Moises Caicedo has been named as Ecuador’s permanent captain, with legendary La Tri striker Enner Valencia handing over the armband to the Chelsea midfielder for the 2026 World Cup.
Since making his international debut in October 2020, Caicedo has become a regular in Ecuador’s midfield. He has 64 caps for his country, and this summer’s World Cup was the second in which he has represented his homeland.
However, Caicedo entered the tournament as Valencia’s second choice, a 36-year-old forward who has made 108 appearances for Ecuador and is the country’s all-time top scorer with 49 goals.
Valencia captained Ecuador in its opening two World Cup matches: a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Ivory Coast and a disappointing 0-0 loss to Curacao.
This meant that victory over Germany in their final group game was necessary if Ecuador were to progress to the last 16 – and it was ahead of this match that Caicedo took over the captain’s armband from Valencia.
🔝👏TRICOLOR FAMILY!
🫡🇪🇨 An intimate moment when 🇪🇨 Enner Valencia handed over the captaincy 🇪🇨 to Moises Caicedo in the prelude to the match against Germany.
✍️Sebastian Beccacece, coach 🇪🇨 of Ecuador, highlighted the alliance that exists with the team and the legacy of the goalscorer… pic.twitter.com/Rzb9IlGR1l
— ESPN Ecuador (@ESPNEcuador) June 28, 2026
Caicedo wore the armband for that clash against Germany and put in an impressive performance, helping his country come back from a goal down to win 2-1 and reach the knockout stages of the World Cup for just the second time in the country’s history.
Ecuador’s round of 16 match takes place on Wednesday morning (UK time), with La Tri taking on hosts Mexico at the Estadio Azteca..