He was the face of Ecuador’s squad at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and is the Tricolor’s all-time top scorer with 40 goals, but Enner Valencia is yet to make his debut as a goalscorer in the current qualifying round, where he has played four Tri matches, all as star and captain.

The last official goal superman It was at the World Cup in Qatar against the Netherlands (1-1) on November 25, 2022. In the qualifiers, his most recent goal was the one he scored against Argentina (1-1) in March 2022, securing a place in the World Cup. the game has local status, but is played in Guayaquil, while Tri’s usual headquarters is Quito.

In the capital of Ecuador, Valencia did not score a goal since September 5, 2017, that is a total of 2233 days without a goal until the last match played with the Tricolors, on Tuesday in a draw against Colombia (0-0).

Given this situation, the tricolor, who plays for Inter Porto Alegre, has received criticism from some fans who are asking him to go to the bench or not be called up until he improves his performance as a goalscorer.

Because of this, Luis Miguel Escalada, former striker of Emelec, defended what the tricolor captain did.

“People criticize you and it’s ugly, Enner is a great guy. He is the historical scorer of the national team. He risks his life when he comes to the country. You have to put him away and cuddle him so that he can be the hero you want him to be,” said the named Pichu in a radio interview Tomorrow. (D)