World Cup, Ecuador gets off to a flying start

Ecuador beats Qatar in World Cup 2022 debut match

The first match of the World Cup in Qatar 2022 goes to Ecuador, which beats hosts Qatar 2-0. Great protagonist Enner Valencia, who scored a brace.

It takes only a few minutes to understand which direction the match will take: in fact, in the 3rd minute, Ecuador takes the lead with Enner Valencia’s goal but the Var cancels everything for an off-side position of Estrada at the beginning of the action. It matters little because a few minutes later Orsato concedes a penalty to Ecuador for a foul by Al Sheeb on Enner Valencia. From the penalty spot came the same Ecuador striker who dispatched the Qatari extreme defender. On the half-hour mark came the double and it was Valencia again who signed it with a nice twist on a cross from Preciado. The first half ends with a great chance for Qatar, squandered by Ali.

Nothing much happened in the second half: Gustavo Alfaro’s men administered the lead, Qatar never made themselves dangerous except for a shot by Muntari late in the match that finished just high over the crossbar.

Ecuador thus gets the three points and climbs to the top of Group A, pending Senegal-Holland, scheduled for Monday. For Qatar, it was a narrow defeat and a negative record: the host national team had never lost its opening World Cup match until now.