. bench.

30 mins to kickoff: It will be interesting to see whether Tim Weah or Weston McKennie are playing at right wing-back.

Most likely, that will be for Weah to manage, while McKennie gets to play an advanced No. 10 role alongside Malik Tillman and behind Folarin Balogun. This would mirror Xabi Alonso's revolutionary tactics at Bayer Leverkusen, where Tillman is playing the more attack-minded Florian Wirtz role while McKennie plays the "No. 10 destroyer" role that Jonas Hoffman excelled in.

45 mins to kickoff: The Ecuador lineup is out, and it's largely as expected. With Moises Caicedo and Piero Hincapie both out, Joel Ordonez of Club Brugge gets the start at the back while John Yeboah joins the XI. It's a very attacking lineup, as both Yeboah and 18-year-old Kendry Paez are attack-minded midfielders and can get forward to support Enner Valencia. It will be interesting to see which one of them starts behind Valencia and who is out wide on the left.

1 hour to kickoff: The starting lineup for the U.S. is out! Matt Freese starts in goal over Matt Turner. Miles Robinson rounds out the back three alongside Chris Richards and Tim Ream. Christian Pulisic does not appear in the XI, which tracks after Mauricio Pochettino said he did not train yesterday. Neither does Antonee Robinson.

1 hour 15 mins to kick: Something to watch tonight and also against Australia is the goalkeeper race. Matt Turner was the starter at the 2022 World Cup and has been the presumed No. 1 for years now, but his inability to get playing time in Europe and subsequent move back to MLS opened the door for a challenger, and Matt Freese has stepped through that door with aplomb.

It's conceivable that both men get to start one game to prove they are the one for the job. We'll see who gets the first crack at it tonight shortly.

1 hour 30 mins to kick: While temperatures are beginning to cool around much of the U.S. as winter slowly approaches, it's still quite toasty in Texas. They're expecting around 85 degrees at kickoff in Austin tonight.

1 hour 45 mins to kick: Mauricio Pochettino raised some alarm bells in his pre-match press conference by stating that Christian Pulisic did not train on Thursday, leaving his participation tonight in doubt. Poch did not clarify what his issue is, leaving both USMNT and AC Milan fans to wonder if Pulisic is simply being given rest or if he's actually picked up an injury.

2 hours to kickoff: Pochettino trialed a three-center-back system in the September international window, and it was largely effective against Japan. While the sample size is small, it's expected that the performance was enough to see Pochettino test the formation moving forward with more first-team regulars now in the mix.

Regardless of how it's set up tactically, the back line will be anchored by Chris Richards, who has blossomed into a star for club and country thanks to his growth at Crystal Palace, where he has played a key part in a club record 18-game unbeaten streak. A recent part of that was a tone-setting 2-1 victory over Liverpool where Richards helped keep new Reds' signing Alexander Isak quiet.

USA vs. Ecuador kick off time

This international friendly kicks off from Q2 Stadium on Friday, October 10 at 7:30 p.m. local time in Austin, TX. Here's how that time translates across the major time zones throughout the United States:

 DateKickoff time
Eastern TimeFri, Oct. 108:30 p.m.
Central Time*Fri, Oct. 107:30 p.m.
Mountain TimeFri, Oct. 106:30 p.m.
Pacific TimeFri, Oct. 105:30 p.m.

* Local time in Austin, TX

USA vs. Ecuador lineups, team news

Tyler Adams is not included in the roster, and Pochettino confirmed this was due to the Bournemouth midfielder expecting the birth of a child in the next few days.

Mauricio Pochettino said ahead of the match that Christian Pulisic did not train on Thursday and is being assessed, while Alejandro Zendejas has picked up an injury and will be absent for the game. Antonee Robinson is only just returning from offseason knee surgery that kept him largely uninvolved at Fulham thus far, and he may not be risked much during the international break.

PSV teammates Ricardo Pepi and Sergino Dest have picked up minor injuries at the club level and were left off the international roster, even as Dest returned to club action on the weekend before the window commenced.

Johnny Cardoso has picked up an ankle injury early in his time at new club Atletico Madrid and is unavailable. Gio Reyna's career-long struggles with muscle injuries continue as he remains out with a hamstring issue picked up early in his Borussia Monchengladbach spell.

USA starting lineup (3-4-2-1): Freese (GK) — M. Robinson, Richards, Ream — Weah, Morris, Tessmann, Arfsten — Tillman, McKennie — Balogun.

USA subs: Turner (GK), Brady (GK), Schulte (GK), Carter-Vickers, McKenzie, Freeman, Roldan, Sands, Aaronson, Luna, Wright, Pulisic, Agyemang.

MORE: Full USMNT roster for October international friendlies

There are a few big-name absentees from the Ecuador national team this international break.

Arsenal defender Piero Hincapie is missing due to a groin injury. Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo is out of the international fold for now due to fitness concerns, with Blues head coach Enzo Maresca saying that while he has been able to play for his club, he is playing "injured" and is "not well."

Gonzalo Plata is in the same boat as Caicedo, playing through a knee injury for his club Flamengo and given the international break to rest up.

Ecuador starting lineup (4-4-1-1): Galindez (GK) — Preciado, Ordonez, Pacho, Estupinan — Franco, Alcivar, Vite, Yeboah — Paez — Valencia.

Ecuador subs: (Lineups released one hour prior to kickoff)

USA vs. Ecuador live stream, TV channel

Here is how to watch the match around the United States:

  • English:
    • TV channel: TNT, truTV
    • Streaming: Sling, Max
  • Spanish:

Kyle Bonn

Kyle Bonn is a Syracuse University broadcast journalism graduate with over a decade of experience covering soccer globally. Kyle specializes in soccer tactics and betting, with a degree in data analytics. Kyle also does TV broadcasts for Wake Forest soccer, and has had previous stops with NBC Soccer and IMG College. When not covering the game, he has long enjoyed loyalty to the New York Giants, Yankees, and Fulham. Kyle enjoys playing racquetball and video games when not watching or covering sports.