Valencia: “I dreamed like that”

Enner Valenciaauthor of two goals that gave to Ecuador victory over Qatar in the opening match of World Cup 2022 He assured that he had such a dream.

“We knew it would be very complicated, but we solved it very quickly, we found ourselves with quick goals that helped us manage the game”, indicated the Fenerbaçe player.

“Since the draw came out, I focused on my club and I saw that I will play in the opening game. I spent many nights dreaming of winning.. I knew it would be a dream for all of us and luckily I scored,” he said.

Valencia is convinced that Ecuador can “achieve important things” and “go far” if the team believes in itself.

The attacker, who with these goals broke a streak of scoring drought, made sure he was not affected by the criticism. “When you listen to the Ecuadorian press, you only see negative things. We try to hide that, we focus on the daily work, on our job. These are streaks, you have to live in the moment, now we have three points in the first match of a World Cup, you have to keep dreaming, it will be very difficult.”.

Valencia, who limped into playing time, will be confident going into the next clash with Ecuador. “I hope I’m ready, I had a little lump in my knee and ankle. We will check it with the doctors and see what I have. I hope I can join the team in this competition,” he said.

Méndez: “It’s important to beat the host for the first time”

jhegson mendez was delighted with his team’s victory in the opening match of the Qatar World Cup (0-2), where for the first time in history they defeated the host country.

“It is important to put the first page of this World Cup and conclude the statistic that the host always wins the first game. We broke it and we’re very happy with it,” the Los Angeles FC player told EFE.

The player assured that this fact has caused “a lot of tension” in the Tri dressing room in recent days, but indicated that they have completed a historic statistic.

Méndez emphasized the good moment of the captain, Enner Valenciaauthor of two goals for the team, but also of good work by the rest of the team. “As long as we have Enner like this, it’s going to be beneficial for us, but we must highlight the work of the team, the seriousness with which they played knowing that there was a lot of pressure. But this is only the beginning, we have to continue like this”said.

The footballer does not want to project himself into the future, where Ecuador seeks to win the group stage of a World Cup for the second time, after doing so in Germany where they lost in that stage against England . “We are going step by step. We are not thinking about the future, we are in the present. The goal was Qatar and get three points,” said the player from Ecuador, who will now have to face the Netherlands and Senegal.

Mendez He thanked the support of the Ecuadorian fans: “You feel the encouragement of the people, of the family that is here, that the motivation is good. I am very familiar with moments like this, many people do not know what to do they go through to reach these moments”