The 2022 World Cup has finally kicked off with hosts Qatar thoroughly outclassed in a 2-0 defeat to Ecuador that had home fans leaving the stadiums in droves long before the final whistle.
Debutants Qatar became the first World Cup hosts in history to lose their opening fixture as Ecuador’s captain Enner Valencia bagged a first-half brace, but he could well have had a hat-trick if not for a polarising Video Assistant Referee (VAR) decision.
There was high drama and controversy from the very start when Ecuador’s all-time top scorer Valencia scored in the third minute, only for VAR to rule out his close-range header for an extremely marginal offside earlier in the play – earning great cheers from the home crowd.
“I’m going to have a blooming high blood pressure by the end of the month if this carries on this way,” Alan Shearer said on BBC. “I don’t think there’s any person watching this in the world who thinks that this is offside.”
Shearer described the decision as ‘madness’ while Gary Lineker labelled it ‘absurd’, asking: “Really? Is that what VAR is for?”
Ecuador soon made up for the disallowed goal when Valencia scored calmly from the penalty spot in the 16th minute, sending the goalkeeper the other way. It is the first time that the opening goal of the World Cup came from a penalty.
Valencia had been clearly brought down by Qatar gloveman Saad Al Sheeb, who earned a yellow card for his actions.
Watch the world’s best footballers every week with beIN SPORTS on Kayo. LIVE coverage from Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Serie A, Carabao Cup, EFL & SPFL. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
Qatar first host nation to lose opener | 02:57
Al Sheeb had made a horrible mistake for the earlier disallowed goal, coming out to punch away a deep cross only to misjudge the ball and flail his arms about wildly.
And Valencia soon made it a brace with a powerful back-post header fired into the bottom corner in the 31st minute as the South American side ran rings around the hosts. Angelo Preciado floated in a perfectly-weighted cross from the right flank to 33-year-old Valencia, who played 75 Premier League games with West Ham and Everton but is currently enjoying the finest season of his career in Turkey.
Having missed the 2018 World Cup, Valencia’s brace added to a trio of strikes in Brazil 2014 (one against Switzerland and a brace against Honduras) – making him the scorer of Ecuador’s last five World Cup goals.
“Really awful start from Qatar,” former Socceroo Craig Foster told SBS at half-time, with the hosts failing to fire a shot on target in the opening 45 minutes.
“This could really get away from them. This could be four or five (goals),” fellow Socceroos great Mark Bosnich added.
There were significant fears that Valencia’s match would come to a premature end – and ruin his chances of a rare Cup hat-trick – when he suffered an apparent knee injury late in the opening half. But he returned to the field after the interval and battled through another half an hour before being substituted.
‘MADNESS’: Insane VAR drama rocks World Cup in first five minutes
OPENING CEREMONY: Morgan Freeman dazzles in shock appearance
Ecuador’s forward Enner Valencia headed home what looked like the first goal of the World Cup.Source: AFPQatar’s goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb (C) fouls Ecuador’s forward Enner Valencia (L) for the penalty.Source: AFP
GUIDE: Everything you need to know about Socceroos’ World Cup campaign
FIXTURE: Full World Cup schedule with AEDT times and when the Socceroos play
WARNING: FIFA told about Qatar ‘earning too many penalties’ in WC warm-up games
However, Ecuador took their foot off the gas in the second stanza as they comfortably cruised to victory, with a tame Qatar afforded precious few chances to hit back after Valencia’s early brace.
Substitute striker Mohammed Muntari came close with five minutes left in regulation time, blasting a brilliant half-volley from outside the box that beat Ecuador keeper Hernan Galindez but landed only on the roof of the net.
But Ecuador was hardly forced out of first gear in a comfortable second half, and spurned multiple opportunities of their own to stretch the lead against a dismal Qatar.
Meanwhile, an official crowd of 67,372 was announced by FIFA, but home fans soon began to stream out once their side went down 2-0 just after half an hour. By the final whistle, the stadium was largely empty.
“An awful performance right from the very beginning,” Foster told SBS of the Qatar performance. “Really disappointing … zero ambition.”
“They never put Ecuador under enough pressure to do anything.”
Qatar coach Felix Sanchez said: “Our nerves betrayed us, we started really badly.
“We were unable to string together four passes in a row. Also many defensive gaps.
“The team was not balanced and that hurt us a lot. When you play against a team of this level … you pay for it.”
Follow Qatar v Ecuador in the FIFA World Cup from 3am AEDT below!
