Piero Hincapie put in a strong performance at left-back for Ecuador against Argentina on Tuesday night, riling up Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister in the process.
Ecuador played their final World Cup qualifier on Tuesday night, facing off against Argentina. Arsenal summer signing Piero Hincapie made the starting lineup, and for the first time in a while he was playing at left-back with the national side.
That’s certainly not a new development, as Hincapie played the entirety of the 2024 Copa America at left-back for Ecuador. But he’d primarily operated at centre-back in the 10 games since.
Arsenal fans will be watching on with interest, with little clarity at this stage over whether Mikel Arteta plans to use Hincapie as an alternative to Gabriel Magalhaes or as a starter at left-back.
Regardless of Hincapie’s position on Tuesday night, the result was the same. The 23-year-old put in another strong performance, and he helped Ecuador to another clean sheet.
In a fiery encounter involving red cards for both teams, Ecuador ended up winning 1-0 through an Enner Valencia penalty.
With the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers now at an end, Ecuador finish their qualification campaign with 13 clean sheets in 18 matches and zero instances of conceding more than one goal in a game.
Hincapie started 12 of those 13 clean-sheet matches, and he’s only started two of the five in which Ecuador conceded a goal. The last time Ecuador conceded with Hincapie on the pitch was September 2024, against Brazil.
Towards the end of the Argentina clash, Hincapie dueled with Real Madrid’s Franco Mastantuono and kicked the ball off the winger to earn a goal kick for his side.
Mastantuono went down somewhat theatrically, and Hincapie stood over him to shout something.
The incident led to a confrontation with Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister, who was furious at the new Arsenal man.
The Liverpool midfielder shoved Hincapie, who stood his ground as tempers flared before teammates intervened.
Given Ecuador’s victory was confirmed shortly afterwards, Hincapie had the last laugh on this occasion but Mac Allister didn’t let it go with the final whistle.
He later reignited the spat on social media, posting an edited clip of the clash on Instagram with the caption: “YOU ARE NOT LIKE THAT!”
Hincapie, signed by Arsenal from Bayer Leverkusen on loan ahead of a a £45 million deal next summer, has quickly become a mainstay in Ecuador’s back line alongside Willian Pacho and Joel Ordonez, with the team now keeping 11 consecutive clean sheets in qualifying, a national record.