"We wanted to dedicate this victory to Byron Castillo for all he suffered"

Brighton left-back Pervis Estupinan congratulated Ecuador captain Enner Valencia on his two goals in the opening game of the World Cup in Qatar against the hosts and said the squad know "what a spectacular captain" they have "who is always fighting to improve".

For the former player of teams like Almeria, Mallorca, Osasuna and Villarreal, "one of the keys to the motivation" to face this match was knowing that Byron Castillo, who finally could not be in the major tournament due to FIFA sanction, "is always supporting".

"Obviously he wanted to be here, but as fate would have it, he couldn't be here. We wanted to dedicate to him this victory because we know what he has suffered," he said in the mixed zone at the Al Bayt stadium in Al Khor.

Estupinan explained that they had "worked on the game" against Qatar: "We knew which of their players had good footwork. We tried to neutralise them, to put them under good pressure and that's what helped us to be better.

"It was very important for us to get all three points. We have achieved it. We have to enjoy this victory, but we know that we have other complicated matches ahead of us," said the Ecuadorian left-back, who assured that the Netherlands, who they will face on Friday at the Khalifa International Stadium, will also be a very difficult opponent.

"They have very good players. We know what kind of footballers they are. We will try to look at it and work on it. We'll have to prepare very well," added Estupiñan, who admitted he was unaware that a host team had ever lost in the opening game of a World Cup.