The Athletic has live coverage of Ecuador vs. Senegal in Group A play.
Two goals from Enner Valencia gave Ecuador a comfortable 2-0 win in the opening game of the 2022 World Cup after a disappointing display from the host nation Qatar.
Felix Sanchez’s side became the first hosts to lose the opening match of a World Cup, while Ecuador were able to coast to victory after dominating the first 45 minutes.
Mark Carey, Laurie Whitwell and Liam Tharme analyse the opening ceremony and the key talking points from the match at Al Bayt Stadium…
Valencia rolling back the years
Carey: As Ecuador’s main man, Enner Valencia provided a captain’s performance in the World Cup opener.
He was involved in nearly everything for Ecuador. He had an early goal disallowed by VAR, won a penalty, scored it, added a great header, and then went off injured before coming back on. He finally made way with 15 minutes to go, and had an ice pack on his right knee as the game wound to a close.
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The former West Ham United and Everton striker used all his international nous as the only player starting the game who had any prior World Cup experience. The 33-year-old rolled back the years with his coolly-taken penalty and powerful header at the far post to put Ecuador 2-0 up by half-time — effectively shutting the game down against a toothless Qatar side.
Already his country’s all-time leading goalscorer, Valencia became the first Ecuadorian to score four goals at the World Cup, before adding a fifth before the break. He has now also scored Ecuador’s last five World Cup goals — made all the more impressive by the fact that his country last qualified in 2014 — and has matched Geoff Hurst’s tally for England.
Valencia’s two goals here put him on 37 in 75 appearances for his country — an outstanding rate of one in two games across his international career.
It’s worth noting the fine form that Valencia came into the tournament with, having scored 13 goals in 12 games for Fenerbahce in the Turkish Super Lig — more than any other player in the division.
He has carried that superb club performance onto the international stage.
A disastrous first half for Qatar
Tharme: It took the hosts until the final phase of the opening half to get going — Almoez Ali, their usually reliable No 9, heading wide from captain Hassan Al-Haydos’ cross. It was only Qatar’s second goal attempt of the half and the first time they had entered Ecuador’s penalty area.
They might be among the bookies’ outsiders at this World Cup but Qatar have had major tournament success — 2019 Asian Cup winners, 2021 Gold Cup semi-finalists — playing expansive, possession football in Sanchez’s 3-5-2.
Perhaps the pressure showed. Qatar have the most experienced side at the tournament in terms of caps per player and had been in a six-month training camp leading up to this World Cup.
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They rushed with their passes, all too often trying to split a compact Ecuador midfield, notably in the build-up to the opening goal. Goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb has 80 caps but he looked shaky, rushing out and fouling Valencia, who converted the resulting penalty. VAR had spared Al Sheeb’s blushes early in the game after some erratic goalkeeping at a wide free kick.
Qatar’s build-up largely revolved around Akram Afif, their creative spark and No 10 playing alongside Ali, dropping into a defensive midfield position and looking to dictate play from there.
So much of Qatar’s attacking success had been underpinned by the pair combining, often with Afif crossing or playing through balls for Ali from advanced areas. But in the first half, Afif had 23 touches in total, with just five in the final third and none in the Ecuador penalty area.
Is World Cup 2030 heading to Saudi Arabia?
Whitwell: The sun was setting as the masses made their way towards the Al Bayt Stadium, recognisable for its Bedouin-tent roof, and that made for an appealing view over the desert landscape north of Doha. Thousands of fans in robes and headscarves excitedly approached Qatar’s first World Cup match, but there were people from all nations present. Even one from Germany, asking for a ticket.
Once inside, darkness fell for the opening ceremony, which the organisers judged pretty well. It was a smart move to include past World Cup songs — Shakira’s Waka Waka was the stand-out — as well as the chants of other nations in among the Arabic iconography. Actor Morgan Freeman added star quality, and his scene with Ghanim Al Muftah, a FIFA World Cup ambassador who has a rare spinal disorder, was arresting.
In the stands, Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, was sitting next to FIFA president Gianni Infantino for the opening match of the World Cup for a second time in a row. In Russia 2018, his nation were about to play the hosts. Here, it felt more of an indication about the way the winds of staging World Cup 2030 were blowing.
Why did VAR rule out the Ecuador goal?
Whitwell: Much of the noise was sucked out of the stadium when Valencia nodded in after 160 seconds. There was no appeal from Qatar’s players and everybody headed back towards the centre circle in an orderly fashion. Then VAR intervened, and referee Daniele Orsato signalled for offside.
There was confusion in the press box until a replay flashed up, showing Michael Estrada’s knee ahead of Abdelkarim Hassan. It transpired that was crucial as Al Sheeb had come far from his goal to try to punch Pervis Estupinan’s free kick clear, so was ahead of Estrada, meaning the deeper Qatar defender Homam Ahmed was not enough to keep him onside.
At that moment, Felix Torres headed the ball skywards and, because of a strange spin, Estrada was the next player to make contact. The infringement occurred when he did so. He headed the ball to Torres, who swung a bicycle kick that Valencia finished off.
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Ecuador are dark horses in Group A
Tharme: They are only at their fourth World Cup ever but Ecuador are the exact dynamic of a team who can trip up one of the giants.
Head coach Gustavo Alfaro named the youngest side, on average, in South American World Cup qualification. That their No 9 Valencia was the only player to start against Qatar with previous experience of this tournament could easily be viewed as inexperience, but there is a serious degree of fearlessness to Ecuador.
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Dynamic central midfielder Moises Caicedo (aged 21), progressive centre-back Piero Hincapie (20) and attacking left-back Pervis Estupinan (24) are key to Ecuador’s build-up play but also their defensive strength.
Ecuador’s shutout of the tournament hosts was their seventh consecutive clean sheet — they did not concede in six friendlies between qualification ending and Sunday’s opener.
Just minutes in, they showed how threatening they can be from set pieces. Ecuador topped the CONMEBOL charts in qualification for set-piece goals (13).
Factor in the loss of Senegal’s star player Sadio Mane for the duration because of injury and Alfaro’s side should be strong favourites for second place in Group A behind the Netherlands — and a possible last-16 meeting with England, the US or Wales as Group B winners back at this stadium in two weeks’ time.
(Photo: Mohamed Farag/Getty Images)