Valencia makes his case to start for Manchester United

The first round of World Cup qualifiers has been of vital importance for both Ecuador and Antonio Valencia.

After being dumped out of the Copa America in the group stage of the competition in the summer, Gustavo Quinteros’ men have made a flying start to their qualification campaign by winning their opening two games.

Ecuador stunned Argentina 2-1 last week to pick up their first victory over the Albicelese away from home in their history, before beating Bolivia 2-0 on Tuesday.

Manchester United’s Valencia also had a point to prove. He has looked a shadow of his former self after operating as a right-back for much of the past two seasons at Old Trafford, rather than in his more familiar attacking role.

But the talent is still there, as he demonstrated with two brilliant performances in a wide role to inspire his side to victory over Argentina and Bolivia.

The inexperienced Argentine Emanuel Mas, who was keen to get forward from the left side of defence but left himself exposed defensively, was the ideal opponent for the 30-year-old to exploit.

With partner in crime Jefferson Montero causing havoc as well on the other wing, Valencia helped Ecuador pin their hosts further and further back with his surging runs.

The United man really should have chalked up an assist in the first half, but perhaps a lack of confidence as a result of his indifferent form weighed on his mind. Valencia had done extremely well to expose Argentina out wide and break into the box, but he overhit a simple pass when Sergio Romero was facing a two-on-one situation with no defenders back to help.

With the Tricolor 1-0 up in the second half and playing with confidence, however, he made no mistake. Another lightning-quick counter from the visitors left him with space to manoeuvre, and this time there was no problem with his pass that found Felipe Caicedo, who fired home.

His 90 minutes on Tuesday against Bolivia was a little more muted, not helped by the heavy downpour that left Quito’s Estadio Atahualpa pitch covered in large puddles of water. But, Valencia and Montero refused to let up, and the pair created a number of chances before Miller Bolanos finally opened the scoring thanks to an fine pass from Juan Cazares.

The international fixtures showed that, given space and confidence, Valencia can still torment his full-back with ease. Now manager Louis Van Gaal will be hoping that he brings that form back to Old Trafford. But, the Dutchman must also trust him in an attacking role if he is to get the best out of him.