Jhegson Méndez

Jhegson Sebastián Méndez Carabalí (born 26 April 1997) is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Orlando City in MLS and the Ecuador national team.[1]

Sebas Méndez
Méndez with Ecuador U20 in 2017
Personal information
Full name Jhegson Sebastián Méndez Carabalí
Date of birth (1997-04-26) 26 April 1997
Place of birth Mira, Ecuador
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Orlando City
Number 8
Youth career
2010–2011 Norte América
2011–2015 Independiente DV
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2018 Independiente DV 81 (4)
2015–2016 → Cultural Leonesa (loan) 1 (0)
2019– Orlando City 42 (0)
National team‡
2015 Ecuador U17 4 (0)
2015–2017 Ecuador U20 10 (0)
2018– Ecuador 16 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 8 November 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17 November 2020

Club career

Independiente DV

Méndez joined the Independiente del Valle academy in 2011. By 2014 he had been promoted to the club's B team and made his first-team debut on 7 March 2015 in a victory over L.D.U. Loja in the Serie A Primera Etapa. After two substitute appearances, Méndez was loaned to Cultural Leonesa in Spain, making one substitute appearance for the club on 29 November 2015. Upon his return to the club, Méndez had to wait until gameweek 15 of the 2016 season to play his next game, appearing as a substitute in a defeat to Fuerza Amarilla on 13 May 2016. He followed that up by playing the full 90 minutes in six of the final ten games of the Serie A Primera Etapa and a further 12 appearances in the Segunda Etapa as he cemented himself as a first-team regular.

Orlando City

On 28 December 2018, Méndez signed to Major League Soccer team Orlando City.[2] He made his debut in the season opener at home to New York City FC on March 2, 2019. In July 2019, Méndez was part of the Orlando City team alongside Nani and Chris Mueller that won the 2019 MLS All-Star Skills Challenge, beating teams from the MLS All-Stars and Atlético Madrid to win the $25,000 prize for charity.[3]

International career

Méndez was a member of Ecuador’s 2017 South American U-20 Championship squad which reached the final of the tournament.[4]

In October 2018, Méndez was called up to the senior Ecuador national football team by manager Hernán Darío Gómez for the first time.[5] He made his debut on 11 September 2018, playing 73 minutes in a 2–0 friendly victory over Gutemala at Toyota Park, Bridgeview, Illinois.[6][7] In May 2019, he was called into the squad for the 2019 Copa América, his first senior international tournament.[8] After sitting out the first group game, Méndez started against Chile and drew a foul from goalkeeper Gabriel Arias to win a penalty, Ecuador's only goal of a 2–1 defeat.[9] He started the following game, a 1–1 draw with Japan. Ecuador were eliminated after finishing bottom of Group C with one point.

Career statistics

Club
As of 8 November 2020
Club Season Division League Cup Continental Other Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsAppsGoalsGoalsAppsGoals
Independiente del Valle 2015 Serie A 200000—20
2016 1900000—190
2017 2010000—201
2018 4020020—422
Total 813002000833
Cultural Leonesa (loan) 2015–16 Segunda División B 1000——10
Orlando City 2019 MLS 23020——250
2020 19000—4[lower-alpha 1]0230
Total 420200040480
Career Total 12432020401323
  1. MLS is Back Tournament knockout stage.

International
Statistics accurate as of match played 17 November 2020.
Ecuador
YearAppsGoals
2018 50
2019 100
2020 10
Total160

References
  1. "Ecuador – J. Méndez – Profile with news, career statistics and history – Soccerway". uk.soccerway.com.
  2. "Orlando City SC Signs Ecuadorian Midfielder Jhegson Sebastián Méndez | Orlando City Soccer Club".
  3. "Nani gives Orlando City the win at the MLS Skills Challenge". AS.com. 31 July 2019.
  4. "Selección Sub-20 de Ecuador definida para Sudamericano". eluniverso.com. 4 January 2017.
  5. TIEMPO, EL (6 October 2018). "Carlos Cuero sufre lesión muscular".
  6. "Ecuador vs. Guatemala – Football Match Summary – September 11, 2018 – ESPN". ESPN.com.
  7. PERU21, NOTICIAS (12 September 2018). "Deportes: Ecuador ganó 2–0 a Guatemala por amistoso internacional en Chicago | NOTICIAS PERU21 PERÚ". Peru21 (in Spanish).
  8. "LOS 23 CONVOCADOS DE ECUADOR PARA COPA AMÉRICA DE BRASIL 2019" (in Spanish). FEF. 20 May 2019.
  9. "Ecuador vs. Chile – Football Match Report – June 21, 2019 – ESPN". ESPN.com.
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