Name: Ignacio (aka Iggy!)
Age: 13
Favourite team: Ecuador!
Favourite player: Ivan Hurtado
Ecuador 0-1 England: Sunday, 25 June
I watched this amazing game during a horse back riding competition surrounded by about 40 or 50 people, who were all wearing the Ecuadorian jersey.
As the game began there were cheers everywhere and the emotion was incredibly high.
I saw that Ecuador was playing very well and that the English, because of the heat, had a pretty slow game which was aided by the referee who made many unfair calls during the whole game.
I really enjoyed watching this match because there were so many people. Every time something happened in the game we screamed or gasped in unison, which was very cool.
As David Beckham, the English captain, scored the only goal in the game, I (as well as everyone else in the room) felt somewhat disappointed, but as our game got better, the disappointment was lost.
Even though we lost, we were all very happy about the way our heroes on the pitch represented our country.
Ecuador 0-3 Germany: Tuesday 20 June
Once again, I watched this game at school in the auditorium but had low hopes of winning, since six of our strongest players did not go in.
And of course, Germany was the home team and put all their best players (like Michael Ballack and Klose) in.
So, as I predicted, Germany scored three goals and each time our hopes went down a little more.
But I still think we can win against the England team, as long as we play how we did against Poland and Costa Rica.
Ecuador 3-0 Costa Rica: Thursday 15 June
I watched our encounter with Costa Rica at our school, in the auditorium accompanied by about 140 other students from grades 6, 7, and 8.
I was positive of a good result from this match, since our team was playing soccer at a very high level.
When our first goal went in by Carlitos Tenorio, the auditorium shook, and, with all the screams and laughter that was going around; it was like being at stadium.
Even though we had already gotten a lead, there was a lot of tension around the crowd because everyone knew Costa Rica was not a simple rival.
Then, when our second goal went in, the effect was even crazier and the joy was more intense, we had practically secured our pass to the second round.
And we did, when Ivan Kaviedes scored the third goal for Ecuador.
After the match the school was crazy, everyone was wild and they all reflected what I felt because of our historic accomplishment; joy.
Ecuador 2-0 Poland: Friday 9 June
I watched this game at the house of one of my best friends here in Quito with about 16 other friends, and we had a terrific time. When Ecuador scored the first goal, the room exploded with emotion, screams and laughs.
I was so glad we scored the first goal of the match and took a head start on Poland.
Later on, during the second half when our second goal was scored, I almost cried, because Ecuador had faced the odds and won a match with nearly perfect soccer.
When the match was over, we watched how the crowds - putting aside the cold and the rain - went out to cheer for our first victory in the World Cup.
I felt exactly the same way - ready to go out of my way to support our great soccer team!
Tournament preview
What's the atmosphere like in Ecuador?
In my opinion this year Ecuador will do pretty well in the World Cup. I know we probably won't win but I am pretty sure we will get past the first round. We've progressed a lot in the last four years and we have grown a lot stronger since 2002, when we only won one match in the first round.
This time I think that we will experience trouble in our matches against Germany because it has a very strong team and it is the host country. But I am almost sure that we will beat Poland and Costa Rica and go into the second round of this World Cup!
In Ecuador the people are very enthusiastic about the World Cup and everyone is optimistic and has high hopes for the Ecuadorian team!
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