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EDUARDO MUNOZ ALVAREZ / AFP
Coach Gustavo Quinteros was happy Ecuador achieved their first goal of qualifying from a tough Group B, which included Brazil and Peru, but he has set no limit on how far his team can progress in the Copa America Centenario.
Enner Valencia inspired Ecuador to a 4-0 drubbing of Haiti in their final group game on Sunday, which they needed to win by two goals or more to secure their spot in the quarter-finals, as he scored a goal and provided two assists in New Jersey.
“We have achieved one of the goals, now we want to move forward,” Quinteros said after the game.
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“Now we have to have more peace of mind. We will face the next game like a final.”
Quinteros said he was not totally convinced by his team’s performance despite the margin of victory.
“We have a few days to work and correct errors,” said the coach, who stressed that the team needs to be “much more solid” and find “tranquillity”, which Quinteros attributed to his side’s need to win by at least two goals.
“It was a given that we needed to play with great intensity, speed. It meant we had to have inaccuracies sometimes.”
For his part, Haiti coach Patrice Neveu said his team were simply outmuscled by the powerful Ecuadorians.
“Ecuador deserved to win, given the way we played. We were overwhelmed by the power of the Ecuadorian team,” he said.
Ecuador now face Copa America Centenario hosts United States in the quarter-finals.
