In FIFA World Cup 2022, Equador defeated Qatar as the host country. Qatar became the first home team to lose a World Cup match after Ecuador beat the hosts 2-0, with Enner Valencia scoring twice in the tournament opener on Sunday.
Asian champions Qatar won the support of most of the crowd at the 60,000-capacity Al Bayt Stadium but could not follow up with a brilliant opening ceremony match and outstanding performance.
Ecuador thought they had made a dream start when they blocked the home team as Valencia took the lead, only to have the goal ruled out for offside inside the home team by VAR.
Valencia broke the deadlock with a 16th-minute penalty and extended their lead to two after half-time.
FIFA World Cup 2022 Equader won the first match
According to the Arab News, Qatar improved slightly in the second half, but by the end of the 90 minutes, the cheers that greeted the build-up – which featured Morgan Freeman and BTS star Jung Kook – were but a distant memory as thousands of fans left the smell in the air.
Felix Sanchez’s Qatar will need a positive result in their second Group A match against Senegal on Friday to avoid the embarrassment of becoming only the second host, after South Africa in 2010, to be knocked out in the first round.
Hopes were high among the crowd that Qatar could begin to win, but Ecuador exposed the weakness of the international athletes mercilessly.
Qatar didn’t even score a goal in the game, with spectators pouring out of the stands long before the final period. In the competition’s 92 years, host nations have won 16 and drawn six opening matches.
The South Americans had the ball in the net within three minutes when the Valencia captain headed home Felix Torres’ misdirected header. The VAR officials found offside against Michael Estrada inside the box after Torres’s ball hit Qatari goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb.
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Ecuador dominated the opening exchanges; however, they were awarded a penalty after Al Sheeb tackled Valencia on the run. The former West Ham striker calmly sent Al Sheeb the wrong way and smashed the ball into the bottom corner to score his 36th international goal.
Ecuador did not wait long to double their advantage as, after a run by Moises Caicedo, right-winger Angelo Preciado’s cross was met by a firm header from Valencia. Even the tiny section of Qatari fans who cheered behind the goal, who arrived together while most of the crowd wore matching t-shirts, remained silent.
Almoez Ali, the hero of the success of the Qatar 2019 Asia Cup, should have pulled one off at the half time, but he could only head free from eight yards. Ecuador gave Qatar more of the ball after the break but still looked like the more dangerous side, Romario Ibarra bringing a diving header from Al Sheeb.
Valencia ended in the 77th minute when he was on the wrong end of several complex challenges, although that would have made some of the soap of the famous evening for Ecuador. By the time the 67,372 people were counted, the stadium was less than half full.
