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 the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup, the U-20 team achieved Ecuador's best participation in a FIFA World Cup of any category, obtaining third place after defeating Italy in the third place match.