Highlights:

• The spotlight of planet football has wandered in and out for Enner Valencia, who plays as a striker for Ecuador.
• At the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Ecuador’s 33-year-old captain scored three goals in the group round against Switzerland and Honduras.
• The striker has been on the outside of prominence recently, but as soon as the World Cup rolls around, he is back where he belongs.

Enner Valencia, who is 33 years old and an experienced striker for Ecuador, was active once again on Friday. He scored the goal that saved his country on the world’s largest stage, which was a draw against the Netherlands with a score of 1-1.

Valencia scored both goals in Ecuador’s historic 2-0 victory against the hosts of Group A, Qatar, to become the country’s all-time leading goal-scorer at the World Cup with 5 goals to his ledger. This made Valencia the top goal-scorer in Ecuador’s history at the World Cup. 

The most recent goal scored by Valencia was his 6th goal in World Cup competition, commencing with the tournament held in Brazil in 2014.

At the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Ecuador’s 33-year-old captain scored three goals in the group round against Switzerland and Honduras, propelling his country into the spotlight despite the fact that they were eliminated.

Eight years later, on November 20, 2015, in the first match of the Qatar Cup, Valencia ruined the celebration for the Qatari hosts by scoring twice to earn a 2-0 victory and having another goal disallowed.

As a result of Valencia’s penalty kick, he has become the oldest player in the history of the competition to score the game’s first goal. In Ecuador’s second game, they played the Netherlands and were outstanding, deserving more than a 1-1 draw wherein Valencia scored again to highlight his knack for scoring in crucial moments. Valencia’s goal highlighted Ecuador’s penchant for rising to the occasion.

Valencia is tied for first place in the tournament’s scoring with Kylian Mbappe of France after each player has scored three goals in the first two games.

Valencia is just the fourth player in the history of the World Cup to score six straight goals for a country, following in the footsteps of the magnificent Eusebio of Portugal, Paolo Rossi of Italy, and Oleg Salenko of Russia.

Although Ecuador’s coach Gustavo Alfaro relies heavily on the nation’s talented up-and-coming players, such as Moises Caicedo, Estupinan, and Jeremy Sarmiento of Brighton, Valencia continues to be an indispensable presence.

Valencia, who began his career on the flank, has evolved into Ecuador’s primary danger in front of goal and is the team’s all-time leading scorer with 38 goals. Before the World Cup, he went through a dry patch in which he scored just once in eight games, but now that the World Cup is underway in Qatar, the goals are starting to come again.

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The fact that Valencia has had to leave both matches with a knee injury is the primary reason for worry for Ecuador moving forward in the tournament. Valencia is the leading striker in the league this season, having scored 13 goals in only 12 games. Ecuador is now benefiting from the sort of form that Valencia is finding himself in.

6 – Enner Valencia has scored each of Ecuador's last six goals at the World Cup. He is just the fourth player ever to score six consecutive goals for a nation in the competition. Crucial.#ECU #Qatar2022 #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/sg1tDSEHbw

— OptaJoao (@OptaJoao) November 25, 2022

Once again, the dreams of the nation are laid on Valencia’s shoulders, and if he performs well against Senegal, he has the potential to propel his team into the final round for just the 2nd attempt in their entire tenure.