By Omobola Falese
The much anticipated FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar kicked off after a very delightful opening ceremony at the Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor, Qatar.
The opening fixture was between the host nation Qatar and Ecuador. The game came to life in the third minute as the host nation were stunned with a goal, only for the goal to be ruled out by VAR.
But it seemed the Ecuadorians could not be stopped as they kept the pressure on and were rightly rewarded with a penalty in the 16th minute after the menacing striker and skipper, Enner Valencia was brought down in the 18 yard box as he made no mistake scoring the spot kick and sending the goalkeeper the wrong way.
The Ecuadorian all time scorer, Enner Valencia scored again from a quick counterattack after connecting with a powerful header from a delightful cross from Preciado to extend the lead in the 31st minute.
The Qatar national team nicknamed ‘The Maroon‘, were utterly outclassed, overshadowed and
underwhelming as they lost 2-0 to Ecuador national team nicknamed ‘The Tri’ to break the jinx of the World Cup opening match, as no opening match have been lost by the host nation from 2006.
The Man Of The Match (MOTM) was received by Enner Valencia, who not only became the first goal scorer at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, but also got a brace to cap an impressive display.
‘The Maroon’ will be hoping to improve ahead of their remaining games against Senegal and Netherlands.
