November 20, (THEWILL) – Ecuador spoilt the party for Qatar, beating the hosts 2-0 in the opening match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, thanks to two goals from Enner Valencia.
At Al Bayt Stadium on Sunday, Valencia had an early goal controversially called out for offside, but Qatar disregarded the early warning of things to come.
The ruthless skipper returned to open the scoring with a penalty and added another goal with a powerful header in the first half to become Ecuador’s leading World Cup goal scorer with a total of four goals.
In their inaugural World Cup game, Qatar were out of their depth and could not find their element, as they failed to record a shot on goal throughout the 90 minutes as Ecuador got off to a promising start in Group A.
Although Valencia’s withdrawal with 15 minutes left from apparent continued knee pain after a knock late in the first half raised some questions, Ecuador earned three crucial points in Group A. The next matchup pits Qatar against Senegal on Friday, while Ecuador takes against the Netherlands the same day.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
