Ecuador could be thrown out of the 2022 World Cup tomorrow for falsifying a player’s passport, but Chile are more likely than Italy to take their place.
FIFA are due to make a decision on the controversy tomorrow morning and Ecuador’s position is looking uncertain at the moment.
They are accused of falsifying the birth certificate and therefore the passport of player Byron Castillo to make it look as if he was born in Ecuador.
Following a complaint from Chile, it was claimed Castillo was born in Colombia and does not have the right to Ecuadorian citizenship.
In theory, Italy would be promoted to the World Cup as the eliminated team highest in the FIFA world rankings.
However, it is more likely FIFA will assign defeats to Ecuador in the qualifying games where Castillo played instead of just outright excluding them from the World Cup.
That would therefore push Chile into the tournament instead, therefore maintaining the balance of South American teams.
Castillo has nine senior caps for Ecuador, playing in eight World Cup qualifiers.
Ecuador have been placed in Group A with hosts Qatar, the Netherlands and Senegal.