Qatar has made history tonight by becoming the first ever nation go lose it’s opening match. They lost woefully by not registering a shot on target at the Al Bayt stadium in Qatar.
Former West Ham and Everton striker Enner Valencia brace in the match took away their joy and scattered the whole team. They were outplayed throughout the whole first-ever World Cup match and it looks so bad for a hosting country. Their star man Akram Afif was nowhere to be found on the pitch. They literally play like a squad with no initial plan before coming on to the pitch.
Some of the history that were made tonight are:
Qatar have become the first host nation to lose their opening game at that edition of the World Cup (W16 D6 before today).
Ecuador have kept a clean sheet in each of their last seven matches in all competitions (W3 D4), with Argentina’s Julián Álvarez the last player to score against them back in March.
Ecuador scored twice in the first half of a World Cup match for the first time. This is the second time in their four appearances at the World Cup they’ve won their opening match, with the other also being 2-0 (against Poland in 2006).
There were just 11 shots in this game (5 for Qatar, 6 for Ecuador) – no World Cup match on record (since 1966) has seen fewer attempts.
Ecuador’s opener was the first time in World Cup history that the opening goal at a single edition of the tournament was scored from the penalty spot.
Man Of The Match – Enner Valencia, Ecuador
Bringing his hot streak of form to the international stage, the Fenerbahce’s two finishes helped the South Americans to a crucial opening day win. Yes, it was easy, but you have to be in the right places to make the run that he did to win the penalty, and it was his intelligence of movement that enabled him to head home a second unmarked at the far post. He displayed his experience and quality, leading by example. His coach and team-mates will be concerned at his fitness levels after a knock to his knee looked nasty. It is obvious he is their main man and it will be a hard blow losing him to injury.