New Arsenal signing Piero Hincapie played the full 90 minutes as Ecuador drew away at Paraguay on Thursday night.
The defender impressed for his national team as they comfortably kept a clean sheet against a talented Paraguayan side that included the likes of Miguel Almiron and Diego Gomez.
Neither team threatened to open the scoring at any point, with the game finishing with just 13 total shots on goal.
Ecuador slip to fourth in the CONMEBOL World Cup qualification group, although they’ve already qualified for next summer’s tournament in North America, with the clash against Paraguay and Wednesday’s encounter against Argentina nothing but formalities.
Piero Hincapie impresses for Ecuador as remarkable defensive record continues
Arsenal signed Hincapie on deadline day from Bayer Leverkusen.
The versatile defender arrives on an initial loan deal, although he is expected to join permanently next summer, with the Gunners negotiating a £45 million buy option in the deal.
Supporters of the North London club who opted to take a first serious look at the 23-year-old on Thursday will have been impressed.
Deployed on the left side of Ecuador’s central defensive partnership, alongside the likes of Willian Pacho and Pervis Estupinan, Hincapie was solid and aggressive throughout.
The former Leverkusen man was dominant when dealing with Paraguay’s danger men, while he was excellent in possession, completing 75 of his 88 passes.
With the game ending 0-0, Ecuador have now kept four clean sheets in a row, and 12 in 17 throughout their World Cup Qualification campaign.
Conceding just five goals in these 17 matches, Ecuador have arguably created the most impenetrable defence in international football over the last two years.
Hincapie has been a huge component of this backline, starting almost every single match along the way.
Piero Hincapie’s statistics vs Paraguay
Hincapie believes his best position is at centre-back, and he showed it against Paraguay.
The Ecuadorian was at the heart of his team’s build-up throughout, while he was front-footed and decisive defensively.
| Piero Hincapie’s Statistics vs Paraguay | |
| Minutes Played | 90 |
| Defensive Contributions | 6 |
| Touches | 101 |
| Accurate Passes | 75/88 (85%) |
| Tackles Won | 2/2 (100%) |
| Passes into the Final Third | 6 |
| Ground Duels Won | 5/5 (100%) |
Managing 101 touches and completing 85% of his passes, Hincapie was constantly on the ball and looking to dictate play from deep.
However, he also snuffed out any danger from Paraguay, limiting the opposition to just seven shots by aggressively biting into challenges and winning his duels.
Mikel Arteta will no doubt be delighted to see that his new man won all five of his ground duels.
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