Proud Ecuador leave with heads held high

STUTTGART, June 26 (Reuters) If the Ecuadorean fans dancing in the stadium did not prove the point, the thousands who poured on to the streets of Quito despite their team's loss at the World Cup probably did.

Despite losing 1-0 to England in the second round on Sunday, the players, manager and supporters said they were very proud of their team and what they had achieved during the tournament.

''A lot of people were very sceptical about us, a lot of people thought we would probably lose all three games,'' the side's Colombian coach Luis Fernando Suarez said after the game.

''So I am very proud of my players. Our objective was to make the second round and we did that.'' The South American side were competing in only their second World Cup after going out in the first round in 2002 and drawn against the hosts Germany, Poland and Costa Rica, few predicted they would go much further this time around.

But they caused the first upset of the tournament when they comfortably beat Poland 2-0 and Costa Rica 3-0 before losing by the same scoreline to Germany in a match to decide who would top the group.

That result left them facing England and on Sunday they appeared to run out of ideas, losing to a David Beckham free kick on the hour.

WORLD RESPECT ''This was only our second time at the World Cup but it showed we are up to par,'' Suarez said.

Striker Agustin Delgado agreed.

''With the way we played during the first round and against England, Ecuador has won ... respect from the football world,'' he said.

Ecuador came into the tournament with the suggestion that they could only play well at altitude, after they won seven of their nine home qualifiers, including victories over Brazil and Argentina, in Quito some 2,800 metres above sea level.

Their record in away matches, where they lost six, also added to the argument.

But during the World Cup, they often controlled their matches and Suarez said his side had finally ditched the altitude connection.

In doing so, they have also shown the world a different side to South American soccer, he said.

''Historically, when people talk about South American soccer they always talk about Argentina or Brazil but now the world and the press are also talking about Ecuador,'' he told reporters prior to the England game.

''It is something that makes me very happy.'' REUTERS PM ND1418