Qatar’s big dream to win their opener
The 2022 World Cup is about to get underway, with controversial hosts Qatar looking to make a sporting splash in their opening match against Ecuador. Both nations are not among the favourites for the World Cup title and yet an open game is to be expected at the start of the tournament.
Even before the start of the tournament, the hosts seem to have no chance of reaching the knockout phase. With Ecuador, Senegal and Holland, the competition in Group A seems too strong. Contrary to many predictions, Qatar will have to score against Ecuador to keep their chances of advancing alive.
However, between Qatar and Ecuador, the bookmakers’ predictions are for a success for coach Gustavo Alfaro’s team, who drew the last fixed ticket to the finals in the South American qualifiers for the World Cup. In 2022, in particular, Ecuador lost out. None of the qualifying matches this year was won (three draws, one defeat).
Nevertheless, the host nation’s task should not be underestimated, as Ecuador finished the following friendly matches without conceding a goal (two wins, three draws). In contrast, Qatar, who only played test matches, managed to keep a clean sheet only once (one win, three draws, one defeat).
Qatar vs. Ecuador – Tickets & Stadium capacity
The opening match will take place at the al-Bayt Stadium built for the 2022 World Cup. According to its name, the arena is supposed to remind of the tents of Qatar’s nomads and offers space for 60,000 spectators. It remains to be seen how the atmosphere will be in the north of the country in the city of al-Chaur.
The World Cup opening match is in great demand and only very few remaining seats are available. Nevertheless, there is of course the possibility of getting tickets through private individuals or third parties. However, spontaneous football enjoyment is rather difficult due to the capacity utilisation of the accommodation.
Qatar – Team & Info
There has been a lot of discussion about the organisers in the run-up to the World Cup, and rightly so. In the following, however, we analyse Qatar’s team and their chances of success in the opening match. These are not so easy to assess because the team has not played a competitive match for almost a year.
In 2021, the Qatari team took part in two tournaments and performed quite respectably. In the summer, the team was invited to the North American Gold Cup. Surprisingly, the World Cup hosts reached the semi-finals, where they lost to the eventual tournament winners USA.
At the FIFA Arab Cup, also hosted by Qatar, Spain’s Félix Sánchez Bas’s team finished third, winning every match except the semi-final against eventual winners Algeria.
Will Qatar provide a goal festival to kick off the World Cup?
In these tournaments, Qatar surprised many observers with their attacking style of play. While the Qataris scored a total of twelve goals in five games in the Gold Cup, they scored ten goals in six games. The top scorer in that period was Almoez Ali. The 26-year-old plays for Al-Duhail SC in the domestic Stars League and scored a total of seven goals in these two tournaments. However, he remained goalless in the last international break.
In 2022, some sand got into the gear and the team could only win one test match (2-1 Bulgaria). Moreover, the team did not manage to score more than two goals once. The only goal they conceded was in a goalless draw against Slovenia in March. Nevertheless, we do not expect a high-scoring match for our Qatar vs Ecuador prediction.
Ecuador – Team & Info
La Tricolor may not be favourites to advance to the knockout stages, but Qatar vs Ecuador odds at least indicate a favourite role in the opening match. This is due not only to the far greater experience of the visitors, who have already taken part in three World Cup finals, but also to the South Americans’ individually stronger squad.
Above all, the country’s hopes are pinned on young star Moisés Caicedo, who is on loan at Brighton. The 20-year-old central midfielder has already made nine starting appearances for the Seagulls and has already scored one goal of his own.
2022 lacks bite so far
In the South American World Cup qualifiers, which are high-profile but in which half of the participating teams can qualify, Ecuador clinched the fourth and thus last fixed starting spot. 26 points from 18 games were enough to qualify for the World Cup finals. As already mentioned, not a single qualifying match was won in 2022.
The subsequent test matches ended in a sobering low-scoring affair. In total, only two goals were scored in the five test matches. Both were scored by Ecuador, but football fans who follow the South Americans would have expected more than a 1:0 against Nigeria and Cape Verde.
For the opening match of the 2022 World Cup, Gonzalo Plata, who is under contract with Real Valladolid, should be fit again and provide an attacking threat as a right-winger. Nevertheless, in the run-up to the opening match between Qatar and Ecuador, betting on a high-scoring game seems anything but reasonable.
Historic Duels: Qatar – Ecuador in Head-to-Head
Qatar and Ecuador have never met at a World Cup before. No wonder, as this is the first time the hosts have been involved. However, there has already been a friendly test match between the two nations.
Four years ago, in October 2018, there was Qatar’s and Ecuador’s only clash so far. On that occasion, Qatar prevailed 4-3 at home to Jassim Bin Hamad. The man who decided the match was Enner Valencia. The Ecuadorian scored two goals and was subsequently shown the red card. Ecuador must keep a cool head if they are to live up to their role as favourites in their World Cup opener.
Qatar vs. Ecuador 2022 World Cup – Favourites
The opening match of each team has a great significance for the further course of the tournament. Especially between Qatar and Ecuador, the loser has only poor chances to take one of the first two places in Group A. The advantages lie more with Ecuador, who have a better squad.
Nevertheless, the home side should not be underestimated. A home World Cup motivates quite differently and they won’t want to show the nerve to get shot down in their own stadium. Therefore, we agree with the bookmakers’ predictions for Qatar against Ecuador and bet on a low-scoring match. For under 2.5 goals, the odds are in the 1.75 range.
A day before each World Cup match, the latest predictions are posted here. With all the information about the teams, the current statistics, odds and of course the latest information about the line-up and with a prediction for the outcome of the match in the usual format.
