Gonzalo Plata, one of the young stars of the Ecuador national team and Sporting Lisbon, has been isolated after testing positive for coronavirus (COVID-19), as reported by the Lisbon newspaper Récord.
He is the seventh player to contract the disease during the ten days of concentration for the South American qualifying matches for Qatar 2022. The infected players are Mario Pineida, Moisés Corozo, José Cifuentes, Enner Valencia, Diego Palacios, and Alan Franco.
Plata was instrumental in Ecuador's victories against Bolivia (2-3) in La Paz and Colombia (6-1) in Quito in the qualifiers. Against the Bolivian team, when the match was tied at 2, the right winger dribbled past two defenders and delivered a cross that hit Adriano Jusino's shoe and arm. The action was reviewed by VAR and the referee awarded a penalty. Gruezo took the penalty kick with great composure, making it 2-3 (88th minute).
In the match against Colombia, Plata scored the fifth goal. With a run and a dribble, he left a defender behind, played a pass to Ángel Mena, who returned it with a backheel, and then Plata finished with a curved shot that hit the left post and went in.
The midfielder was sent off with a second yellow card in the match against Colombia and will miss the away game against Venezuela, scheduled for March 23, 2021, at the Polideportivo de Pueblo Nuevo stadium in the city of San Cristóbal. (D)