RIO DE JANEIRO, April 12 - Ecuador have pulled
out of a friendly away match to world champions Brazil later
this month, leaving the world champions two weeks to find new
opponents.
The teams were due to meet in Sao Paulo's Pacaembu stadium
on April 27 in a match to celebrate the 40th anniversary of a
Brazilian television network.
The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) said on its
official website that Ecuador, who beat Brazil 1-0 in a World
Cup qualifier in Quito last November, had blamed club
commitments and injuries for the withdrawal.
LDU, the Quito club which forms the basis of the Ecuador
squad, have a South American Libertadores Cup match away to
Bolivar on the same evening.
The CBF, which originally invited arch-rivals Argentina for
the fixture, said it still wanted to go ahead with the match
and was looking for alternative opponents.
The date is not in FIFA's international calender and both
teams would need to field makeshift teams.