Qatar vs Ecuador, FIFA World Cup 2022 Highlights: Hosts Qatar, playing their first-ever FIFA World cup match in 2022, suffered a humiliating 0-2 defeat against a star-studded Ecuador in the high-octane tournament opener at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor. Enner Valencia, the standout striker, proved to be too good for a lackluster Qatari defence who looked absolutely confused for most part of the match.
33-year-old Valencia was disallowed a goal inside first three minutes, but he managed to break the deadlock just few minutes later by scoring a goal off a penalty corner in 16th minute. The star player scored another goal in the first-half to give Ecuador a 2-0 lead at break.
Qatar were never really in the match, not a start their fans were expecting on their World Cup debut. By the virtue of this win, Ecuador attained three crucial points in Group-A. Qatar, playing their first-ever World Cup, are now the first-ever host nation to lose their opening game.
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Qatar, the only debutant among 32 teams, will aim to avoid becoming the only team after South Africa (2010) to be knocked out of the World Cup tournament in the first round. Since July 2017, Félix Sánchez, manager of Qatar national football team, has been in charge of the squad.
Ecuador, participating in their fourth FIFA World Cup edition, now remain undefeated in three World Cup games in a row. With a win over Qatar, they have matched their longest streak of remaining unbeaten in the tournament.
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The teams participating in 2022 FIFA World Cup are hosts Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, the Netherlands, England, Iran, USA, Wales, Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland, France, Australia, Denmark, Tunisia, Spain, Costa Rica, Germany, Japan, Belgium, Canada, Morocco, Croatia, Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, Cameroon, Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, and South Korea.