The illusion of the hosts of the Qatar 2022 World Cup did not prosper on the pitch. A superior Ecuador prevailed against the local team 0-2. The inauguration of the first match of the World Cup tournament sought to convey a message of inclusion and diversity that contrasts with the complaints about the violation of human rights in the country.
The ball rolled in Qatar. Years of accusations of corruption in the country’s assignment as host and strong criticism of the human rights situation in Qatari territory did not prevent the opening whistle of the 2022 World Cup opening game.
Euphoria gripped the fans when the 90-minute match between the host team and Ecuador began. The shouts and ovations betrayed the emotion of a country without a football history but that has sought to develop a present in this universal sport.
The Al Bayt stadium, with a capacity of 60,000 people, shone in the middle of the darkness of the night of Jor, a city in the northeast of the country. And inside, the powerful air conditioning system created the sensation for attendees and players of being far away from the desert Qatari landscape.
The apparent tranquility that was breathed in said sports venue did not mitigate the complaints about the deplorable conditions to which thousands of migrant workers had been subjected in the construction of the 2022 World Cup stadiums, in which 22 players were now facing each other for taking the first three points of the tournament.
Determination reigned on the pitch: the host team was looking for a memorable performance and Ecuador wanted to show that the youth of their squad would not stop them from talking.
It was the Latin American youth that prevailed over the Qatari team. From the beginning of the game, the tricolor took control of the ball, marked the times of the game and made its approach to the game clear. The Ecuadorians quickly reached the Saad Al Sheeb arch.
The tenacity with which the Ecuadorian team came onto the pitch led striker Enner Valencia to finish off the goal for the first time in the 3rd minute of the match and give his team the first goal cry. One that quickly faded due to the performance of the VAR that pointed out that there was an offside.
But Valencia and Ecuador would have revenge. Once again under the leadership of the Fenerbahçe striker, the tricolor team reached the Qatari area and after dribbling past their defenders, the goalkeeper brought down Valencia. A clear penalty action that was sanctioned by the judge of the match, the Italian Daniele Orsato.
Valencia himself was in charge of collecting from the penalty spot. Confident and loaded with experience, in his second World Cup match, the striker aimed for the left post of the rival goal. A shot that ended in the first goal of the tournament and gave the tricolor team a mental and football advantage.
Those led by the Argentine Gustavo Alfaro knew how to take advantage of the boost from the first goal, continuing with a series of attacks on the Qatari field.
The initiative for the tricolor was born in the midfield where Moisés Caicedo, from Rashford, and Jhegson Méndez, from Los Angeles FC, led the game and encouraged the creation of goal opportunities.
Successful passes, clear movements and an organized team marked the Ecuadorian game. An approach that led to the second score of the game. The play was derived from an Ecuadorian recovery that the winger Ayrton Preciado took advantage of by sending a precise cross that he connected with Valencia. The striker changed the trajectory of the ball, leaving the Qatari goalkeeper without reaction.
Valencia was left with its double and Ecuador reaffirmed its superiority on the field of play.
The second half did not change the dynamics of the game. An organized Ecuador with initiative, against a blurred Qatar withdrawn into the back of the field.
Despite the changes of the Catalan coach Félix Sánchez Bas, the host team could not generate more game actions, nor wrest control from Ecuador.
At the end of the game, the Qataris had just five total shots, none of them between the three sticks. The local team was unable to assert their current title of champion of the Asian tournament.
Instead, Ecuador beat the statistics and reversed history: they became the first team to beat the hosts in an opening match.
“This is an encouragement for us, these guys who are committed to their history and perhaps to the history of Ecuador. To be able to start breaking down all these small stories to find out if the big story can be broken down ”, Alfaro declared in the press conference after the game.
The Al Bayt Stadium gradually ran out of fans as the match progressed. An apparent Qatari euphoria that turned off soccer in Ecuador and left hundreds of empty seats.
Enner Valencia, the scorer who shone despite criticism
A wave of criticism had sparked his call and ownership in the Ecuadorian call. Many fans and journalists asked Alfaro to do without Enner Valencia. The striker had had a not very outstanding performance in the South American World Cup qualifiers.
But this Sunday, Valencia shook all those criticisms by becoming not only the scorer of the game but also the great figure of the night.
In the midst of criticism, confidence stood out and personality prevailed over doubts. The two were highlighted by Valencia at the end of the match, who also stated that he felt very happy to see a strong team and to see his “companions smile”.
His performance was also praised by the Ecuador coach. “For me he was highly questioned in Ecuador, for me it is a ‘plus’ to have him… I always choose him, always give him to my team,” Alfaro said.
He himself smiled again. Ecuador also participated in the 2018 World Cup, an edition in which Valencia had also participated. With the goals in this match, the striker became the top scorer for the tricolor team in the World Cups.
The Qatari project, blurred in its first 90 minutes
Qatar disappointed. Beyond the enormous sports infrastructure and the ‘show’ before the final whistle, the Arab country has sought to make a huge investment in local football. An attempt to build from within the fever for the sport that finances beyond its borders.
Hence the creation of the ‘Aspire Academy’, a soccer school that many have pointed out as the base of the current team and to which the royal family has dedicated enormous capital.
Like much of the social fabric in Qatar, it lives off migrants. Talents from other countries that are nationalized go through the institute en masse.
Thus, the objective was to reach the World Cup that they were going to host with a competitive team began to be cut short with the first participation of those led by Sánchez. A team that was without clear ideas, without control of the ball and almost completely withdrawn at the bottom of its field of play.
The “diversity” of the inauguration that contrasts with the denunciations of the NGOs
“Diversity”. The word that he sought to be the center of attention at the opening of the World Cup. This was delivered by actor Morgan Freeman and reiterated by Emir Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.
The ceremony followed a maxim: “a gathering for all humanity, uniting differences through humanity, respect and inclusion”.
Thus, in a symbolic way in the ceremony, Qatari songs were heard that were mixed with rhythms from other countries, the mascot of the world present came out in the company of all those who in the past had personified their hosts and all kinds of colors dyed the center of the Al Bayt stadium.
But what was preached inside, within the soccer festival, contrasts with the accusations that human rights organizations made heard around the world the days before the World Cup.
These, far from the color of the ceremony, painted a gray picture for people from the LGTBIQ+ community, in a country where homosexuality is sentenced with long prison sentences and where attendees were warned about showing affection in public.
A gray panorama that is also shared by women, who can even become sentenced to stoning for extramarital affairs. And an indelibly stained celebration of thousands of migrant workers who have lost their lives since Qatar was announced as the host of this World Cup in 2010.
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