Ecuador head coach Gustavo Alfaro says injury Enner Valencia sustained in the win over Qatar will not rule him out.
- Enner Valencia scored twice against Qatar after VAR disallowed his initial goal.
- The striker scored the most goals for his nation at the World CupTM but left the game due to an injury.
- Senegal and the Netherlands are still up for grabs in Group A for Ecuador.
Enner Valencia, the captain of Ecuador who led his team to a 2-0 victory over Qatar in the opening World Cup match, will be ready to face the Netherlands, according to Gustavo Alfaro.
With a first-half brace in Ecuador's lopsided Group A opener against the hosts on Sunday, Valencia set a new World Cup record for the country with five goals.
Prior to scoring his first goal from the penalty spot at Al Bayt Stadium after being fouled by Qatar goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb, the striker had an early goal rejected by the VAR.
La Tri won the match in Al Khor, and Ecuador's all-time leading scorer scored once more with a strong header.
Although he was able to continue after suffering a knee injury late in the first half, Valencia's withdrawal as captain came 15 minutes from time.
Prior to Friday's match against the Oranje at Khalifa International Stadium in Ar-Rayyan, Ecuador head coach Alfaro allayed fears over the 33-year-health old's and commended the captain for keeping his detractors at bay.
He is Ecuador's all-time leading scorer, Alfaro added. "He is going through terrible times, and he was questioned at times in Ecuador.
"He is very happy that he was able to score. A few blows were delivered to four or five guys, but nothing major.
There is no question that Enner will take the field in the match against the Netherlands.
As the first World Cup host nation to lose its opening game, Qatar was without inspiration and failed to attempt a single shot on goal.
Felix Sanchez, the manager of Qatar, is aware that after being outplayed in their opening World Cup game, they must start again before facing Senegal on Friday.
"We fought this game in a certain way, but our opponent had their own ideas," the Spaniard stated. Not because we didn't want to assault, but because our adversary had his or her own weapons.
"We must defend and be really well organised if we hope to be competitive. We want to be more productive when we have the ball in our hands.
We'll make an effort to support our gamers and see if we can advance in each of these areas.
The match between Ecuador and Netherlands is scheduled for November 25.
Tags
NEWS