World Cup top scorer breaks down in tears: I didn't expect this to be the end
Veteran Ecuador captain Enner Valencia broke down in tears as he apologized to soccer fans in his country after failing to reach the second round of the World Cup in Qatar.
But Valencia, whose side were close to reaching the last 16 and matching Ecuador's previous best performance in 2006, found some solace in words of encouragement from the crowd after his personal brilliance at the tournament.
"I apologize to the people of Ecuador," Valencia said crying after the 2-1 defeat by African champions Senegal on Tuesday, which prevented Ecuador from advancing in the tournament.
"We did not expect this ending and we were very happy with what we did in the first two matches, but unfortunately we were not able to fulfill the aspirations of Ecuadorean football fans," he added.
But the 33-year-old veteran would remain a national hero in his country.
Ecuador's all-time top scorer scored three goals in the opening 2-0 win over Qatar and a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands, and Ecuador deserved to go through to the knockout stage.
They could have achieved this if they drew with Senegal, but Ecuador paid the price for the lack of focus on two occasions.
4 players top the list of top scorers in the 2022 World Cup, with 3 goals each, and they are the Netherlands player, French star Kylian Mbappe, Englishman Marcus Rashford, and Ecuadorian player Ener Valencia, whose country left the tournament from the group stage.
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