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| Report (BBC) Report (FIFA) | |||||||
| Event | 2022 FIFA World Cup World Cup Group A | ||||||
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| Date | 20 November 2022 | ||||||
| Venue | Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor | ||||||
| Player of the Match | Enner Valencia (Ecuador) | ||||||
| Referee | Daniele Orsato (Italy) | ||||||
| Attendance | 45,334 | ||||||
| Weather | 24 °C (75 °F) | ||||||
← Qatar - Albania Ecuador - Iraq Qatar - Senegal Ecuador - Netherlands → | |||||||
Qatar v Ecuador was a match which took place at the Al Bayt Stadium on Sunday, 20 November 2022. The match was the opening match for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Preview and team news[]
Qatar would start their first-ever FIFA World Cup campaign on home soil. Their star player Akram Afif didn't play on the last international friendly match against Albania, but he was expected to start in this match.
Qatar had made preparation for years in order to compete in their first ever World Cup. They came into the tournament with a status as Asian Cup defending champions, having won it in 2019. They also had participated in several continental championships outside Asia, such as Copa América in 2019 and CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2021, which in latter they finished as semi-finalists. Once ranked outside top 100, Al Annabi has risen in the ranks and now they are on 50th, thanks to their successful run in recent years.
Ecuador would not be an easy opponent for Qatar. Ecuador had participated in the World Cup for three times, with their last participation was in 2014. They were hoping to match its best result in the tournament, where they made it out of group stage in 2006.
With an average age of 25, the team nicknamed La Tri were the youngest team to qualify from South America and one of the youngest in the tournament. Ranked on 44th, Ecuador had an impressive qualifying campaign, finishing fourth behind Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay and losing just once at home. They smashed Colombia 6-1, beat Uruguay, took four points against Chile and drew with the football heavyweights Brazil and Argentina.
Three Ecuador players – Jeremy Sarmiento, Carlos Gruezo and Robert Arboleda – have been nursing injuries over the last month, but all are included in the squad. The star of the team is Moises Caicedo who plays for Brighton and Hove Albion, an English Premier League side. The 21-year-old box-to-box midfielder provides balance and defensive solidity to the young team.
Head-to-head[]
Qatar have faced Ecuador on three previous occasions, all of which were friendlies. The pair faced off twice in 1996 with the first match finishing 1-1 and the second going the way of the South Americans 2-1. In their third meeting, in 2018, Qatar won 4-3.
Opening ceremony[]
The ceremony, which lasted for about 30 minutes, was dominated by Gulf and Arab heritage. It has many symbolic indications that express welcome, generosity and hospitality in Arab culture. The opening shot included a quote from the Holy Quran, It is verse 13 of Surat Al-Hujurat. It was delivered by the young Qatari Ghanem Al-Muftah, accompanied with the American artist Morgan Freeman. It also featured South Korean singer Jung Kook of BTS who sang "Dreamers", the tournament song, alongside Qatari singer Fahad Al Kubaisi.
The ceremony was composed of seven panels. In the final panel, the Emir of the State of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, delivered a welcoming speech in Arabic. The ceremony ended with the appearance of 15-meters tournament logo and firework display.
In the Great Britain, BBC opted to not broadcast the opening ceremony in response to Qatar's allegation of human rights violations.
Match[]
Hosts Qatar opened the 2022 FIFA World Cup in calamitous fashion, easily beaten by Ecuador in a humbling defeat at Al Bayt.
Felix Sanchez's men have been together in camp for the last six months to prepare for the tournament and work on tactics, but a nervous and disjointed performance led to a Group A loss. With Africa Cup of Nations champions Senegal and three-time finalists the Netherlands to come, this looked like Qatar's easiest game on paper but they were totally outplayed.
A dramatic opening to the contest saw Enner Valencia's header from close range ruled out for offside by the video assistant referee, but the South Americans did break the deadlock shortly after. Qatar's erratic goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb brought Valencia down in the box and the ex-West Ham forward stepped up to convert the spot-kick. It got worse for the hosts as Valencia powered in another header before half-time to leave the Al Bayt Stadium silenced at the break.
Many supporters who had left the stadium at the interval did not return, leaving the ground around half empty for much of the second period. It contributed to a flat atmosphere both off and on the pitch, with Romario Ibarra's curling shot being pushed out by Al-Sheeb. Star men Almoez Ali and captain Hassan Al Haydos were both substituted with 20 minutes remaining, and the side were unable to muster a shot on target.
Details[]
| 20 November 2022 19:00 |
Qatar 
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0–2 |  Ecuador
|
Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor Attendance: 67,372 Referee: Daniele Orsato (Italy) |
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| Report | Valencia  16' (pen.), 31'
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          Qatar
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    Ecuador
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:
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Match Stats[]
| Overall | Qatar | Ecuador |
|---|---|---|
| Goals scored | 0 | 2 |
| Total shots | 5 | 6 |
| Shots on target | 0 | 3 |
| Ball possession | 47% | 53% |
| Corner kicks | 1 | 3 |
| Fouls committed | 15 | 15 |
Group A table[]
| Team | Pld |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
GD |
Pts |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ecuador
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 3 | Advance to knockout phase |
 Senegal
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
 Netherlands
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Qatar
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 0 |
See also[]
External links[]
| 2022 FIFA World Cup |
| Group A · Group B · Group C · Group D · Group E · Group F · Group G · Group H · Knockout stage · Final Other: Qualification · Bids · Broadcasting rights · Controversies (Garcia Report) · Officials · Opening ceremony · Seeding · Squads · Statistics · Match Schedule Official symbols: Al Rihla (ball) · "Hayya Hayya (Better Together)" (song) · La'eeb (mascot) |
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Argentina v Croatia · Argentina v France · Croatia v Brazil · Croatia v Morocco · England v France · England v Iran · England v Senegal · England v United States · France v Denmark · France v Morocco · Morocco v Portugal · Netherlands vs Argentina · Qatar v Ecuador · Spain v Germany · Wales v England |