Qatar welcomes Ecuador to the Al Bayt Stadium for the opening match of the FIFA World Cup 2022. This Group A fixture will pit the smallest-ever host country taking in a team that qualified from the South American qualifiers.
The two teams will be viewed as the two outsiders to qualify for the knockout stages yet will be floated by the news that one of the group’s top picks, Senegal, have lost their talisman and captain Sadio Mane to injury. They will fancy their opportunities to conceivably complete second to European giants the Netherlands.
The FIFA World Cup is practically on the game’s schedule of the year. In 2022, the competition will occur in Qatar from 20th November to 18th December. All of the conventional public groups are joining, similar to England, Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay, besides Italy. The popular Azzurra lost to North Macedonia in the qualifiers and is out of the FIFA World Cup 2022.
This will be Ecuador’s fourth FIFA World Cup appearance in its set of experiences, with its last appearance coming in 2014. Gustavo Alvaro’s group prepared for the competition resulting in finishing fourth in the CONMEBOL qualifying competition.
Qatar are making its first-ever appearance at the World Cup, on account of the direct qualification tickets for hosts. Ecuador gets back to the big stage following an eight-year absence and they will be quick to progress to the knockout stage in the wake of failing to do as such in 2 of the past 3 attempts. This will be just the second h2h meeting between the two sides after Qatar won 4-3 in an international friendly in 2018.
It will at last be the beginning of Qatar 2022. The game will start in a month loaded with emotions, goals, and the best soccer in the world. As expected for a few editions, local people, who make up Group A, will play the first game. The Qataris have extraordinarily worked on their level of play, and are hoping to surprise at home.
They won’t have a simple game since their opponents are Ecuador, a team that realizes that they will undoubtedly need to battle for second place with Senegal, since the primary top picks to be leaders are the Netherlands. That is why two games will be key: this one against Qatar and the one they will play against the Africans. In such a demanding competition, the requirement for triumph is immediate.
Qatar qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2022 by being the host country. Be that as it may, they have blown hot and cold this year, despite the fact that they have lost just three of their 21 games. The Maroon took part in a preliminary camp in Marbella in front of the World Cup, winning each of the five matches, the most recent being a 1-0 triumph over Albania.
On the other hand, Ecuador’s journey to the FIFA World Cup 2022 has been a rollercoaster. La Tri reached Qatar 2022 by completing fourth in the CONMEBOL leg of the qualifiers. That procured them an automatic ticket to the group stage. However, Chile filed an appeal, which CAS later rejected, saying Ecuador had handled an ineligible player. In the interim, Gustavo Alfaro’s men are on a seven-game unbeaten run, despite the fact that they have won just five matches.
Qatar and Ecuador most recently conflicted in a friendly in October 2018, with the Maroon possibly managing a 4-3 win.
Each World Cup game is played with a lot of intensity, and clearly, this will be no special case. Despite the fact that they have worked on a lot in recent years, Qatar realize that they are the underdogs and that they need truly incredible performances if they have any desire to shock this World Cup at home.
The competition hosts Qatar make history here, opening up the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Al Khor as they take to the pitch for what will be their first-ever World Cup fixture. They completed third place in the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup, losing to Algeria in the semi-finals prior to beating Egypt on penalties in the third-place play-off.
Qatar defeated Ecuador 4-3 in the only past meeting between these two countries in a friendly experience in Doha in October 2018. Almoez Ali found the net two times for the hosts while Ecuador’s Enner Valencia additionally scored two goals in the seven-goal thriller.
The host country has never lost their opening match in any of the past 21 editions of the FIFA World Cup (W16 D6 – NB: there were two hosts in 2002).
The last time a host country failed to score in their opening match at a FIFA World Cup was in 1970 (Mexico 0-0 Soviet Union).
Just a single host country has ever failed to propel past the first round at the FIFA World Cup (South Africa in 2010).
Qatar won every one of the three of their group stage matches at the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup in November/December 2021.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup will be Ecuador’s fourth appearance at the competition, albeit just a single time before have they qualified out of the group stage, that being back in 2006. Their latest significant international competition saw them reach the quarter-finals of the 2021 Copa America, prior to losing 3-0 to possible competition winners Argentina.
Ecuador, as far as it matters for them, realizes that they get an opportunity to battle to progress to the round of 16, yet it won’t be simple. The Netherlands are the top picks to win the group, while the Ecuadorians will perhaps battle for second place with the Senegalese. That is why the game between them will be vital key, yet additionally beating Qatar by a good difference.
Gustavo Alfaro is the oldest coach for Ecuador at a FIFA World Cup, he will be 60 years and 98 days old toward the beginning of the competition, the past oldest was Reinaldo Rueda at 57y 70d vs France (25/06/2014).
Only one of Ecuador’s ten matches at the finals has completed level (W4 L5). This was their latest fixture, a 0-0 draw against France their final group match in Brazil in 2014.
Enner Valencia scored Ecuador’s three goals on their last FIFA World Cup appearance in 2014. He is their joint top-scorer in the competition with Agustin Delgado who scored two goals in 2006 and one in 2002.
Alexander Dominguez, Carlos Gruezo, and Enner Valencia are the only players in Ecuador’s squad who have been highlighted at the FIFA World Cup beforehand. Each of the three played for the country in 2014.
Ecuador have lost only one of their last 15 international matches (W5 D9). Ecuador have not surrendered a goal in their last six international matches. Ecuador have drawn eight of their last 11 international matches. Ecuador have never previously confronted a team representing the AFC at the FIFA World Cup.
The first three matches between the two teams were all friendly contests. Currently, they have an even head-to-head record, with one game finishing in a tie and one win for each team.
