What does Enner Valencia attribute his decision in the penalty in the match Ecuador vs. Uruguay?

Ecuador captain and historic goalscorer Enner Valencia was relieved that the penalty he missed against Uruguay on Tuesday was a joke after La Tri beat La Celeste 2-1 on the second day of South America’s 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

“These are penalties that I practice all week, I took a lot of penalties, but unfortunately my leg opened a lot,” the forward commented after the game about the maximum penalty he sent off the goal.

Valencia also explained the reasons why midfielder Moisés Caicedo took the captain’s armband in the final minutes of the game, after the Brazilian Internacional striker was substituted.

“He is one of the leaders of the group. He didn’t want to wear it, but he is very responsible, he always helps the boys and he will be a great captain,” predicted Valencia about the Chelsea player.

As for the game, La Tri’s historic goalscorer appreciated the composure he had against Uruguay to avoid despair after Agustín Canobbio’s goal put La Celeste ahead on the scoreboard.

“We know what these games are like. You always have to be focused and not despair, because when you despair, they can score another goal. Today we handled it well and managed to get three points,” said the forward.

Valencia pointed out that its rating is positive after the first two days of the South American qualifiers, which Ecuador leaves with a victory over Uruguay and a defeat against Argentina (1-0), but with 0 points because it started the process with -3 units for the sanctions imposed in the case of Byron Castillo.

For his part, midfielder Carlos Gruezo admitted that starting the playoffs with a negative balance was something that surprised them.

“Now a new relationship begins for us. We have to add our points in every game to become stronger here, also add points abroad and qualify Ecuador for the World Cup again,” said Gruezo.

The midfielder highlighted the defensive work of the team led by Spaniard Félix Sánchez to stop the Uruguayan team led by Argentine Marcelo Bielsa.

“We worked well today, especially in the defensive part, and we knew how to take advantage of the opportunities we had,” he said.

For his part, defender Robert Arboleda, who retired injured, indicated that he would wait for medical tests to be carried out in the next few hours to rule out anything serious.

The Sao Paulo footballer expressed his satisfaction that he will again play in the qualifiers with the Ecuadorian team after the serious injury he had to deal with last year.

Meanwhile, striker Jhojan Julio explained that he is ready for a very exhausting match, “because Uruguay has young and hungry people.” (D)

South American qualifiers 2026