After years of anticipation and preparation, Qatar's inaugural World Cup match did not go to plan. They became the first ever host nation to lose their opening match, suffering a 2-0 defeat to Ecuador.
Ecuador captain Enner Valencia had a good game up top, scoring a first half brace. He had a goal controversially ruled out due to offsides after just three minutes, but was brought down by Qatari goalkeeper Saad Al-Sheeb not long after, and scored the penalty. He added another goal with an extremely well-placed header later in the half. Besides his goals, Valencia was a constant thorn in the sides of Qatar's defenders, holding up the ball well and drawing four fouls and winning eight of his 11 ground duels.
Ecuador had a lot of success attacking down the wings, quickly getting the ball wide upon winning possession. Their fullbacks were particularly impressive, holding the width by staying near the touchlines. By sending the fullbacks on overlapping runs to support the wingers, Ecuador was able to create wide overloads and isolate Qatar's wingbacks. Pervis Estupinan on the left was a constant creative outlet, making 11 passes into the final third to progress attacks. On the right, it was Angelo Preciado's cross that Valencia headed home for Ecuador's second goal. Los Angeles FC's Jhegson Mendez controlled the midfield for Ecuador, completing an astonishing 75 of his 76 passes.
Qatar looked like a side that was lacking in confidence, exemplified by the performance of their goalkeeper. Al-Sheeb looked shaky coming out to collect crosses, including the one that led to the eventually disallowed early goal. His hesitation coming off his line allowed Valencia to go around him and draw the penalty.
One of the few bright spots for Qatar was the performance of experienced defender Abdelkarim Hassan. Playing as the left-sided center back, he won all six of his duels and had more success playing the ball out of the back than his compatriots did. He completed six of his eight long passes, and generally looked comfortable on the ball. This was in sharp contrast to the majority of the team, who always seemed a step slow with the ball at their feet. Qatar often took an extra touch in possession, allowing themselves to be closed down by Ecuadorian defenders before they could find a forward pass.
Qatar's biggest chance came towards the end of the first half, when captain Hassan Al-Haydos found Almoez Ali in the box, but typically clinical striker mistimed his jump and sent his header well wide.
The match lacked any real sort of fluidity, constantly being interrupted by fouls. 30 fouls were whistled in total, and six yellow cards were issued. The teams combined for only 11 total shots, the fewest in any World Cup match since 1966. Qatar's key creator Akram Afif was visibly frustrated, and found himself dropping deeper and deeper as the game went on, trying to get more involved as the Qatari midfield struggled to progress the ball.
Qatar will need to regroup quickly in order to avoid being just the second host to be eliminated in the group stage after South Africa in 2010. However, that will be a tough task with Senegal and Netherlands both heavily favored.