In 2018, they last met at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium. Qatar picked up a 4-3 win in a highly entertaining affair. For the home team, Almoez Ali scored twice, while Akram Afif and Hassan Al Haydos contributed the other two goals. All three goalscorers have been announced, and it includes all three goal scorers.
For Ecuador, Enner Valencia scored twice and served as team captain throughout the competition. In two of the three meetings between the two sides, more than 2.5 goals.
Qatar vs Ecuador will happen on Sunday 20th November 2022 – at 16:00 (UK).
Qatar vs Ecuador will happen at Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Qatar.
Qatar vs Ecuador will be broadcast live on BBC. It will be broadcast on FuboTV (free trial) and Peacock.
Other options: UFORIA App, FOX Sports App, Fox Sports 1, Telemundo, SiriusXM FC, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, Foxsports.com
Qatar vs Ecuador can be streamed live on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website & app
Qatar will be frantic to establish a decent connection with their World Cup debut as a footballing country. The hosts will probably see this game is prominently winnable, yet Ecuador are not to be underestimated. They combine experience through any semblance of Enner Valencia with exciting young talents, for example, Brighton duo Moises Caicedo and Pervis Estupinan.
While Qatar are expected to try and take the game to Ecuador as they continued looking for a historic victory on home turf, this might see them uncovered defensively as Ecuador contain the capacity to take advantage of any additional space stood to them inside the opposition half. Considering that, backing the two teams to score must be inclined toward paying little heed to who dominates the competition in this opening match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Controversy has followed the two teams in the development of the FIFA World Cup 2022 opener. The most recent reports recommend that Qatar moved toward eight Ecuador players with pay-offs to lose the game. In any case, such an idea may be wide off the mark, as things stand. Concerning the game, it ought to be contested intently.
The latest meeting between Qatar and Ecuador was a goal fest. Be that as it may, Gustavo Alfaro and his charges thrive on low-scoring affairs. So very little ought to isolate the two teams at the full-time whistle. And keeping in mind that Qatar could expect a fantasy start to the World Cup journey, the guests will snatch the match-winner to break the house fans’ hearts.
This is a long way from an attractive fixture for neutrals, yet expect a few fireworks with the two teams needing three points to have a potential for success to beat the Netherlands and Senegal for a place in the knockouts.
As referenced in the analysis, this young Ecuador team is very challenging to beat and recent stalemates against the two competition title favorites Argentina and Brazil present the ideal defense for this evaluation. For this reason, we are going with a narrow win for El Tri in the World Cup opener and we can see them getting an adequate number of opportunities to end the goal drought against an untested Qatari defense.
We are supporting Enner Valencia to score whenever here following an excellent first half of the season with Fenerbahce. The Ecuadorian got 13 goals from 11 appearances in the Turkish Super Lig and scored every one of the three goals for his national team in their last appearance at the World Cup in 2014.
Qatar positively gloats a lot of players who know how to make the net wave on the international stage, and a first-ever World Cup game with the rapturous home group behind them will be of significant advantage to the Maroon.
Notwithstanding, a steadfast rearguard has described this Ecuador side in recent months, and keeping in mind that that streak might reach an end here, the Tricolor’s star names can move them to an opening-day triumph.
Ecuador is expected to have more possession due to a stronger ability on its side when contrasted with Qatar. They will most likely dominate the match easily. However, anything can occur in football so Qatar could shock the fans.
The final squad might have a few little changes yet the current squad is loaded up with the best they have every single talented player, fully skilled.
Goalkeeper: Saad AI Sheep, Yousef Hassan, Meshaal Barsham
Defenders: Ró-Ró, Mohammed Waad, Tarek Salman, Musab Kheder, Homam Ahmed, Bassam Al-Rawi, Boualem Khoukhi, Ismaeel Mohammad
Midfielders: Abdelkarim Hassan, Abdulaziz Hatem, Ali Assadalla, Hassan Al-Haydos , Karim Boudiaf, Salem Al-Hajri, Assim Madibo, Naif Al-Hadhrami, Jassem Gaber, Mostafa Meshaal
Forwards: Ahmed Alaaeldin, Mohammed Muntari, Akram Afif, Khalid Muneer, Almoez Ali
Captain: Hassan Al-Haydos
The following players were selected by Gustavo Alfaro for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification, yet we can say that the squad has little change in the final squad for Qatar FIFA World Cup 2022.
Goalkeeper: Hernán Galíndez, Moisés Ramírez, Alexander Domínguez.
Defenders: Félix Torres, Piero Hincapié, Robert Arboleda, William Pacho, Pervis Estupiñán, Xavier Arreaga, Ángelo Preciado, Diego Palacios, Jackson Porozo.
Midfielders: José Cifuentes, Carlos Gruezo, Ayrton Preciado, Romario Ibarra, Ángel Mena, Jeremy Sarmiento, Gonzalo Plata, Sebas Méndez, Alan Franco, Moisés Caicedo.
Forwards: Michael Estrada, Enner Valencia, Djorkaeff Reasco, Kevin Rodríguez.
Captain Enner Valencia
Head Coach: Gustavo Alfaro.
Saad Al Sheeb; Bassam Al Rawi, Boualem Khoukh, Abdelkarim Hassan; Ismaeel Mohammad, Abdulaziz Hatem, Karim Boudiaf, Hassan Al Haydos, Ahmed Alaaeldin; Almoez Ali, Akram Afif
UNAVAILABLE:
Controvertible:
Alexander Domínguez; Angelo Preciado, Felix Torres, Piero Hincapie, Pervis Estupinan; Moises Caicedo, Carlos Gruezo, Alan Franco; Ángel Mena, Antonio Valencia, Romario Ibarra
UNAVAILABLE:
QUESTIONABLE: Byron Castillo (Fitness)
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