A dismal Qatar stumbled in their first football World Cup appearance. The UK Sun’s headline read ‘Qat-astrophe’ Qatar 0 Ecuador 2.
Here are five takeaways from the one-sided game.
- Dreams turn into nightmare
Qatar became the first host nation to lose their opening World Cup encounter. It was their game of a lifetime.
The nation had hoped to use the tournament to justify its many efforts over the years to raise its global stature.
But it will not get easier for the team that was built at great expense over a decade. They look likely to suffer the same fate against Senegal and Holland.
2. Nervous Qatar, dominant Ecuador
Qatar are the Asian champions and have a squad with five players who have 100 caps or more, but the responsibility or nerves must have shaken them.
Their backline looked ripe to be picked off, adding to the agony of reckless tackling and bad passing. The horror show also saw them failing to muster a shot on target in the entire contest while Ecuador had three shots.
The South Americans coasted for much of the game, saving their energy for more exacting challenges to come.
3. Early setback for Qatar
Ecuador thought it had taken the lead after just 158 seconds, only for Qatar to be rescued by a narrow offside call.
Former English Premier League forward Enner Valencia, the Ecuador captain, won and scored a penalty after 16 minutes. Then he doubled his team’s lead with just a little more than half an hour played.
4. Empty seats, flat atmosphere
Official attendance at the Al Bayt Stadium was 67,372 but by the end of the game it was half-empty. As home fans drifted away into the night disappointed, numerous Ecuadoreans were celebrating.
The empty seats and the lacklustre performance of Qatar has raised the question of whether the World Cup should be given to countries who will struggle to compete in the tournament.
5. Glitzy opening ceremony
Despite the gulf in quality between the two sides, fans enjoyed the high-spec opening ceremony before the kick-off.
The showpiece at the stadium, which is shaped in the form of a Bedouin tent, was led by actor Morgan Freeman and Qatari Ghanim Al Muftah who spoke about overcoming differences.
Ghanim, a World Cup ambassador, was born with the rare Caudal Regression Syndrome, which prevents the development of the lower spine.
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