Ecuador prays for Valencia after hero suffers injury post historic feat in World Cup 2022 draw vs Netherlands
Enner Valencia continued his FIFA World Cup 2022 scoring spree to give Ecuador a point against the Netherlands in a match that saw Qatar, the tournament's hosts, become the first team to be eliminated from the showpiece event.
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FollowEnner Valencia continued his FIFA World Cup 2022 scoring spree to give Ecuador a point against the Netherlands in a match that saw Qatar, the tournament's hosts, become the first team to be eliminated from the showpiece event.
Cody Gakpo's incredible left-footed strike from the outskirts of the area gave Netherlands the perfect start, marking the competition's fastest goal to date at five minutes and four seconds.
Pervis Estupián redirected the ball into the goal with the last kick of the first half for Ecuador, who was the superior team after conceding, but it was disallowed for a very slight offside ruling.
However, four minutes after the restart, La Tri managed to draw even when Valencia continued his hot streak and scored his third goal from close range after Andries Noppert parried the ball into his path.
Valencia has now scored the last six goals in a row for his nation at the World Cup, but Gonzalo Plata nearly broke his streak just moments later when he slammed a fierce shot at the goal, only to have a famous winner saved by the crossbar.
As a result, both teams are in a good position to advance to the round of 16, with Qatar eliminated after two games with zero points. However, Ecuador suffered a severe late blow when captain and talisman Valencia had to be carried off the field.
Valencia joins a league of extraordinary men
Valencia has scored as many World Cup goals as Harry Kane, Neymar, Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Hristo Stoitchkov, Rivellino, Davor Suker, Mario Kempes, Bebeto, and Rivellino, having scored 6 goals in 5 matches.
The Ecuadorian is the fourth player to score six consecutive goals for a nation in the World Cup, along with Eusebio, Paolo Rossi and Oleg Salenko.
Valencia is also the joint-top scorer in FIFA World Cup since the 2014 tournament, even though he didn't feature in the 2018 edition. Only Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have scored as many group-stage goals as Valencia (6) in this period.
Prayers pour in for Valencia after stretched out of clash vs Netherlands
"Enner Valencia being carried off on a stretcher, when his teammates should have taken him off on their shoulders like the hero he is," wrote one fan on Twitter, while another stated, "Seems Enner Valencia"s World Cup is over . That looks like a serious injury."
"Fantastic result for Ecuador, shame about Enner Valencia's injury," remarked another follower, while a fourth stated, "I really hope enner valencia is not having a bad injury. Could break more records if he starts next game."
"Oh that’s horrible. hope Valencia will be fine to play #SEN bc it’d be so unfair if his World Cup ended early through injury. he’s been so good for #ECU," mentioned another user on Twitter.
"Looks like a serious injury for #Valencia. Hope it’s nothing too bad because he’s key for Ecuador," said another fan.
"Enner Valencia could have his image printed on an Ecuadorian currency upon retirement and there won’t be a debate A legend par excellence," noted another user.
Here's a look at some of the reactions on Valencia's heroics and injury:
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