It was no Jose Cifuentes no problem for Ecuador against Chile after sending the Rangers star back to Ibrox.
Jose Cifuentes was shown a third yellow card of South American World Cup Qualifying in the 0-0 draw with Venezuela and as a result suspended for the game.
Also having a goal chalked off in controversial circumstances due to VAR in the game, Ecuador would later send Jose Cifuentes back to Rangers early give he couldn’t be involved against Chile.
Ecuador overcome Chile without Jose Cifuentes
Ecuador certainly showed they’ve got the power to cope with the absence of Jose Cifuentes, the South American side dumping Chile 1-0 in Quito.
Attacking midfielder Angel Mena, who came into the team after Jose Cifuentes’ suspension, scored the only goal after 21 minutes to keep Ecuador in with a shot of World Cup qualification.
The country are 5th in the South American World Cup Qualifying table and are unbeaten ever since losing 1-0 to Argentina on the opening day of the competition.
Jose Cifuentes played for Ecuador in clashes with Senegal and hosts Qatar at the 2022 World Cup and will hope to be involved at the next tournament, which is being co-hosted by Canada, USA and Mexico.
Focus on Rangers
Given the 24-year-old midfielder couldn’t play against Chile, it’s certainly a good thing for the summer signing to get more minutes on the training pitch under Philippe Clement.
Rangers are yet to see the best of the ex-LAFC star, who was signed to some fanfare in the summer after a protracted pursuit.
One of the latter signings of the transfer window, Jose Cifuentes initially struggled to settle at Ibrox before an injury sustained in the last international break broke the midfielder’s rhythm.
Big things are still expected of Jose Cifuentes and having been sent home from Ecuador duties it certainly represents a good thing for Rangers.
The club get the player back amongst the squad for a crucial run of 12 games in 37 days with Philippe Clement getting more time to drill home his ideas.
Perhaps a fit and firing Jose Cifuentes could also be the title difference for Rangers as the club hunts down Celtic in the Scottish Premiership.
