Enner Valencia the Captain of Ecuador started the 2022 World Cup in Qatar in a good a note by defeating the host nation Qatar 2-0.
Who is Enner Valencia
His name is Enner Remberto Valencia Lastra and he is from Ecuador. He was born 4th November 1989 in Esmeraldas, Ecuador and is a professional Footballer.
Football Journey
His football career started around 2008 in his country with smaller clubs before he moved to playing for international clubs from 2013. Enner Valencia is presently playing with Fenerbahçe S.K a Turkish club as forward winger and he also plays for his country Ecuador and is currently the Captain for the team.
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Interesting things about Valencia
- He scored the first goal of the 2022 World Cup
- He is Ecuador all time leading World Cup goal scorer with 5 goals
- For the World Cup 2022 he produced the 2nd best opening-match performance since World Cup 1966.
- He won the 2013 Ecuadorian Serie A.
- He was awarded the Copa Sudamericana Golden Boot in 2013
- In Mexico he was awarded the Liga MX Golden Boot in 2014 at Pachuca club.
- Also in Mexico he won Liga MX’s 2017 Apertura and 2019 Clausura tournaments, and finished runner-up in the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League, winning the Golden Boot.
- He has earned over 70 caps for Ecuador since his debut in 2012.
- He has represented his country at the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and 2022.
- He represented his country in Copa América in 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2021.
- He is an all-time top goal scorer with 37 goals.
The Qatar and Ecuador game
Few minutes into the game Enner Valencia scored a goal which was a offside decision by the referee. Twenty minutes into the game, the first goal was a penalty and was scored by the Captain of the team, Valencia. After thirty minutes a second goal came in as a header from Captain Valencia. Ecuador made Qatar the first host nation to loose at an opening game, the match ended with 2-0.
