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Ecuador to play two friendlies ahead of Copa America

Xinhua, April 14, 2016 Adjust font size:

Ecuador will play friendly matches against the United States' national team and U.S. club Galaxy to prepare for the upcoming 2016 Centennial Copa America, announced the Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF) on Wednesday.

The South American country's governing body on soccer told a news conference that both matches will be played in the United States.

The match against the U.S. will take place on May 25 and the one against Galaxy, from the Major League Soccer (MLS), will be on May 31.

The FEF added that the Ecuador team would stay in the United States from May 19 to 31.

The Copa America tournament will take place in nine U.S. states.

Ecuador is part of the tournament's Group B along with Haiti, Peru and five-times-world-champions Brazil.

Ecuador, who are currently in second place in the World Cup Russia 2018 South American Qualifiers with 13 points, will play their first match on June 4 against Brazil at the start of the Copa America.

In February, Ecuador's coach, Argentinian-Bolivian Gustavo Quinteros, told a local news conference that his team would be looking to be a main player in the continental tournament.

"In this Copa America we want to try to be the main team that can make it right to the end," said the coach back then.

It has been many years since Ecuador was the protagonist in the continental tournament and for that reason the team have been practicing so that they can "create a historic situation."

During most of their appearances, Ecuador has been knocked out of the continental tournament in the first round. Endit