Day 1 Highlights from the FIFA World Cup 2022
Key Updates
- Ecuador wins the opening game with a score of 2-0 against Qatar.
- After a VAR check, Ecuador’s first goal in the third minute was ruled offside as a and disqualified.
- First half dominance resulted in two goals for Ecuador and the scoresheet remained unchanged till the end of the match.
- Qatar became the first host to have lost the inaugural match in a FIFA world cup.
Ecuador’s captain and forward, Valencia’s successful strike in the 16th minute from the penalty spot was his fourth personal goal at the World Cup finals. He also happens to be the only player in the Ecuadorian squad to have prior world cup experience. Valencia continued his scoring streak to a fifth consecutive game. Ecuador dominated the proceedings throughout the game with Qatar enjoying limited amount of flow in their game in patches especially in the start of the second half.
This loss made Qatar holder of an unfortunate record of being the only host nation to lose the opening game at World Cup finals.
The Qatari goalkeeper, Saad Al Sheeb, is facing heavy criticism and partial blame for the loss as he conceded an easy penalty in the 14th minute of the game bringing down Enner Valencia inside the box after a poor buildup play that was started by Saad Al Seeb.
The win gave three important points to Ecuador in a group in which they are going to face Netherlands, who have historically performed well at the world cup finals and an African powerhouse and underdog for the tournament : Senegal. With this, Ecuador has taken a big stride towards the knockout faces of the tournament.
