Valencia scores twice as Ecuador draw

Everton’s on-loan striker Enner Valencia showed no signs of the altitude sickness that apparently knocked him out of Ecuador’s 3-0 win over Chile and kept him from getting arrested due to stopping child support payments, scoring twice in Bolivia as the two teams drew 2-2 in the CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers.

Valencia had an attempt cleared off the line, but hosts Bolivia were all over the visitors in the first half, and two goals from Pablo Escobar (not related to the drug kingpin we saw in ‘Narcos’) had put them ahead.

However, Valencia struck twice, including a late equalizer to ensure Ecuador got a point, and stayed ahead of Colombia and Argentina by one point in third place. The top four nations qualify directly for the 2018 World Cup to be held in Russia, with the fifth-placed team going into a playoff with Oceania for another spot.

Valencia is yet to score for Everton, and has showed little on the pitch in the few minutes he’s played so far. It’s no surprise that Toffee fans have been clamouring for out-of-favour striker Oumar Niasse to be given a shot as well.