Ecuador leave out Castillo in last-named squad

Quito, Nov. 16: Ecuador's was the last squad to be known among the 32 in the World Cup, and its coach Gustavo Alfaro did not include a player who put the team's presence in the tournament in doubt.

Alfaro announced his squad on Monday evening, close to the deadline, and did not include defender Byron Castillo despite all the legal troubles Ecuador soccer authorities went through since they qualified in March.

Chile and Peru argued before sporting authorities that Castillo was actually Colombian and illegally played several World Cup qualifiers. The claim was rejected and Ecuador was allowed to feature in Group A with hosts Qatar, Senegal and the Netherlands.

Ecuador and Qatar will open the tournament on Sunday.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled last week that Ecuador will lose three points before the start of South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup due to the use of false information on Castillo's birthday and birthplace in its proceedings to grant him a passport.

Alfaro called up striker Kevin Rodríguez, who plays in Ecuador's second division. Ecuador is in the World Cup for the fourth time, all in this century.

Ghana without top goalkeepers 

Ghana had to leave its top two goalkeepers out of the World Cup squad after they were injured ahead of the announcement on Monday.

First-choice goalkeeper Jojo Wollacott broke his finger in the warmup ahead of a game with his English club side Charlton Athletic this weekend and has now been ruled out of the World Cup, while backup Richard Ofori has a knee injury, according to his South African club Orlando Pirates.

That means Ghana has been forced to dig deep into its reserves for the tournament in Qatar.

Lawrence Ati-Zigi, who plays his club soccer in Switzerland, is likely to start the World Cup in goal. The other two goalkeepers named in the squad are Abdul Manaf Nurudeen, who has two caps, and 19-year-old Ibrahim Danlad, who is yet to play for Ghana.

As expected, Ghana selected defender Tariq Lamptey, a former England youth international, and forward Iñaki Williams, who has one cap for Spain, after they changed allegiance this year.

Ayew brothers Andre and Jordan also made the squad as did Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey. Jeffrey Schlupp and Joseph Paintsil were left out.  (AP)