Felipe Caicedo - International Career

International Career

Previous to his move to FC Basel, he had earned a few caps for the Ecuadorian football team, including a friendly match at the age of 16 against Italy in mid-2005, despite failing to get a call-up for the 2006 FIFA World Cup squad. Caicedo has represented Ecuador at under-20 and at full international level. In 2007, he was selected to play for Ecuador in the 2007 South American Youth Championship. Moreover, Caicedo was chosen to play for Ecuador's senior team by coach Luis Fernando Suárez for two international friendlies against the United States, in which he scored one goal, and Mexico on 25 and 28 March 2007, respectively.

Caicedo was picked for the Ecuador squad to compete in the 2007 Copa America and given the number 10 shirt. He made appearances in all three losses to Chile, Mexico, and Brazil as a substitute.

On 10 February 2009, Caicedo scored the winning goal in a 3–2 victory against England's U-21 team. For many of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches, he was one of the first choice strikers on Sixto Vizuete's squad, partnered up front with Christian Benitez, though this duo was often ineffective and he would be left out of the national team picture due to lack of playing time with his club and injury. After his successful loan with Levante, he was included in Ecuador's 23-man roster for the 2011 Copa America by new national team coach Reinaldo Rueda. He started each match, finally scoring a brace in the final group game against Brazil. However, Ecuador would lose this match 4-2, and was subsequently eliminated from the tournament, having only managed to earn one point. Due to disagreements with the coach, he was left out of national team call-ups for over a year until, thanks to good recent performances with Lokomotiv, he was recalled for two 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Bolivia and Uruguay. He scored Ecuador's only goal in each game (a 1-0 home win and 1-1 away draw, respectively) and was recalled a month later to play against Chile and Venezuela. He scored a brace against Chile, becoming Ecuador's current top scorer in the qualifiers.