ECUADOR

After being released as a youngster by Rosario Central, his hometown club in Argentina, Galíndez rebuilt his life in Quito and embraced Ecuador as his new home and identity. Now, with more than 300 domestic matches played and unforgettable moments such as sealing World Cup qualification against Argentina, he stands as a national icon, but he doesn’t like to boast. “I’m not a superhero, I’m just a football player and nothing more,” he says. As a seven-year-old in Rosario, testing himself out as a keeper for the first time after the regular No1 was injured, he came up against a lively young rival. “I played in this tournament and only conceded one goal. To this day, my mom has a plaque from that day'. That goal was scored by a certain Lionel Messi.” Now, at 38, Galíndez is a figurehead for the side.

A talented left-footed creator. He made his competitive debut in 2019 in Serie B with Independiente del Valle’s reserves, Independiente Juniors, before his senior Serie A debut in 2021. In August that year, aged 19, he made the leap to MLS with Vancouver Whitecaps, where his progress – in terms of consistency, maturity and leadership – was rapid. Last year he moved to Mexico with Pumas UNAM. He has spoken openly about his struggles with homesickness as a youngster, and about mental health more broadly. “When I went to Quito, to Independiente, it was difficult because I was very close to my mum. I left when I was 12, and I cried until I was 14 or 15. I couldn't adapt to Quito. I liked my teammates, but I missed being with my mum. Our voices would break when we could finally speak! I suffered, and I've had a psychologist since I was 12. People need to change how they see that in their minds; they think that if you have one it's because you're unwell or crazy, but a psychologist helps you grow as a person."

An explosive wide player who can be a real threat from the right wing or as an inside forward. He started out at Independiente del Valle, where he credits coach Juan Carlos León with changing his mindset. “I was very argumentative as a child, I would get annoyed by everything on the field. I would get sent off because the opposing players would hit me or insult me, and I would fall for their provocation. I was also very lazy, I didn't like to train much, I didn't like to run, I didn't like the physical aspect. He made me change that way of being, that way of playing, to put much more pressure on myself.” His club career journey has taken him via Portugal’s Sporting, Spain’s Real Valladolid and Qatar’s Al Sadd to Brazil with Flamengo since 2024. It hasn’t always been smooth progress, though: in 2021 Valladolid issued a statement “deploring” his behaviour after he was involved in an early-hours traffic accident. Plata said: “There’s no justification for what happened. It was a bad act on my part. I let myself get carried away with nightlife.”

From Santo Domingo's dusty pitches to breaking the British transfer record, Caicedo is on quite a journey. When Chelsea paid Brighton £115m in 2023 they gave him an eight-year contract, a huge financial show of confidence in his ability. And, after what he called “a difficult start, I felt the pressure”, he has lived up to that billing at Stamford Bridge. A calm, sensitive character, his childhood nickname “Niño Moi” – “The Boy Moi” – has stuck, and he launched his Niño Moi 23 Academy in Guayas last year, saying he hoped it would “shape both sporting talents and exemplary citizens, grounded in good values”. Faith drives him: “I pray at every match, win or lose … I ask God to see us through each match without injuries.” He arrived at the World Cup carrying over a suspension following his red card in last year’s qualifier against Argentina, a match which began with his mum, Carmen, walking out to deliver the matchball to the referee.