Another huge crowd for the Azzurri in New York City: after visiting the Italian community yesterday, Saturday morning the National Team visited the Adidas Store on 5th Avenue to meet the many fans who came to get an autograph and take a selfie with the players.

In the store in the heart of Manhattan, overseas Azzurri fans awaited the National Team from early in the morning, despite the heavy rain that fell on New York, and around 10:30 AM, a roar accompanied the arrival of the delegation by bus. The usual enthusiasm from the many children present looking for their heroes.

The visit lasted about 30 minutes: a tour of the two floors of the store, a group photo on the set-up stage, accompanied by the musical background of the brand theme "Azzurri", photos with fans in line, before returning to the hotel for lunch. This meeting also helped to strengthen the bond between the National Team and the many Italian-Americans who, despite being miles and generations away, keep alive their love and passion for the Azzuri and the Azzurri jersey. This afternoon there will be a training session at the Red Bull Training Centre (4 PM), followed by a press conference by coach Luciano Spalletti with Jorginho (around 5:15 PM). Tomorrow at 4:00 PM (21:00 CET in Italy) the second game of the American tour against Ecuador, after the 2-1 against Venezuela. The first game, played at the ‘Chase Stadium’ in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, was watched on Rai 1 (from 22:00 CET local time) by 3,885,000 viewers with a 23.1% share.

ECUADOR vs. ITALY. The second opponent for the Azzurri is Ecuador: this will be the third confrontation after those in 2002 in Sapporo (World Cup Japan/Korea, 2-0) and in 2005 in New York (friendly, 1-1). The "Tricolor", ranked 32nd in the FIFA Ranking, boasts 4 World Cup participations (2002, 2006, 2014, 2022) with the best achievement being the Round of 16 in 2006 (0-1 against England); 29 participations in the Copa America (debut in 1939), with two 4th places (1959 and 1993, at home). The record for appearances belongs to Ivan Hurtado (168 from 1992 to 2014), while the top scorer is Enner Valencia (40 goals in 83 appearances from 2012 to present).

In the World Cup 2026 qualifying group, after a loss in Argentina, Ecuador have put together a positive streak of 5 matches (3 wins and 2 draws), but in the standings, they only have 8 points due to a penalty from FIFA (-3) for the case of player Byron Castillo, whose date and place of birth had been falsified.

On the bench, there's the Spaniard Felix Sanchez Bas, who arrived in Quito after a long experience in Qatar lasting 14 years: he won the Under 19 Asian Cup in 2014, then moved to the senior National Team and won the 2019 Asian Cup. With Ecuador in one year, he has collected 9 matches: 5 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses. Considering only World Cup Qualifications, the record is 2 wins, 3 draws, and 1 loss, in Colombia.

The game will be played at the Red Bull Arena in the New York area, in Harrison, New Jersey, which hosts the NY Red Bulls (MLS) games, a club owned by the Austrian company since 2006. Inaugurated in 2010, the stadium has a capacity of about 25,000 spectators.

In the Azzurro group, Udinese striker Lorenzo Lucca has reported a muscle strain in the right thigh flexors, and his condition for the game will be assessed this afternoon.