For Qatar, this was a letdown 12 years in the making. The host nation has spent that time building the infrastructure of a World Cup shrouded in controversy and replete with a bitter taste that, whatever the next four weeks bring, is unlikely ever to be washed away.
When they kicked off this tournament, however, the hope locally was for a bravura show from the meticulously constructed football project that has run concurrently with the creation of a manicured, deeply unsettling fantasy sporting land from sand. Instead they flopped, left for dust by a stronger and cannier Ecuador unit who dealt the hardest of truths about how life at this level really looks.
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The manoeuvres honed by Félix Sánchez’s players across that time were barely evident and it was doubly ignominious that Qatar became the first home side to lose an opening game. No other outcome seemed likely after the moment, three minutes in, when Enner Valencia thought he had silenced the party. The goal was eventually disallowed by VAR for the most borderline of offsides but Qatar’s defence, and especially their goalkeeper Saad al-Sheeb, were clearly ripe to be picked off.
That impression was quickly justified when Valencia, fouled by Sheeb, converted a penalty. His outstanding header after the half-hour removed any remaining edge and long before the end swathes of this vast, textured tent-like structure north of Doha had virtually emptied. The envisaged extravaganza had not materialised and it would take a vast improvement against Senegal on Friday to give Qatar any chance of progress. Ultimately this was a non-contest, a dissatisfying spectacle and, with due credit to a competent Ecuador, a poor reflection on what should be football’s showpiece.
“Maybe the responsibility and nerves got the better of us,” Sánchez said of a pallid display that, given this was billed as the logical apex of a country’s footballing journey, must have felt hugely anticlimactic. “We had a terrible start and this determines the rest of the match. We’ll just have to forget about the pressure and be more competitive. We can do it.”
At least the award and dispatching of Valencia’s spot-kick ascribed less importance to the controversy around his disallowed opener. The overrule looked marginal at best and came after Sheeb had flapped under a free-kick, allowing a combination of Félix Torres and Michael Estrada to locate Valencia with the custodian stranded. There was widespread confusion when it was chalked off: Fifa’s semi-automated system probably decided Estrada’s foot was beyond Sheeb, with only one defender back, when Torres headed on.
Perhaps the stars were aligning for Qatar, who would have faced murmurings about injustice had the call decided things. Nobody could accuse their country of failing to produce an off-pitch show. Morgan Freeman had been reeled in to front the high-spec opening ceremony, intoning weighty thoughts about football’s ability to unite, but Ecuador were a class apart in those opening moments. Qatar could neither retain possession nor a sensible measure of concentration.
They were behind soon enough when a sluggish Sheeb came out to meet Valencia and clipped him on the shin. A penalty, a booking and no further scope for suggestions of favouritism; Valencia scored coolly and, at that point, Qatar looked vulnerable whenever Ecuador attacked.
There was visible frustration in the kick on Valencia for which Almoez Ali was cautioned. Valencia’s revenge was emphatic, finding space between two defenders and leaping thrillingly to plant Angelo Preciado’s cross past Sheeb after persistence from Moises Caicedo. The former West Ham and Everton player, now 33, has still got it.
“He was questioned at times but now we see how much he gives us,” the Ecuador manager, Gustavo Alfaro, said of the country’s all-time leading scorer. “If I have to choose, I always choose Enner Valencia.” Whether he can do that for their next game, against the Netherlands, depends on his recovery from multiple knocks.
Surely Qatar had more to offer. They are the Asian champions and, in what should have proved a useful exercise, did not disgrace themselves when guesting at the Copa América three years ago. It was obvious they had frozen on this surprisingly brisk evening; their football was lightweight against technically and physically superior opposition.
Nonetheless Ali, the star of that continental win, headed wide with the first half’s final action. He had been unmarked and perhaps a cleaner contact would have belatedly put Qatar at ease. It might have ignited the contest but, instead, it was virtually the final action of note.
Ecuador could cruise through the second period, occasionally squandering openings on the counter. Romario Ibarra allowed Sheeb slight redemption with a parried shot but little else raised the pulse as the crowd drifted away. “We hope in the next game people feel prouder,” Sánchez said. It was the heftiest blow to his adopted nation’s self-esteem.
