Who is Enner Valencia - the first goalscorer of the FIFA World Cup 2022

The striker was the first player to find the back of the net at the ongoing tournament.

The FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar finally began amidst excitement and controversy. In the tournament's first game, hosts Qatar faced Ecuador in Group A. The South American nation got off to a fabulous start thanks to their skipper Enner Valencia, who was leading the attacking line in the striker’s role. 

He looked to have opened the scoring in the early stages of the game but it was disallowed for an offside in the build-up. However, the striker finally gave Ecuador the lead and scored the first goal of the FIFA World Cup 2022 in the 16th minute via a penalty. He extended Ecuador’s lead by scoring a second in the 31st minute with a precise header into the bottom corner.

The skipper put his team into a commanding position before limping off with an injury in the 77th minute. Thanks to his brace, Ecuador won the first game of the FIFA World Cup 2022 by a 2-0 score against Qatar.

Enner Valencia - a striker with an eye for a goal

The 33-year-old was in sensational form coming into the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar. He had 15 goals and four assists in 22 appearances across all competitions leading up to the tournament. His goalscoring feats made him a popular figure in the Turkish Super Lig while playing for Fenerbahce.

History

Enner Valencia was born in the city of San Lorenzo on 4 November 1989. He began his professional career after signing for the senior team of CS Emelec in Ecuador in 2010. He moved to Mexico four years later to sign for Pachuca. In the year 2014-15, the striker made the move that made him extremely notable. That is when he signed for West Ham United in the Premier League.

He spent a season on loan to Everton as well before permanently moving back to Mexico to sign for Tigres UANL. In 2020, Valencia moved back to Europe after Fenerbahce decided to bring him to Turkey, hoping to capitalise on his exceptional finishing qualities and positional awareness while leading the forward line.

In terms of performance, Valencia scored 41 goals for Fenerbahce (as of today), 34 goals for Tigres, 23 goals for CS Emelec, 18 goals for Pachuca, 10 goals for West Ham United and three goals for Everton. He won four trophies with Tigres and one with CS Emelec apart from several individual honours.

National Team

Enner Valencia’s best performances have come while playing for his country. The striker has 37 goals in 75 appearances for Ecuador in all competitions. He is the country’s leading goalscorer of all time and might add more in the future. Furthermore, with 75 appearances, he is the 10th-highest appearance-maker for Ecuador.