In the opening match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Ecuador easily defeated hosts Qatar thanks to two goals from Enner Valencia in the first half. The result was a straightforward 2-0 victory for Ecuador.
Through a dubious VAR review, Valencia’s early header was disallowed for a tenuous offside call against teammate Michael Estrada, but he didn’t have to wait long to rejoice after winning and calmly scoring a penalty in the 16th minute.
As a result, the Ecuadorian captain became the first player in his nation’s history to score four goals in the World Cup finals. He added a fifth goal just after the halfway point by heading in a gorgeous right-wing cross from Angelo Preciado.
Almoez Ali, Qatar’s joint-record scorer, will regret missing a great opportunity just before halftime, but Felix Sanchez’s team fell far short of the low-key rising pre-game expectations as they were thoroughly outplayed.
When Saad Al-Sheeb failed to block a corner kick and Valencia headed the ball into an open net, the goalkeeper was saved by an early VAR intervention.
However, Qatar’s No. 1 did not capitalize on the opportunity when he clumsily tackled Valencia in the area shortly after, forcing referee Daniele Orsato to call a foul after the Ecuador striker sprinted onto Estrada’s expertly weighted throughball.
The second goal was scored with an arrow into the bottom left corner by Valencia, who patiently waited to send Al-Sheeb the wrong way from the ensuing penalty.
The main worry for Ecuador manager Gustavo Alfaro came as Valencia, the player of the hour, walked out with a knee injury 15 minutes from time. Estrada then missed his chance as the goal his work-rate merited beckoned following some wonderful work by Gonzalo Plata.
There were very few causes for Qatar to be encouraged, despite the fact that substitute Mohammed Muntari rippled the top of the netting with a late effort.