Soccer
The much-awaited game for the 2022 World Cup will start on November 20. This is the first time the World Cup will be held in the Winter season. The first game will be between the host country, Qatar against Ecuador at the AL Bayt Stadium. So, here are all the stats on the first group stage match between Qatar and Ecuador, along with a possible lineup, kick-off time, betting odds, and players to watch from both sides.
History will be made when hosts Qatar get the 2022 World Cup underway with a clash against Ecuador, and their head coach Felix Sanchez says, "you never know what can happen."
Qatar's possible starting lineup:
Al-Sheeb; Miguel, Al-Wari, Salman, Hassan, Ahmed; Hatem, Boudiaf; Al-Haydos; Ali, Afif
Ecuador's possible starting lineup:
Dominguez; Preciado, Torres, Hincapie, Estupinan; Gruezo, Caicedo, Cifuentes; Plata, Valencia, Ibarra
Ecuador was part of the World Cup in 2002, 2006, and 2014. However, They have only managed to progress once beyond the group stages.
Qatar was not the only nation embroiled in controversy before the first ball was kicked at the World Cup. Ecuador reportedly faced the threat of expulsion from the tournament after fielding an ineligible player in qualifying.
Current FIFA world ranking: 50
World Cup titles: 0
World Cup appearances: 0
How they qualified: As hosts
Coach: Felix Sanchez
Key players: Abdelkarim Hassan, Almoez Ali, Hassan Al-Haydos
Current FIFA world ranking: 44
World Cup titles: 0
World Cup appearances: 3
How they qualified: Qualified automatically from CONMEBOL (4th place)
Coach: Gustavo Alfaro
Key players: Enner Valencia, Moises Caicedo, Pervis Estupinan
According to our prediction model, Alfaro's men have a 42% chance of securing all three points in this opening game of Group A, with the draw rated at 29.0%.
Qatar has a 27% chance of coming out on top in their best opportunity to register a historic victory.
Ecuador has upset the host with a 2-0 goal in the opening match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. This is the first time the Host nation has lost its opening game since the 1970 World Cup.
The first goal was disallowed in the third minute. Valencia turned the penalty opportunity to take the lead.
In the thirty-first minute, Enner scored his second goal of the tournament.
The second half was pretty decent. The Qatar national team looked more possed and had a decent run with the ball. Sebas Mendez booked his first yellow card in the fifty-sixth minute.
The first substitution was made in the 68th minute, with Romario Ibarra going out and Jeremy Sarmiento coming in.
The Qatar National team substituted by bringing Mohammed Waad A Albayati, and the captain Hassan Al-Haydos raced into the tunnel handing the captain band to Al Sheeb.
Several chances were created toward the game's end, but none turned into a goal. In the end, Qatar had 0 shots on target and a total of five shots. On the other hand, Ecuador had three shots on target.
Ecuador will be happy to take three points from the game. Qatar needs to find a way to win the next game. It will be a challenging game as they take on the group favorites, Senegal and Ecuador will face the Netherlands, on Friday, November 25.
