Sweden lose again in South America

Ecuador 2-1 Sweden

Slow starters
As was the case in Venezuela, the defensive-minded visitors struggled to acclimatise to the conditions in the first half, and Ecuador comfortably controlled proceedings. Eder Vaca gave the hosts the lead after 16 minutes after latching on to a delicate throughball from Edmundo Zura, and ten minutes later Óscar Bagui found Carlos Tenorio in space and the striker slotted past John Alvbåge to make it 2-0.

Prica strike
After the interval Sweden adopted a more creative and less predictable approach, which produced chances for Rade Prica and Daniel Nannskog, both of whom narrowly missed the mark. The Europeans were finally rewarded for their efforts in injury time, though, when Prica scored a consolation goal.

'Toughest game'
Prica, a 26-year-old forward from Aalborg BK, admitted afterwards that his team had suffered in the high altitude. "It was the toughest game of my career," he said. "As soon as you ran for the ball, it was like your chest was about to explode. It was very tough." Sweden's tour concludes on Sunday with a second game against Ecuador in Quito.