Brighton & Hove Albion’s Julio Enciso has revealed he asked Paraguay manager Gustavo Alfaro to replace him after he missed a penalty against Venezuela on Tuesday.
The attacking midfielder had an opportunity to score the equaliser in the first half, after Jon Aramburu gave Venezuela the lead in the 25th minute. He failed to convert from the spot.
According to Versus, the Brighton player lamely kicked the ball straight into the hands of Rafael Romo, the Venezuela goalkeeper.
The 20-year-old was honest in admitting he lost confidence after missing the penalty and asked to be substituted after the break. However, Alfaro didn’t accept his request and left him on the pitch for 88 minutes.
Paraguay sealed a 2-1 win in the end, thanks to a second half brace from Torino’s Antonio Sanabria. Enciso has now talked about the support he received from the national team manager and teammates.
“He [Alfaro] told me that I was one of the players he loves very much and that motivated me to come on, because I told him to change, because I was totally unfocused when I didn’t score the goal. I was down, luckily, we were able to turn it around and give joy to the country,” he said, as quoted by Versus.
‘I really appreciate the support I got from my teammates, it’s incredible the group we have, the truth is that everyone gave me their support and thank God I was able to come on in a different way in the second half.
“Missing a penalty is very difficult for a player, even more so with my national team, the country I love so much, the truth is that it’s very bad.”
The Brighton player also took the opportunity to apologise to the Paraguay supporters.
“I want to apologise first of all to all the people. I know that at this moment perhaps many people are doubting my ability, I wanted to give them a goal, but I got a little out of focus and I want to apologise,” Enciso explained.
“The effort of all my teammates, the effort we made for the whole country, I’m very happy to give them the joy that we all deserve.”
The Paraguay international has been limited to 75 minutes of action from five Premier League games for Brighton this season. He managed an assist from two EFL Cup games.
