Equador won the opening match of the FIFA World Cup 2022 by defeating host Qatar 2-0 at the Al Bayt stadium.
Qatar, the first Arab nation to host the FIFA Football World Cup, had a disappointing start to the tournament as they lost to Equador 2-0 and became the first host nation to lose an opening match. Of the 22 previous host nations, 16 of them won their first game, while six had settled for a draw.
Qatar became the third nation to host the tournament on its World Cup debut, after Uruguay in 1930 and Italy in 1934. But the road to hosting the tournament was marred by controversy. Twelve years ago, Qatar won the bid in dubious circumstances. They spent more than twice the previous eight World Cups combined to built new stadium, hotels, airport, metro, roads etc. But while doing so they faced severe criticism for violating human rights in terms of migrant workers.
Still, the home fans hoped for a commendable show from the team, that was built after spending a huge sum of money. But Qatar put up a highly uninteresting show and lost the match to Equador, leaving the impression that money cannot buy everything. It is now a huge task for team to revive in the following matches where they have to match up the brilliance of Senegal and Netherlands.
Equador, on the other hand, played as per their potential. Their captain, Enner Valencia, scored both of his team’s goals in the first half of the match. After his early goal was ruled out for offside by VAR, he moved on to score the first goal from the penalty and then doubling the advantage with a firm header. Valencia has scored Ecuador’s last five World Cup goals.
Qatar had five shots in the match and none of them were on target. The night that started with more than 67,000 spectators filling the Al Bayt Stadium, ended with almost half of their total as most of the Qatari fans left the stadium before the final whistle.
