Twitter explodes as Enner Valencia stars for Ecuador in 2-0 win against 2022 FIFA World Cup hosts Qatar

Qatar became the first host nation to lose an opening FIFA World Cup game when they suffered a 2-0 defeat to Ecuador on 20 November.

Former Everton striker and Ecuador skipper Enner Valencia thought he had put his side in front in just the fifth minute.

A terrible mistake by Qatar goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb allowed Valencia to place home calmly, but VAR contentiously intervened and ruled that he was offside in the build-up.

Valencia was on the scoresheet again in the 16th minute when the Fenerbahce forward was brought down in the box by Al Sheeb, with the referee pointing to the spot.

He made no mistake as he fired his fifth FIFA World Cup goal for Ecuador, a record for any player of la Tricolor.

Valencia grabbed Ecuador's second in the 30th minute with a fabulous header from the Fenerbahce frontman.

An astute cross from Genk right-back Angelo Preciado found the Ecuador captain, who headed past Al Sheeb with aplomb.

Qatar went desperately close to scoring their first-ever FIFA World Cup goal when Al-Duhail striker Almoez Ali should have nodded home from close range in the 45+5th minute.

Ecuador were in total control throughout the first half, boasting 54% of possession.

Renato Ibarra went close in the 55th minute after Qatar defender Bassam Al-Rawi gave the ball away to Los Angeles FC's Sebas Mendez.

The Ecuadorian midfielder sent Ibarra on his way, but the forward was denied by a smart save from Al Sheeb.

Qatar struggled to conjure up any threat against Gustavo Alfaro's well-drilled team.

Brighton & Hove Albion forward Jeremy Sarmiento should have found the net in the 77th minute but sent his shot went high over the bar.

Mohammed Muntari nearly got Qatar a goal in the 85th minute when Al Sheeb found him with a clever ball.

It's a first defeat for a host nation in an opening match at the FIFA World Cup and one that perhaps has people taking notice of Ecuador's talent.

Here are some reactions from supporters on Twitter to the South Americans beating the hosts at the Al Bayt Stadium:

Netherlands and Senegal face off in the second Group A encounter of the FIFA World Cup

The Netherlands and Senegal will go toe-to-toe at the Al Thumama Stadium on Monday, 21 November.

The Dutch have been in good form, unbeaten in their last 15 games across competitions.

Louis van Gaal's side boasts a squad consisting of Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong and PSV Eindhoven forward Cody Gakpo, among others.

They are up against a Sadio Mane-less Senegal side who have lost two of their last five fixtures. Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly skippers the side.

About the author

Matthew is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who has been covering news, rumors and match reports for close to 3 years. Learning creative writing from University of Essex, he combined his skills and passion for football take up writing for the sport professionally.

Matthew always strives to go beyond a story and offer unique and lesser-known insights, while maintaining an unbiased tone in his articles. His reporting exploits at the company have helped him gain a humungous readership of 25 million, with one of his articles raking in a whopping 724,000 reads.

A Manchester United fan since childhood, Matthew admired Sir Alex Ferguson for his loyalty and brave coaching style. His favorite footballer is Thierry Henry, believing the Frenchman to be uniquely talented and charismatic. An ardent Three Lions fan, England's penalty shootout win over Colombia in 2018 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment of all time, and he believes that Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe will have a Ballon d’Or duopoly after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

He also follows his local EFL League Two clubs AFC Wimbledon and Sutton United, and spends his free time watching and writing about professional wrestling. He also likes to work out, watch movies and go for night outs.

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