Ecuador are moving on – and they have a date with the US national team.
Needing a win by at least two goals to guarantee passage into the Copa America quarterfinals, La Tri surged to a 4-0 rout of Haiti at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Sunday evening.
Enner Valencia led the way with a goal and two assists for Ecuador, who finish Group B with five points following draws with Brazil and Peru. Christian Noboa also had a goal and an assist and Jaime Ayovi and Antonio Valencia both scored as La Tri poured it on from the opening whistle.
Due to goal differential, Ecuador will finish second in Group B no matter the result of the Brazil-Peru game and will meet the US – who won Group A – on Thursday in Seattle.
Haiti finished the tournament with an 0-3 mark.
Box Score
- 11’ – ECU – Enner Valencia (Christian Noboa)
- 20’ – ECU – Jaime Ayovi (Enner Valencia)
- 57’ – ECU – Christian Noboa (Jefferson Montero)
- 78’ – ECU – Antonio Valencia (Enner Valencia, Juan Cazares)
- Full box score
- Stats
Three Things
1. THE ENNER VALENCIA SHOW: They call him “Superman” for a reason. With his team in a must-win situation, the 26-year-old West Ham striker rose to the occasion, scoring the game’s first goal in the 11th minute and then setting up the next goal 10 minutes later with a brilliant run and feed to Ayovi, who got the counter started with a clever dummy. Valencia, who added another assist in the second half, is certainly going to be a handful for the US backline that will be missing suspended right back DeAndre Yedlin.
2. CLICKING ON ALL CYLINDERS: It wasn’t just Enner Valencia running circles around Haiti as another Valencia (Manchester United’s Antonio) also got in on the scoring and Noboa showcased his considerable talents. And although he wasn’t tested much, goalkeeper Alexander Dominguez made three saves to earn the shutout in front of a stingy backline. La Tri’s fortunes didn’t look too good after they fell behind by two goals to Peru in their second match but they’re now rolling into the quarterfinals as one of the hottest teams in the tourney.
3. PLAYING FOR PRIDE: Despite already being eliminated coming in and reeling from a 7-1 drubbing at the hands of Brazil, Haiti certainly showed a lot of heart against a superior side. Goalkeeper Johny Placide made a couple of nice saves on Enner Valencia, Meckhack Jerome was unlucky not to score when his header struck the crossbar in the 27th minute, and Romain Genevois came through with a monster goal-line save in the 54th minute. Haiti naturally didn’t get the results they wanted at Copa but the huge underdogs can walk away from the competition with their heads held high.
They Said It
"I would say the Ecuador team deserves its win considering the way it played. Unfortunately I would say to lose 4-0 on errors that were too easily made, we lost the ball too easily and we were overwhelmed by the power of the Ecuadorian team." – Haiti coach Patrice Neveu
Next Up
- ECU: United States (A1) on Thursday, June 16 (9:30 pm ET | FS1)
- HAI: ELIMINATED from Copa America
