Captain Inar Valencia scored twice as Ecuador beat hosts Qatar 2-0 in their opening FIFA World Cup match on Sunday. In this Group A match, Valencia scored the first goal in the 16th minute with a penalty, while in the 31st minute he scored a spectacular header. This is the first time in the 92-year history of the World Cup that the hosts lost their first match. Only 11 shots were hit on target in the match, but all five of Qatar’s shots, playing in the World Cup for the first time, went off target.
Valencia scored the first goal of the competition in the third minute of the game but video review showed it to be offside and the goal was disallowed. But the credit for scoring the first goal of the World Cup 2022 was to go to Valencia. He scored this goal on penalty in the 16th minute of the game. Qatar goalkeeper Saad Abdullah Al Sheeb was fouled inside the box, earning a yellow card and giving Ecuador a penalty, which its captain made no mistake in converting.
This was Valencia’s fourth goal in the World Cup and he became the highest goalscorer for Ecuador in the World Cup. He left behind Auguston Delgado. Valencia doubled Ecuador’s lead in the 31st minute with a beautiful header. Then Moises Cassido skilfully took the ball deep into the Qatari half. He passed the ball to Angelo Preciado on the right flank, whose cross was denied by Al Sheeb with a brilliant header by Valencia.
The Qatari team initially looked nervous and struggled, but gained confidence as the match progressed amidst the overwhelming support of the crowd. His best chance to score came in injury time of the first half but then Almoz Ali’s header on Al Haddos’s cross went wide. Ecuador adopted an aggressive approach from the beginning of the second half.
He had a chance to open the scoring in the 55th minute but Qatar was saved from danger by Al Sheeb’s brilliant save from Romero Ibarra’s shot. After this, when the game was progressing in a monotonous manner, Qatar had a chance in the 84th minute but Mohammad Muntari’s shot went wide of the crossbar. Ecuador could not score in the second half, but in the meantime, its defense showed strong play and did not give any chance to Qatar to come back.
