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The hosts of the FIFA World cup 2022, Qatar have set an unwanted record of being the first host nation to lose their first game in football World Cup. It is the first time in the history of football that an Arab nation is hosting the World Cup.
Qatar lost to Ecuador 2-0, courtesy of the two goals scored by the captain of the Ecuador national football team, Enner Valenica, who scored a penalty in the 16th minute and another goal in the 31st minute of the game through a stunning header assisted by Angelo Preciado. The match was played in the Al-Bayt stadium with a crowd of 67,372.
The match was played after a splendid 30-minute opening ceremony that was attended by many famous personalities, such as Morgan Freeman and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin Salman. Jungkook of K-pop boy band BTS performed a new tournament song called Dreamers, alongside Qatari singer Fahad Al-Kubaisi.
In a post-match press conference, Qatar coach Felix Sanchez stated, “We felt backed and supported, and we hope that for the next game, people will feel prouder and continue to support us until the end of the tournament.” “The atmosphere was great; people were very much looking forward to this game.”
The road ahead for the FIFA World cup 2022 will not be easy for the hosts as they will face Senegal on 25 November and the Netherlands on 29 November. It will be exciting to see the strategic changes Felix Sanchez will make to take his team ahead in the World Cup campaign.
(Written by: Aviral Shukla)
