to leave Brighton in an open letter on Instagram. Stating that, "I am the youngest of 10 siblings from a poor upbringing in Santa Domingo in Ecuador. My dream always to be the most decorated player in the history of Ecuador," thanking Albion fans saying they "will always be in my heart." However, Brighton refused to sell the Ecuadorian with the 21-year-old in contract with the Sussex club until the summer of 2025, after telling him to rest until the end of the transfer window. He returned to training on 1 February and returned to action on the 4th, coming on as a substitute in the 1–0 home win over Bournemouth with Roberto De Zerbi telling fans not to criticise the player. International career Caicedo debuted for the senior Ecuador national team in a 1–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying loss to Argentina on 9 October 2020. He scored the opening goal in a 4–2 home win over Uruguay on 13 October 2020 at the Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado, becoming the first player born in the 21st century to ever score in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying. On 14 November, Caicedo was named in Ecuador's 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup alongside Brighton teammates Pervis Estupiñán and Jeremy Sarmiento. In the last group match tie against Senegal on 29 November, Caicedo scored the equaliser that would've seen Ecuador through to the round of 16. However, Kalidou Koulibaly scored for Senegal three minutes later to regain the lead and send the Africans through instead. Career statistics Club International Scores and results list Ecuador's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Caicedo goal. Honours Independiente Juniors U-20 Copa Libertadores: 2020 References External links 2001 births Living people People from Santo Domingo de Los Tsáchilas Province Ecuadorian footballers Association football midfielders C.S.D. Independiente del Valle footballers Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players K Beerschot VA players Ecuadorian Serie A players Belgian Pro League players Premier League players Ecuador international footballers 2021 Copa América players 2022 FIFA World Cup players Ecuadorian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Belgium Expatriate footballers in England Ecuadorian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Ecuadorian expatriate sportspeople in England