Leonardo Campana has been excluded by from the squad that is gearing up for the beginning of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. Ecuador have a hard task ahead for the first two matchdays, having to play against Argentina and Uruguay.

Campana wasn’t a very well-known name roughly a month ago. However, everything changed in a fast way since the Inter Miami striker now has the chance to share the field with none other than Lionel Messi.

His notable partnership with the Argentinian had people thinking that the physical imposing forward may receive a call-up. In the end, Ecuador’s head coach Félix Sánchez opted to leave him out of the roster.

Why is Leonardo Campana not playing for Ecuador?

Campana has increased his production notably since Inter Miami acquired Messi, but his performances before this period may have been the deciding factor. The former Wolverhampton player wasn’t a regular feature in the scoring sheet.

Félix Sánchez Bas went with three strikers in his recent list. His decision was to obviously have team captain Enner Valencia as the main option. Valencia is accompanied by the likes of Johan Julio and Kevin Rodríguez.