One of the grandest sporting events in the world is here as we kick off the FIFA World Cup 2022 with the host nation Qatar taking on Ecuador in the first league stage of the tournament at the Al Bayt Stadium, which also staged the opening ceremony of FIFA 2022.
Entering the match, Ecuador most certainly had the upper hand with more international experience of this level than Qatar, who were banking on the support of the home crowd. The first whistle kicked off the match which instantly saw Ecuador keep possession of the ball for most of the time until the 15th minute which saw Enner Valencia score the first goal of the tournament after Qatar Goalkeeper Saad Alsheeb tripped Valencia inside the D, for which he was instantly issued a Yellow card by the referee. The scoreboard opens 0-1 in Ecuador’s favour.
A series of fouls and offsides showed that the Qatar side was shaken by the early strike by Ecuador as the “Men in Yellow” maintained their dominance right uptil the 31st minute where a bullet header by Valencia again Ecuador take a 0-2 lead over the hosts. It was only then, at the 33rd minute, that Qatar had their first proper attempt at scoring, but in vain. A series of fouls, and yellow cards resulted in 5 minutes of extra time being added, which eventually saw Ecuador finishing the first half with a healthy lead over Qatar. Scoreboard at half-time whistle read 0-2 in favour of the Yellow team.
As the second half commenced, Qatar seemed to fight back as they tried hard to keep the off the Ecuador boots to ensure as much scoring opportunities as possible. They almost converted to great strikes from Akram Afif and Mohammed Muntari, with the latter’s long range strike just passing over the Ecuador net. The clock struck 90 minutes and Ecuador were now certain of a win in the World Cup opennet. The referee signalled 6 minutes of extra time which saw some more action as both sides got corners to convert where Ecuadorian K. Rodriguez almost scored a third goal for his team. The final minute saw Qatar desperately trying to avert a a duck defeat but that could not happen as the referees whistle called for the end with Ecuador emerging victorious 0-2 in the opening match of the FIFA World Cup 2022.
Enner Valencia was awarded the “Player of the match” for his double strike that saw Ecuador clinch the victory in the opener. With this, he also became the all-time highest goal scorer in international soccer for Ecuador.
So, that was all from our side for this match. If you are an avid soccer fan and want to stay up to date with all the post match updates, then keep following our posts at 90agency.com for all the hot & happening news from the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar, all as it unfolds!
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