Enner Valencia looks to be out of World Cup 2022 for Ecuador.
The striker was a doubt for the match against Netherlands after limping off from the opening match of the tournament against Qatar – but managed to get on the scoresheet once more for his country.
Valencia has three goals in the competition, more than anyone else. There is a significant worry, however, that the forward is now out for the rest of the tournament, after going down without any contact from anyone else, holding his right knee. Valencia was stretchered off.
Cody Gakpo opened the scoring after just five minutes and four seconds to net the earliest goal of World Cup 2022 so far. The Dutch No.8, linked with a plethora of Premier League giants latched onto a ball from Davy Klaassen after a hood up field from Manchester City defender Nathan Ake.
In scoring, Gakpo became the first player in the tournament to have scored in two separate games at the tournament. With Senegal trouncing Qatar 3-1 in the earlier game in Group A – and with Gakpo now having scored two goals in the competition – there’s a genuine chance of the PSV starlet racking up his tally against hosts Qatar in the final group grame to put himself firmly in the frame for the Golden Boot.
Ecuador fought their way back into the contest, however, as Valencia then followed Gakpo’s lead and scored in successive World Cup 2022 fixtures. The former Everton and West Ham United striker, now playing in Turkey’s top flight, was first to Noppert’s scrambling save after Estupinian tested the inexperienced keeper.
There was a suspicion that Valencia too would be deemed offside when he reacted first to the chance but after further inspection, Ake was playing the striker on for his third goal of the tournament – taking him to the top of the scoring charts, at least until every other team plays their second match of the competition.
This was a Dutch side without two starters, too, in Matthijs de Ligt and Memphis Depay – for two vastly different reasons. Ismaila Sarr of Watford ran De Ligt ragged in the Dutch’s opening fixture against Senegal before Gakpo found the breakthrough once more. The Bayern Munich centre-back found himself dropped for the younger Jurrien Timber – another product of Ajax’s famed academy – while Barcelona frontman Memphis Depay was only deemed fit enough to take part for 45 minutes of this fixture.
Sure enough, Memphis – the Oranje’s second-highest scorer of all time behind former Arsenal and Manchester United striker Robin van Persie – arrived for the second 45 as a half-time substitute.
The winner of the Netherlands’ and Ecuador’s Group A will face the runner-up of England’s and Wales’ Group B in the last-16 round of the World Cup.
