Denil Castillo
Squad number 18 · Midtjylland
Their 2026 World Cup
Denil Castillo travelled to the 2026 World Cup with Ecuador, wearing number 18, without ever getting on the pitch. His side played 4 matches (1 win, 1 draw and 2 defeats) and bowed out in the round of 32, beaten by Mexico 2-0.
Midfield went to M. Caicedo (4 matches, 360′) and P. Vite (4 matches, 360′).
Another 3 players in the Ecuador squad ended up the same way, without a single minute. The full run is on the Ecuador team page.
Biography
Denil Daniel Castillo Preciado (born 24 March 2004) is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for FC Midtjylland and the Ecuador national team.
Club career On 24 April 2023, Shakhtar Donetsk announced that they'd signed Castillo to a five-year contract from Liga de Quito, commencing 1 July 2023. Castillo signed a five-year deal with Danish Superliga side FC Midtjylland for a €4 million transfer fee on 1 July 2024. In March 2026 he extended his contract with Midtjylland until 2031.
International career Castillo has represented Ecuador at youth level. On 31 May 2026, Castillo was selected in the 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Style of play Castillo mainly operates as a central midfielder.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0) · text adapted from the article.
See all the tournament stats on the World Cup data hub.
Photo: Bryan Berlin · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)