Ecuador star Enner Valencia wrote his name in World Cup history against Qatar.
A first half brace from the talismanic Enner Valencia was enough to blank host nation Qatar 2-0 in their World Cup opening encounter in front of 67, 372 fans at the Al Bayt Stadium.
Valencia’s first goal came from the spot in the 16th minute and a superb header in the 31st minute. Despite the cloud of controversy that looms over this year’s staging of the World Cup the fans were treated to some great opening ceremony entertainment and two goals.
Those goals from Valencia placed him in World Cup folklore as the first player to score five goals in a row for a South American nation at the World Cup. He has also joined an esteemed company of Zinedine Zidane and Geoff Hurst who has scored 5 goals at the World Cup. No beers allowed in the stands but they certainly slurped on a football treat from the South Americans
Qatar found themselves on the history cards but for the wrong reason. They are now the first host nation to lose an opening match in the 92 years of the competition. Qatar entered the game after reeling off four wins on the bounce, scalping Albania 1-0 last time out. Despite that they found the El Tri too hot to handle.
The visitors piled on the pressure on the host as early as the 3rd minute after Brighton Hove Albion’s prodigy was brought down outside the box. The resulting free kick was turned home by Valencia after a howler by Qatar custodian Al Sheeb but the goal was ruled out by VAR for a controversial offside.
Qatar was given a life line after a nervy start but found themselves wanting at the back shortly thereafter. Valencia was played through on goal by a sublime pass by Jhegson Mendez, but he was brought down in the box by Al Sheeb. Estrada latched on to the loose ball only to see his effort blocked on the line by a defender. The referee pulled back the play and pointed to the spot for the initial foul.
Valencia who was denied of a goal earlier picked himself up held his composure and as cool as polar bear’s nose he converted from the spot to make it 1-0. That spot kick made history as it was the first penalty to score in an opening game.
Ecuador continues to press the Qataris further up the field forcing them to make several errors. With so much back pedaling and frequent turn overs Qatar failed to work the Ecuadorian keeper.
In the 31st minute Ecuador made Qatar paid the price for an extremely poor first half display when Brighton & Hove Albion’s magician Moises Caicedo surged forward into the attacking third, but saw his initial pass blocked. He then worked the ball out to the flank to Preciado, who whipped a delightful cross into the middle.
Estrada failed to make any contact, but the former West Ham attacker Valencia who was next in line made good connection with the ball and caressed it with share precision as the ball curled away from Al Sheeb and nestled into the net for a 2-0 cushion.
Qatar two best effort of the half came in the 34th and 45th + 6 minutes. First it was Hassan who picked up a ball outside the area and lashed a thunderous shot out of mere frustration but his shot went high and wide. The next attempt was the last kick of the half which was the pick of the two and Qatar could have half the deficit.
Through a nice passage of play from some crisp passing Al Haydos fired a cross into the box from the right flank for an unmarked Almoez Ali. But the forward glances his header wide of the target with only a hapless goalkeeper to beat from six yards.
The half ended 2-0 with the Ecuadoran supporters chanted the loudest as the team head down the tunnel. Meanwhile the Qatari players hung their heads low between their shoulders and lapping their tails in dismay.
Qatar failed to start the second half with impetus. They have been lapsed in possession allowing Ecuador to regain a foothold in the contest. In the 56th minute Al Sheeb thanks the heavens after some goal keeping heroics denying Ibarra a goal scoring opportunity with a fantastic stop.
Al Rawl gave possession away to Mendez who threads the needle expertly to release Ibarra. After dispatching his defender, he cuts back to shoot on his right foot but Al Sheeb miraculously turned his effort away for a corner kick. Qatar got another look in on goal in the 76th minute when Hatem worked the ball back to Afif to strike at goal from 25 yards, but he blazed his effort over the bar.
As the contest trickled to a close with several empty seats in the stands with 15 minutes to go Ecuador got a scare in the 87th minute, when Muntari collected a ball played over the top that Hincapie failed to head clear. He took a first-time volley but his effort whistle over the bar much to the delight of the visitors and to the aghast of the few home supporters who lingered. After 5 minutes of added time, the referee ended the contest to pull the home team out of their misery.
Notwithstanding a two-goal margin there was only 9 shots between the two which is now the lowest total in a single game since 1966. Both teams will be in action again on Friday, November 25th when Qatar takes on Senegal, while Ecuador face the Netherlands.
"Coaches CornerAfter the game Ecuador Alfraro had this to say:“It was the most important game of the World Cup for us. Not only were we kicking off the tournament against the host nation, we had to fight against history, which sometimes works in your Favour or sometimes goes against you, depending on certain things. But this group of players is above that. They are really committed, which is what allowed us to win this game.”“But this is just the beginning for us. We need to show that we are capable of doing it again in the upcoming matches.” (via AS)After the game Qatar Félix Sánchez had this to say:“There’s no excuse, we want to congratulate our opponents, they deserved to win,” said Sanchez afterwards.“There is a lot of room for improvement. Maybe the responsibility and nerves got the best of us. We didn’t start well. It was a terrible start actually.” (via Eurosport)"
Man of the match – Enner Valencia.