Jhon Jairo Espinoza Izquierdo (born 24 February 1999) is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Major League Soccer club Chicago Fire and the Ecuador national team.
![]() Espinoza in 2019 | |||
Personal information | |||
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Full name | Jhon Jairo Espinoza Izquierdo | ||
Date of birth | (1999-02-24) 24 February 1999 (age 23) | ||
Place of birth | Guayaquil, Ecuador | ||
Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.77 m)[1] | ||
Position(s) | Defender | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | Chicago Fire | ||
Number | 14 | ||
Youth career | |||
Cuenca | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2017–2018 | Cuenca | 5 | (0) |
2018–2020 | Aucas | 51 | (0) |
2021– | Chicago Fire | 39 | (0) |
2022– | Chicago Fire II | 4 | (0) |
National team‡ | |||
2018–2019 | Ecuador U20 | 14 | (1) |
2019– | Ecuador | 2 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10 October 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 13 October 2019 |
Born in Guayaquil, Espinoza began his career with Liga Pro club Cuenca, where he made his debut on 12 December 2017.[2] A few games into the 2018 season, Espinoza moved to Aucas.[2] He made his debut for the club on 30 July 2018 against Independiente Valle, starting in a 1–0 victory.[3]
On 18 February 2020, Espinoza scored his first goal for Aucas in a 2–1 victory over Vélez Sarsfield in the Copa Sudamericana.[4]
On 23 November 2020, Espinoza joined American Major League Soccer club Chicago Fire.[2] 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.[5]
Espinoza captained the Ecuadorian under-20 team at the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup,[6] and scored the winning goal in a 2–1 win over the United States in the quarter finals.[7]
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.[8]
Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Cuenca | 2017 | Liga Pro | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 |
2018 | Liga Pro | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
Total | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
Aucas | 2018 | Liga Pro | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 0 |
2019 | Liga Pro | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 0 | |
2020 | Liga Pro | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 0 | |
Total | 51 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 55 | 1 | ||
Career total | 56 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 60 | 1 |
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Ecuador | 2019 | 2 | 0 |
Total | 2 | 0 |
Chicago Fire FC – current squad | |
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