Jhon Jairo Espinoza Izquierdo (born 24 February 1999) is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Turkish Süper Lig club Kasımpaşa and the Ecuador national team.

Jhon Espinoza
Espinoza in 2019
Personal information
Full name Jhon Jairo Espinoza Izquierdo[1]
Date of birth (1999-02-24) 24 February 1999 (age 25)
Place of birth Guayaquil, Ecuador
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.77 m)[2]
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
Kasımpaşa
Number 14
Youth career
Cuenca
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2018 Cuenca 5 (0)
2018–2020 Aucas 51 (0)
2021–2022 Chicago Fire 39 (0)
2022 Chicago Fire II 4 (0)
2023–2024 Lugano 51 (2)
2024– Kasımpaşa 4 (0)
International career
2018–2019 Ecuador U20 14 (1)
2019– Ecuador 2 (0)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Ecuador
FIFA U-20 World Cup
Third place 2019 Poland
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 26 October 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 13 October 2019

Club career

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Born in Guayaquil, Espinoza began his career with Liga Pro club Cuenca, where he made his debut on 12 December 2017.[3] A few games into the 2018 season, Espinoza moved to Aucas.[3] He made his debut for the club on 30 July 2018 against Independiente Valle, starting in a 1–0 victory.[4]

On 18 February 2020, Espinoza scored his first goal for Aucas in a 2–1 victory over Vélez Sarsfield in the Copa Sudamericana.[5]

Chicago Fire

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On 23 November 2020, Espinoza joined American Major League Soccer club Chicago Fire.[3] He made his debut for the club on 24 June 2021 against Atlanta United, coming on as a late substitute in the 3–1 victory.[6] On 27 December 2022, it was announced that Espinoza and Chicago had mutually agreed to terminate his deal immediately, and that he would join Swiss Super League side Lugano on 1 January 2023.[7]

Lugano

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On 27 December 2022, Espinoza signed a 1.5-year contract with Lugano in Switzerland.[8]

Kasımpaşa

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On 3 September 2024, Espinoza joined Kasımpaşa in Turkey.[9]

International career

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Espinoza captained the Ecuadorian under-20 team at the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup,[10] and scored the winning goal in a 2–1 win over the United States in the quarter-finals.[11]

Espinoza made his senior debut in 2019. In a match against Argentina on 13 October 2019 Espinoza unfortunately scored an own goal in a 6–1 loss.[12]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 13 August 2023[13]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Cuenca 2017 Serie A 2 0 0 0 2 0
2018 Serie A 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
Total 5 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
Aucas 2018 Serie A 14 0 2 0 16 0
2019 Serie A 13 0 0 0 13 0
2020 Serie A 24 0 0 0 2[b] 1 26 1
Total 51 0 2 0 2 1 55 1
Chicago Fire 2021 Major League Soccer 20 0 0 0 20 0
2022 Major League Soccer 19 0 1 0 20 0
Total 39 0 1 0 40 0
Lugano 2022–23 Swiss Super League 16 0 2 0 18 0
2023–24 Swiss Super League 4 0 0 0 4 0
Total 20 0 2 0 22 0
Career total 115 0 5 0 2 1 122 1

International

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As of match played 13 January 2019[13]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Ecuador 2019 2 0
Total 2 0

References

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  1. ^ "FIFA U-20 World Cup Poland 2019: List of Players: Ecuador" (PDF). FIFA. 13 June 2019. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 February 2020.
  2. ^ "Jhon Espinoza". Chicago Fire FC. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  3. ^ a b c McCraney, Patrick (23 November 2020). "Chicago Fire sign Ecuadorian right back Jhon Espinoza". Hot Time in Old Town. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  4. ^ "Independiente Valle 0–1 Aucas". Soccerway.
  5. ^ "Aucas 2-1 Velez Sarsfield". Soccerway.
  6. ^ "Atlanta United 3-1 Chicago Fire". Soccerway.
  7. ^ "Chicago Fire defender Jhon Espinoza departs for Switzerland's FC Lugano | MLSSoccer.com". mlssoccer.
  8. ^ "JHON ESPINOZA DA CHICAGO A LUGANO" (in Italian). Lugano. 27 December 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  9. ^ "Jhon Espinoza Kasımpaşamızda" [Jhon Espinoza in Kasımpaşa] (in Turkish). Kasımpaşa. 3 September 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  10. ^ Jesus Alencastro (20 August 2019). "Jhon Espinoza: "Siempre va a ser un privilegio defender estos colores"" (in Spanish). Studio Fútbol. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  11. ^ "Ecuador down USA in clash of continental champions". FIFA.com. 8 June 2019. Archived from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  12. ^ "Ecuador cayó humillado ante Argentina por 6-1 en partido amistoso [RESUMEN]" (in Spanish). La República. 13 October 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  13. ^ a b Jhon Espinoza at Soccerway
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