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The future of Ecuador's national team has depended on very bright young talents historically, as illustrated in the team that qualified and participated in the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship where players such as Segundo Castillo, Felix Borja, and Franklin Salas made an impression. The U-20 squad had to wait ten years to re-qualify to the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

In 2007, Ecuador's national U-20 squad participated in the 2007 Panamerican Games. Beating the likes of Brazil and Bolivia, they reached the final gold match against Jamaica's youth team, considered another surprise for these games. It was a hard-fought game where Ecuador found themselves down in the first 5 minutes of the match. They were unsuccessful at scoring until the last 15 minutes of the game when a deflected shot from Edmundo Zura fell to Jefferson Montero, who equalized. The last few minutes saw Zura score a penalty for a foul against Wilson Folleco, and Ecuador crowned themselves as champions of the 2007 Panamerican game in Brazil's most famous stadium, El Maracana. It was the first international title obtained by any level of football team from Ecuador.

The Panamerican "Gold" team brings in young players who have already been looked at by great football clubs in Europe. These same players were called up to the 2009 South American Youth Championship.