Valencia’s double helps Ecuador coast past hosts Qatar in football spectacle's opening match

Gonzalo Plata of Ecuador runs with the ball during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group A match between Qatar and Ecuador at Al Bayt Stadium on 20 November 2022 in Al Khor, Qatar. (Photo: Justin Setterfield / Getty Images)

By Andrew Cawthorne for Reuters

20 Nov 2022

Hosts Qatar made a nervy start to the 2022 World Cup after Ecuador’s Enner Valencia netted twice for the South Americans in the first half.

Ecuador eased past World Cup debutants Qatar 2-0 on Sunday with first-half goals from veteran striker Enner Valencia in a one-sided affair that was the first opening game defeat for a host nation in the tournament’s history.

Ecuador’s all-time top scorer, nicknamed “Superman” at home, scored an early penalty and added a well-taken 31st-minute header to give the South Americans a commanding first-half lead as the home nation froze with the enormity of the occasion.

It could have been even worse for the hosts in front of a 67,372 crowd at the tent-shaped Al Bayt stadium had Valencia not had a third-minute header disallowed for a marginal offside after shaky goalkeeper Saad Alsheeb flapped at the ball.

It was Alsheeb who later tripped Valencia when he was through on goal and then dived the wrong way as the Ecuadorean coolly dispatched the resulting penalty in the 16th minute.

For his second, Valencia was unmarked but still showed great technique to stoop and take Angelo Preciado’s cross almost from behind him to head past Alsheeb again.

“I dreamt so many times about winning this opening match. This was a dream that I managed to score and help my team get the three points,” Valencia said.

“We managed to score a couple of quick goals which helped us to get control of the game and win the three points ... We think we can go very far and perform well.”

The 33-year-old scored all of Ecuador’s three goals at their last World Cup appearance in 2014 and Sunday's double cemented his status as national hero.

Pyrotechnics during the pre-match ceremony to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group A match between Qatar and Ecuador at Al Bayt Stadium on 20 November 2022 in Al Khor, Qatar. (Photo: Justin Setterfield / Getty Images)

Toothless Qatar

His second goal killed the Group A game as a contest and the second half was played at a slow pace, with many Qataris leaving before the end as Ecuador’s fans chanted “Ole!”

Qatar looked largely toothless despite an enviously long time to bond and train together, including summer camps in Europe. Almoez Ali had their best chance at the end of the first half, heading wide but then judged offside.

Mohammed Muntari also fired over in the dying minutes.

Qatar coach Felix Sanchez looked increasingly disconsolate watching his nervous-looking players misplace passes and allow Ecuador to outmuscle them easily from front to back.

Both sides now have to play Senegal and the Netherlands in the group stage, with Qatar's chances of picking up points or qualifying looking slim on this performance.

“Obviously this was not what we were hoping for,” Spaniard Sanchez said of Sunday's curtain-raiser for the tournament.

“There is no excuse, I want to congratulate our opponents Ecuador. There is a lot of room for improvement.

“We did not play at our best level. Maybe the responsibility and the nerves got the better of us. We just have to let go and forget about it and be more competitive. We can do it.”

At their fourth World Cup, Ecuador are dreaming of surpassing their best ever previous showing at the finals when they reached the last 16 in 2006.

Coach Gustavo Alfaro will be happy that his players put aside the furore over defender Byron Castillo, who was left at home to avoid further controversy after they faced possible expulsion in a complaint by Chile over his nationality status.

Enner Valencia of Ecuador celebrates his second goal during the Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022 Group A match between Qatar and Ecuador at Al Bayt Stadium on 20 November 2022 in Al Khor, Qatar. (Photo: Richard Sellers / Getty Images)

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Chaos at Al Bidda fan fest

Chaotic scenes broke out inside and outside the fan festival at Al Bidda Park in Doha on Sunday an hour before the kick off of the opening World Cup match after organisers allowed too many fans to flood the precinct.

The venue has a capacity of 40,000 but at least double that number of people tried to make their way in and for a long time many were let into a holding area between the main festival park and the perimeter entrance.

Police realised the problem and had to shepherd irate supporters back out of the venue.

“It was dangerous,” one fan carrying a child aged nearly four, who had exited the holding area, told Reuters.

“They let too many people in. We never made it into the main area and I was glad to leave.”

The police took about 45 minutes to clear the excess fans from the area.

Tournament organisers the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Frustrated local fans, volunteers and media were visibly upset with the police, but supporters of other countries appeared more understanding.

While there was chaos in the holding area, the scene inside the park seemed pleasant, with Brazilian fans Andrea Nascimento and Raphael de Jesus appreciating the atmosphere.

“I think Qatar will be a great host. Now that the games are starting, the vibe is building,” Jesus said.

“This is my third World Cup after 2014 and 2018, and so far everything has been very well organised.”

He described it as “a party involving many countries of the world. The world needs this because there are so many problems right now and sport brings people together.”

Multiple flags

Elsewhere, at the famous Souk Waqif market fans from all over the world converged with many flags from Saudi Arabia and Iran on show plus a strong South American representation.

For 20 Qatari riyals, fans could do three laps of a pen on the back of a muzzled camel, overlooked by the studios of TV broadcasters.

As kick off approached, the narrow streets of the Souk began to empty, the air filled with the scent of spices and dried fruit on sale outside the various shops.

Fans gathered below the TV studios, craning their necks to try to get a view of the action on the big screens through the windows.

A group of fans sat inside a Majlis, an air-conditioned sitting room, with their eyes glued to a television screen.

Several tables set up for Shatranj, an old form of chess, lay vacant on the other side of the room as football fever gripped the patrons at the Majlis. - Reuters/DM

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Toothless Qatar

Chaos at Al Bidda fan fest

Multiple flags