Ecuador Exults; Latin America's ultimate banana republic is the first underdog to make the second round.

Byline: Joseph Contreras and Carla D'Nan Bass

In the capital city of Quito and the humid port of Guayaquil, thousands of rapturous Ecuadorans dressed in bright yellow jerseys joined long caravans of honking vehicles to salute the national soccer team's decisive 3-0 defeat of Costa Rica last Thursday. But no one cheered the tournament's first Cinderella story harder than the residents of the Chota Valley and Esmeraldas province, where more than half the team's 23 players hail from. Both are pockets of descendants of African slaves, and black Ecuadorans have long occupied the bottom rung of society. Last week one of their own, striker Carlos Tenorio, opened the scoring in Ecuador's historic victory when he headed the ball into the Costa Rican net in the eighth minute of play. "This," declared the 27-year-old native of Esmeraldas, "was also for the people who thought the team would not make it this far."

Tenorio's somewhat defiant tone was understandable. Germany '06 represents Ecuador's only second World Cup appearance, and four years ago the team finished dead last in its group at the conclusion of first-round play. Their inglorious debut in Asia seemed to confirm what the skeptics have always said about Ecuador: great on their home turf in the Andes 2,850 meters above sea level, shaky at any less mountainous altitude.

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