Ecuador defeats Qatar in the World Cup’s opening game with ease

• Enner Valencia scores twice in the opening match of the competition
• Qatar became the first World Cup host nation to drop their first game
• The remaining members of Group A are Senegal and the Netherlands.

AL KHOR: With two goals from seasoned striker Enner Valencia, Ecuador easily defeated World Cup debutants Qatar 2-0 on Sunday, handing the hosts their first ever loss in the tournament’s opening match.

The all-time leading scorer for Ecuador, known as “Superman” at home, gave the South Americans a commanding lead in the first half as the Qataris were overcome by the magnitude of the event. He scored an early penalty and added a well-taken header.

In front of 67,372 spectators at the tent-shaped Al Bayt stadium, the hosts’ situation may have been considerably worse if Valencia, 33, had not had a third-minute header disallowed for a slight offside when goalkeeper Saad Alsheeb flapped at the ball.

Alsheeb later fouled Valencia as he was through on goal, and when the Ecuadorian calmly converted the ensuing penalty in the 16th minute, Alsheeb dove the wrong way.

Valencia was unmarked for his second attempt, but he still displayed excellent technique to stoop and grab Angelo Preciado’s cross virtually from behind him and head past Alsheeb once more.

The Group A match was over after that goal, and the second half was played slowly. Many Qataris left before the game’s conclusion while Ecuador’s supporters screamed “Ole!”

Qatar appeared to be largely toothless despite having an enviously long amount of time to connect and train together, including summer camps in Europe. The best opportunity for Almoez Ali came at the end of the first half when he headed wide but was later ruled offside.

In the final seconds, Mohammed Muntari also missed with a shot.

Qatar’s chances of earning points or making it out of the group stage appear minimal given that both teams now have to play Senegal and the Netherlands.

Ecuador hopes to improve upon their best-ever World Cup performance, which came in 2006 when they advanced to the round of 16.

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