ECUADOR conceded a late equaliser in their World Cup qualifier with Peru on Thursday night in the craziest of circumstances.
Gustavo Alfaro’s men looked set to pick up a vital three points following Michael Estrada’s early strike in the Peruvian National Stadium.
But a 69th-minute goal from Edison Flores – which came when the visitors were temporarily down to ten men – saw both sides share the spoils.
The Ecuadorians’ brief disadvantage was the fault of substitute Diego Palacios, who was supposed to replace the injured Ayrton Preciado in the 65th minute.
Palacios, 22, caused chaos on the sidelines by stunningly losing his SHIRT.
The missing shirt caused pandemonium on the Ecuador bench as Palacios and team staff tried to find it.
Eventually, a kitman had to go back to the dressing room to grab the top for Palacios – who was stood barechested for FOUR minutes.
The Los Angeles FC full-back eventually made his way onto the pitch, but the damage had already been done.
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Shocked fans were quick to comment on the hilarious scenes, with one saying: “My emotional stability has a first and last name: Diego Palacios.”
Another said: “THAT’S WHY I LOVE YOU DIEGO PALACIOS.”
And another said: “The player from Ecuador must be seriously reconsidering his line of work.”
Ecuador gaffer Alfaro couldn’t help but lament the costly nature of the calamitous incident.
In his post-match interview, he said: “There was a detail, because when Ayrton was injured, I wanted to put on Palacios, the shirt disappeared and that’s why we couldn’t make the change.
“And at that moment when they bring the shirt, the referee had already set the ball in motion and we were missing a player, and that’s where the play came from.”
Victory over the Peruvians would’ve sealed Ecuador a place at Qatar 2022.
La Tri will look to seal qualification for their fourth World Cup on March 24 when they travel to Paraguay.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk