Ecuador could have been excluded from the final round of the 2022 World Cup due to a disciplinary case against team defender Byron Castillo.

Earlier, the Chilean Football Federation complained to FIFA about the possible forgery of Castillo's documents.. The Chilean side provided evidence that the football player was allegedly born in the Colombian city of Tumaco on July 25, 1995, and not on November 10, 1998 in the Ecuadorian General Villamil, as indicated in the certificate.

However, FIFA decided in favor of Ecuador. The verdict states that after analyzing all the information provided by the federations of Ecuador and Chile, the disciplinary committee decided to close the case.

If FIFA decided to disqualify the Ecuadorian, who played in 8 matches of the 2022 World Cup qualifying tournament, his team would be credited with a technical defeat (0:3) in all matches. Consequently, the Ecuadorian team would have lost their place in the World Cup, and their place there would have been taken by the Chilean team, which finished next in the South American selection..

So, it is Ecuador that will go to play in the world championship in Qatar, which will be held from November 21 to December 18, 2022. Ecuadorians will face Qatar, Senegal and the Netherlands in Group A..