On November 20, 2022, at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Qatar, Ecuador beat Qatar 2-0 in the opening match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. A brace from Enner Valencia sealed Ecuador’s victory and put them atop Group A.
Ecuador remained confident throughout the game, retaining 53% of possession. Valencia’s first attempt in the third minute was ruled ‘no goal’ via video assistant referee (VAR), due to offsides.
However, Valencia would finally get his first goal just 12 minutes later, when in the 15th minute, after being brought down by Qatari keeper, Saad Al-Sheeb, he was able to convert the resulting penalty.
Ecuador’s second goal came in the 31st minute after a beautifully hit cross from Ángelo Preciado found the head of Valencia and went into the bottom left corner, out of the Al-Sheeb’s reach.
Qatar’s nerves got the best of them as it was not until the second half that they really checked into the game. They had a total of five shots, not of which found themselves on target. Although the game was primarily played in Qatar’s own half, once they collected themselves Qatar was able to shut down Ecuador in the second half.
Due to their defeat, Qatar is now the first Host nation in World Cup history to lose their opening match. So far, South Africa, back in 2010, is the only host nation that has failed to make it out of the group stage. Qatar will need to improve in order to make sure this does not happen to them as well.
Ecuador’s next match is against the Netherlands. I think if they are able to keep up the form they showed today, they will make it challenging for the Dutch.
Qatar’s next match is against Senegal. Despite Senegal losing Sadio Mane to injury, Qatar will have to calm their nerves and improve in order to keep their chances of advancing alive.
Photo: Enner Valencia, Shutterstock, by AGIF, ID: 198805505
Fantastic first piece covering the live WC22! Lots of great info and posted within minutes of the end of the match–thanks!