"Ecuador have always been criticised with people saying that we could only win when playing at a very high altitude," he said.

"But despite the atmosphere and the low altitude, we managed to win.

"This was a great result. But it's just a step. The mountain is great. This is the first step in the World Cup."

Ecuador's second goalscorer Agustin Delgado was keen not to get carried away by the victory.

"We can celebrate a victory but we must concentrate also on the next Group A match against Costa Rica," Delgado told German television.

"We worked hard and got our reward. The two goals were our reward. We have taken a big step forward.