{"id":619595,"date":"2022-11-21T17:30:16","date_gmt":"2022-11-21T22:30:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/?p=619595"},"modified":"2022-11-21T17:30:16","modified_gmt":"2022-11-21T22:30:16","slug":"enner-valencia-ecuador-scorer-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2022\/11\/21\/enner-valencia-ecuador-scorer-world-cup\/","title":{"rendered":"Enner Valencia Becomes Ecuador&#8217;s Top Scorer in World Cup History With Brace Against Qatar"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In the lead-up to the World Cup, Enner Valencia&#8217;s form caused much anxiety among his 18 million countrymen. The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2022\/11\/17\/ecuador-squad-world-cup-2022\/\" target=\"_self\">Ecuador<\/a> captain&#8217;s goals had seemingly dried up, having not scored in seven games in all competitions and missed a penalty against Japan in one of <em>La Tri&#8217;s<\/em> last friendlies.<\/p>\n<p>Even though Valencia&#8217;s 13 goals and four assists mean he is having his best season for his club team Fenerbah\u00e7e, he&#8217;d been missing on the scoresheet for Ecuador for the last eight months. This made Valencia the subject of memes, posts, and even a topic on Ecuadorian daytime TV, wondering what had happened to the captain and if a replacement should be found as the starting striker.<\/p>\n<p>In the opening game of the World Cup 2022, Valencia silenced the doubters by scoring two goals to become Ecuador&#8217;s all-time World Cup goal leader and beat hosts Qatar 2-0 at Al Bayt Stadium. It was the first time a host nation lost the opening game in tournament history.<\/p>\n<h2>Ecuador Captain Enner Valencia Becomes <em>La Tri&#8217;s<\/em> Top Scorer in World Cup History<\/h2>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Enner was on fire! \ud83d\udd25\ud83c\uddea\ud83c\udde8<\/p>\n<p>Valencia becomes Ecuador&#39;s all-time top <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/FIFAWorldCup?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#FIFAWorldCup<\/a> goal-scorer! \ud83d\udc4f <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Qatar2022?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Qatar2022<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/3OjInnTco6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/3OjInnTco6<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FIFAWorldCup\/status\/1594395234779144192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 20, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>Record-Setting Enner Valencia<\/h3>\n<p>Valencia wrote himself into the history books while the world and his entire country watched. His two goals ensure he is in sole possession of Ecuador&#8217;s goal leader record with five strikes, passing Agustin Delgado. It was also the first time a player had scored two goals in a World Cup opening match in 71 years. More importantly, it gets Ecuador off to the dream start to the World Cup they were seeking against a largely docile Qatar.<\/p>\n<p>Valencia and Ecuador thought they had gotten off to a dream start in the third minute when Qatar Goalkeeper Saad al-Sheeb badly misplayed a free kick. The ball was put back into the middle by centre-back Felix Torres, and Valencia nodded home. VAR controversially disallowed the opening goal for offside.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read More<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2022\/11\/17\/ecuador-squad-world-cup-2022\/\" target=\"_self\">Ecuador Squad Revealed for World Cup 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"es\" dir=\"ltr\">Calma y Conf\u00eda Ecuador \ud83c\uddea\ud83c\udde8 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Lgq9xAFPPf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/Lgq9xAFPPf<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; EnnerValencia (@EnnerValencia14) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EnnerValencia14\/status\/1594414309546811392?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 20, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>Captain Cool, Calm and Collected<\/h3>\n<p>Valencia finally had his goal, and Ecuador the lead 1-0, after he calmly put away a penalty on 16 minutes. After Michael Estrada (a surprise inclusion in the starting 11 who didn&#8217;t make our <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2022\/11\/20\/ecuador-predicted-lineup-qatar-bribes-injuries\/\" target=\"_self\">Ecuador predicted lineup<\/a>) had put Valencia through on goal, al-Sheeb brought Valencia down in the box to earn the penalty for Ecuador. He approached the ball as casually as a man taking his dog for a stroll in the park and struck a driven shot into the bottom right corner of the goal for the 1-0 lead.<\/p>\n<p>Valencia would get his second from a thumping header in the 31st minute. With Ecuador letting their foot off the gas a bit, all Valencia needed was one cross to put the game beyond doubt. Right-back Angelo Preciado put in a cross that was just a bit behind and too low for Valencia. The 33-year-old stooped low and angled his body on the jump to power a flashing header past the goalkeeper for the 2-0 lead.<\/p>\n<p>Valencia&#8217;s two first-half goals were all that Ecuador would need to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fifa.com\/fifaplus\/en\/watch\/4NT53rpdd9h4uFX2F3iQQT?cid=(p_go-box)(c_FIFAPlus)(sc_highlights)(ssc_)(da_)(co_)(cc_)&amp;s_cid=(co_)(cc_)&amp;c=(c_FIFAPlus)(sc_highlights)(ssc_)(cc_)&amp;pid=(p_go-box)(ch_)(t_)\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">win the match 2-0<\/a>, as the hosts never really got going. Qatar proved just the right opponent for Valencia to put his goal-scoring worries behind him, and for Ecuadorians everywhere to breathe easier.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read More<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2022\/11\/20\/ecuador-predicted-lineup-qatar-bribes-injuries\/\" target=\"_self\">Ecuador Predicted Lineup vs Qatar: Alleged Bribes, Injuries and Goal Droughts<\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"qme\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83d\ude0e <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EnnerValencia14?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@EnnerValencia14<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/e15Ul61LSg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/e15Ul61LSg<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; La Tri \ud83c\uddea\ud83c\udde8 (@LaTri) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LaTri\/status\/1594371007212650503?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 20, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>What Next for Valencia?<\/h3>\n<p>There will be ecstatic celebrations around <em>La Mitad del Mundo<\/em>, although they&#8217;ll certainly be muted in Ecuador&#8217;s camp as they await word on the extent of Valencia&#8217;s apparent injury. He was forced off just before the end of the first half and did not return until after halftime. Ecuador head coach Gustavo Alfaro was finally forced into a substitution in the 77th minute, with Jos\u00e9 Cifuentes replacing Valencia because of the injury.<\/p>\n<p><em>La Tri\u00a0<\/em>has yet to disclose what the injury\u00a0<em>could<\/em> be, and fears will now increase in Ecuador as to where the goals will come from yet again if he is indeed injured. Valencia will be in a race against time to be fit for Ecuador&#8217;s next match against the Netherlands.<\/p>\n<p>Ecuador&#8217;s World Cup finals chances depend largely on how well their captain Valencia recovers and his goals. They reappeared for Ecuador at just the right time, making him Ecuador&#8217;s record-breaking World Cup goal leader. Now, all of Ecuador will hope he can continue to play, and keep adding to his goals record.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the lead-up to the World Cup, Enner Valencia&#8217;s form caused much anxiety among his 18 million countrymen. The Ecuador captain&#8217;s goals had seemingly dried up, having not scored in seven games in all competitions and missed a penalty against Japan in one of La Tri&#8217;s last friendlies. Even though Valencia&#8217;s 13 goals and four [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3969,"featured_media":619625,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2132,161],"tags":[1188,711,8488],"class_list":["post-619595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-cup","category-international-football","tag-ecuador","tag-enner-valencia","tag-world-cup-2022"],"modified_by":"Declan Wiseman, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3969"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=619595"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619595\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/619625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=619595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=619595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=619595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}