Valencia stars for La Tri in dominant 2-0 win at Al Bayt Stadium
Published: 20 Nov 2022 - 09:04 pm | Last Updated: 21 Nov 2022 - 09:57 am
Ecuador's Enner Valencia scores their first goal that was later disallowed Pool via REUTERS/Lars Baron
The spotlight was on Qatar last night as the hosts made their FIFA World Cup debut at the Al Bayt Stadium. But a dominant Ecuador grabbed the limelight soon after the kick-off, leaving the majority of 67,372 fans disappointed following a spectacular opening ceremony.
It turned out to be the night for forward Enner Valencia, who scored both of Ecuador’s goals, and the La Tri captain could have got the first Qatar 2022 hat-trick, had his third-minute goal not been ruled out by VAR for offside.
Qatar fans were expecting a much better show from the Felix Sanchez-coached men as they remained on the receiving end, with the South Americans dominating the entire match.
The hosts failed to register a single shot on target in their historic match with striker Almoez Ali, Abdulaziz Hatem and substitute Mohammed Muntari being off target in rare attempts by them.
“Ecuador outclassed us in all aspects of the game. Obviously this was not what we were hoping for,” Sanchez told reporters after the loss yesterday.
“There is no excuse, I want to congratulate our opponents Ecuador. There is a lot of room for improvement. We did not play at our best level. Maybe the responsibility and the nerves got the better of us. We just have to let go and forget about it and be more competitive. We can do it.”
Ecuador’s Enner Valencia celebrates with team-mates after scoring their second goal against Qatar, yesterday. REUTERS
After becoming the first home team to lose the inaugural match of World Cup, Qatar face a daunting task in their bid to reach the knockout stage as they will play against African champions Senegal and the Netherlands in their last two Group A matches.
Perhaps, Qatar succumbed to the pressure of winning on their World Cup debut in front of their home fans. Al Annabi didn’t look a side, said to be the best prepared team of this World Cup, with all the players being kept out of the country’s top flight league to train at isolated camps offshore for more than four months.
Yesterday, Sanchez put his most trusted men in the all-important game but players had a nervous start and were outclassed by Gustavo Alfaro’s side in the eventful first half with the final session producing less excitement.
Sanchez’s first choice goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb escaped early punishment when his blunder early in the game allowed Valencia to put Ecuador ahead. However VAR disallowed the goal for offside, sending Al Annabi fans into raptures.
But their joy was short-lived as Al Sheeb conceded a penalty for stopping Valencia, who put Ecuador ahead in the 16th minute and became Ecuador’s highest scoring player in World Cup history (four goals). He moved ahead of Agustín Delgado (three goals) after netting the first goal of the World Cup.
The 33-year-old added another in the 31st minute, heading home Angelo Preciado’s cross, being unmarked in the centre.
Ecuador’s forward Enner Valencia scores his team’s first goal from the penalty spot past Qatar’s goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb at Al Bayt Stadium, yesterday. AFP
Almoez could have pulled one back for the hosts just before half time but the Al Duhail forward who had barely had a touch in 45 minutes glanced his
header wide off the mark from captain Hassan Al Haydos’ cross.
More missed chances by Hatem and Muntari in the second half meant Qatar will now hope to score their first-ever World Cup goal against Senegal on November 25 at the Al Thumama Stadium.
Ecuador – predicted to be a surprise team in this World Cup by Brazil coach Tite – will meet the Netherlands the same day at the Khalifa International Stadium in their second match.
Valencia said Ecuador was aiming to go far in the tournament.
“I dreamt so many times about winning this opening match. This was a dream that I managed to score and help my team get the three points,” Valencia said.
“We managed to score a couple of quick goals which helped us to get control of the game and win the three points ... We think we can go very far and perform well,” he added.
Featuring in their fourth World Cup, Ecuador are dreaming of surpassing their best ever previous showing at the finals when they reached the last 16 in 2006.
