Qatar 0-2 Ecuador: First ever hosts to lose an opening World Cup match
Qatar have become the first ever hosts to lose the opening match of a World Cup after a 0-2 loss against Ecuador in the opening match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
This was the fourth time Qatar and Ecuador have met, with the previous three in friendlies where they won one each and drew the other. After an entertaining opening ceremony, supporters at the Al Bayt Stadium were ready to watch their teams kick off.
Sixteen minutes into the first half, Ecuador captain Enner Valencia scored the first goal of the tournament after a penalty was awarded due to a sloppy tackle by Qatar goalkeeper Al Sheeb.
Valencia followed up 15 minutes later with a second goal after he was left unmarked in the centre of the box, and headed Angelo Preciado’s cross into the bottom corner.
Qatar had their first opportunity to score, and it could have easily been 2-1 going into the second half after Almoez Ali was left unmarked, six yards out, and headed wide.
The game was full of fouls, almost breaking a World Cup record for the most cards (six yellows) in an opener since Germany versus Bolivia in 1994 (six yellow cards and one red card).
In what would have been the quickest opening goal in a World Cup ever, Valencia almost broke the spirits of Qatar fans with an early goal 160 seconds into the match. But questionably, it was disallowed for being offside after a VAR check.
Many Qatar fans left the match at halftime and did not return when the second half began, leaving hundreds of empty seats in the stands.
Qatar did not look like a team who have trained for this moment for five months solid. The hosts struggled to get out of their half – penned-in by Ecuador from the beginning and failing to find any kind of shooting opportunity.
Swathes of empty seats as second half restarts. There were many home fans seen leaving at half-time.
— Miguel Delaney (@MiguelDelaney) November 20, 2022
Towards the end of the match, Qatar found better opportunities, but it was too little too late.
After the result, Valencia became the first player to score five goals in a row for a South American nation at the World Cup, moving ahead of Agustín Delgado’s three goals. The 33-year-old is also the oldest goal scorer in a World Cup opening game.
This was as good a chance as Qatar would get to win a game, as later in Group A Qatar will face Senegal and the Netherlands.
