Piero Hincapie was shown a red card as Ecuador were eliminated from the World Cup by Mexico on Tuesday night, becoming the third Arsenal player to leave the tournament.
Ecuador lost to Mexico on Tuesday night, suffering a 2-0 defeat to exit the 2026 World Cup at the last-32 stage. But to compound Piero Hincapie’s misery, the Arsenal defender was sent off in the final minutes of the game.
Hincapie covered his mouth during a confrontation with Santiago Gimenez, which is now a red-card offence. The incident wasn’t picked up by the referee, but the Mexico players made sure to flag it, at which point VAR recommended a review and a red card.
For Ecuador, the damage was already done by then, with the score already 2-0 and just seconds left to play. But Hincapie will still have to serve a red-card ban at some stage in the future.
Hincapie will serve that red-card suspension in Ecuador’s next competitive fixtures, though that may not be for a while. Qualifiers for the 2030 World Cup won’t begin for at least another year, and Copa America isn’t until 2028.
Ecuador’s upcoming games in the autumn international breaks are set to be friendlies, so Hincapie will be available for them.
From an Arsenal perspective, the hope is that Hincapie has learned his lesson, and that he doesn’t do the same thing again with his club in the future.
Hincapie’s exit from the World Cup should mean he’s available for the start of pre-season with Arsenal, and the same will be true of fellow eliminated players Kai Havertz of Germany and Viktor Gyokeres of Sweden.
It’s still over a month until the first friendly match against Girona, allowing plenty of time for their summer holidays. Some others in the squad won’t have the same luxury with scheduling.
- Which Arsenal players could be called up for the u-20 Women’s World Cup?Which Arsenal youngsters could play at the Under-20 Women’s World Cup? England selection, injury updates and club release decisions all matter.
- Arsenal make decision on Salmon loanArsenal’s Marli Salmon will become eligible for a loan move later this month, but the Gunners are planning to hold onto him until at least January.
- Arsenal youngster signs for Swansea CityKaleab Meron has signed for Swansea City after coming to the end of his youth contract with Arsenal.
- How Vinicius really felt about Arsenal transferVinicius Junior was genuinely keen on a move to Arsenal and his camp were pleased by the Gunners’ approach, but his desire to remain with Real Madrid ultimately won out.
- Manchester United lead Arsenal in race for Leicester signingManchester United are leading the race to sign Louis Page from Leicester City, despite Arsenal showing an interest in the young midfielder.