Ecuador couldn’t complete a comeback against Peru, but they learned from their mistakes

Slowly, though, Ecuador started to right the ship. It took until the half hour mark, but you could see Los Amarillos putting together the pieces of the puzzle. Peru had unsettled their back line with direct runs off counter attacks, so they dropped their line deeper and put their central midfield into the lanes Peru was running through. Enner Valencia had been shut down by a double team, so they pushed Miller Bolaños higher up the pitch and had Jefferson Montero cut in from the left to offer more direct support. Slowly, one piece at a time, Ecuador figured out what had gone so horribly wrong in that opening spell and put each issue right.

Then Enner Valencia scored just before halftime to bring the deficit to a single goal, and Bolaños scored a wonderful effort just moments into the second half to level the score.

There would be no winner from Ecuador in this match -- partly because of Bolaños’ injury that forced him out of the match not long after his goal -- but you could tell that the side was deeply changed from the one that had looked outclassed and out of place in the opening minutes of the match. That development is one that Ecuador fans should embrace despite the result.

To see Ecuador start so poorly was a surprise, but to see them make all the adjustments that they did in the flow of the match, making their changes even before halftime, is incredibly encouraging for those who want them do well in this tournament. Manager Gustavo Quinteros quickly diagnosed his team’s problems and found effective solutions for them, and for every adjustment made by his opposite number with Peru, Quinteros and Ecuador had a quick counter for it.

With Peru and Brazil each sitting on four points and going head-to-head on the final matchday, that leaves Ecuador -- who are on two points after their pair of draws -- with a match against a Haiti side that Brazil just obliterated to the tune of a 7-1 pasting. With Brazil riding high and Haiti suffering, Ecuador have to feel awfully good about their chance to make the knockout rounds. Even if Peru and Brazil draw, as long as Ecuador win their match by at least two goals, they’ll go through and send Peru home.

They haven’t been perfect, and they started this game in absolutely disastrous shape, but Ecuador figured out what went wrong and fixed it. In a tournament setting like this, that kind of self-awareness and recovery speed is huge to have on your side, and it could ultimately become a factor that helps them do a lot better in the Copa America than a lot of people thought they would.