Football: Bad boys who came good for their country; WORLD CUP 2006 ECUADOR v ENGLAND: Tomorrow, Stuttgart, BBC1, 4pm.

Byline: By Paul Berry 

WHILE the majority of British fans will know little about Ecuador's World Cup squad, fans of Southampton and Crystal Palace have some inside knowledge.

Because two of Ecuador's potential dangermen tomorrow - Agustin Del-gado and Ivan Kaviedes - are well known to the Saints and Eagles respectively - though not particularly for the right reasons.

Southampton paid pounds 3.5million for Delgado in 2001. When he departed three years later the all-time top goal-scorer in Ecuadorean history hadn't quite transferred that to club level.

Restricted by injury to just two Premiership starts and several appearances from the bench, Delgado plundered the princely sum of one goal, albeit a pretty special one, as it sealed a 3-2 win against Arsenal.

At one stage Delgado rebelled against Southampton and refused to return to play for them, the sort of disruptive influence mirrored by fellow front-man Kaviedes.

"If you don't know me, don't judge me," are the words tattooed on to Kaviedes's forearm. After being dumped by Italian club Perugia for being "too casual", Kaviedes joined Palace for pounds 2 million in the summer of 2004, but made only one Premiership start before exiting five months later, his temperament clearly still a problem. Delgado, scored in each of Ecuador's first two games before being rested against Germany while Kaviedes, likely to be a substitute tomorrow, has already come off the bench to score against Costa Rica.

The rest of Ecuador's goal threat, based on keeping things tight in the middle and making good use of the flanks, will come from striker Carlos Tenorio, and left-sided midfielder Edison Mendez. And in the engine room Segundo Castillo and Edwin Tenorio are known to take no prisoners.

Ecuador's passage into the second phase has been masterminded by their single-minded and savvy Colombian coach Luis Fernandez Suarez.

Suarez, who took over after the 2004 Copa America, quickly rid the team of some of the dead wood and introduced the new more English style game, dispensing with the short passing slow build-up previously associated with the country.

That makes Ecuador, on their day, more than lively opponents, suggesting echoes of 1990 when the free-flowing underdogs Cameroon outplayed England in the quarter-finals only for Bobby Robson's men to hold off the onslaught and edge into the last four.

ECUADOR FACTFILE

THE Ecuadorian FA has brought out its own brand of perfume for the World Cup. Unfortunately, its English translation is 'Dribbling'. It comes in three fragrances - Dribbling Training, Dribbling 9 and Celebration.

THE SPYING GAME - Villa's Ulises de la Cruz on a mission - Page 36

CAPTION(S):

AGUSTIN DELGADO.' HITMAN... Ivan Kaviedes (left) celebrates after scoring against Costa Rica.