The 2022 World Cup is officially took off today as host nation Qatar as hosts. Ost 0-2 to Ecuador at Al Khor, ending a 92-year old record of nostnot.osin the opening match.
Scorers: Valencia pen 17′, 31′
Ecuador appeared to take the lead after just three minutes to stun the home support when Qatar’s goalkeeper was caught in no man’s land, allowing an acrobatic flick across goal to be headed in by Enner Valencia from close range.
However, the goal was ruled out for offside following a close VAR check.
But Valencia did get his goal on 17 minutes from the penalty spot after he calmly tucked into the corner before he doubled La Tri’s advantage shortly after the half-hour mark with a bullet header into the corner.
It keeps up his incredible record of scoring his country’s last five consecutive goals in this competition, dating back to 2014 and he became the first player since Paulo Wanchope of Costa Rica in 2006 to score two goals in the opening game.
Qatar goalkeeper Saad Al-Sheeb pulled off a confidence-boosting save after half-time when he got down low to divert Romario Ibarra’s strike to safety.