Who is Beccacece, the Argentine miracle worker for Ecuador?

Not many possibly knew about Sebastian Beccacece, the Argentine tactician with a Caniggia-like mane and rugged looks, until Ecuador embarrassed Germany in arguably the 2026 World Cup's biggest upset so far to seal a place in the knockout stage on Thursday, 25 June. In fact, he was at the receiving end of supporters’ ire after the South Americans were staring at an early exit, having garnered just one point from their first two games.

All that changed dramatically when they rallied against four-time champions Germany to win their first game in five appearances in the World Cup, and with it a place in last 32. The 45-year-old Beccacece, with no professional career worth writing about — certainly nothing to match his predecessor Felix Sanchez — has overnight become a national hero for the tiny nation, where President Daniel Noboa declared a public holiday as wild celebrations broke out on the streets of capital Quito.

When the referee blew the final whistle in New Jersey, Beccacece offered an unusual sight as he climbed over the stadium barriers to celebrate with his family in the stands. It was an emotional moment for the coach, who once did the hard yards as an understudy to his famous compatriot Jorge Sampaoli during a glorious phase for Chile, but for whom the final group stage fixture could have been his last in charge of Ecuador.

What eventually transpired was one of the biggest upsets of the tournament, though it didn’t stop the mighty Germans from progressing to the next stage as group toppers. As someone who has been there and done that, Beccacece wants his boys to keep their feet on the ground. ‘’We never feel like we are in hell, nor do we feel like we are in heaven,’’ he said. ‘’We have our feet grounded on earth and we feel and think in the right manner.’’

Who, incidentally is, Beccacece? The Argentine earned his stripes as an assistant to Sampaoli during Chile’s era of success a decade ago — helping them reach the 2014 World Cup final and win their first-ever Copa America title in 2015. Russia 2018 saw him as deputy to Sampaoli again, this time for Argentina, while he was in charge of Spanish side Elche before joining Ecuador.

It was under somewhat dramatic circumstances that he took charge of Ecuador when Sanchez was summarily dismissed in July 2024, straight after a Copa America quarter-final defeat by Argentina. ‘’They lost the shootout and Sanchez was sacked in the dressing room after the game,’’ South American football expert Tim Vickery told BBC Sport. ‘’They treat their coaches with great harshness.’’

Beccacece’s reign began with a 1-0 defeat by Brazil but his side did not lose again in 11 matches as they qualified for the World Cup as runners-up in South America, only behind the Selecao. It meant they arrived at the tournament with high expectations and boasting a 19-game unbeaten run.

It often flies under the radar that Ecuador boasts quite a well-equipped side: there are some top quality players such as Paris St-Germain’s Willian Pacho and Arsenal’s Piero Hincapie in defence, Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo in midfield and an evergreen Enner Valencia — now 36 — who has six World Cup goals to his name.

Hence, there are no doubts that they will be a stubborn opposition in the knockout stage. Beccacece, meanwhile, has only one message for fans: ‘’I want people to fall in love with these footballers because this Ecuadorean team makes people fall in love with them. Then we can see how far we get.’’