The World Cup kicks off in Qatar, with the hosts making their debut on the global stage against Ecuador. It’s a pivotal match in Group A for both teams, as they’ll each need to secure three points here.
A win for Qatar or Ecuador would put them in a great position to start this tournament as the two group favourites, Netherlands and Senegal, face off against each other.
To Win Match
Qatar 22/10 | Draw 21/10 | Ecuador 29/20
Qatar
Qatar will make their debut in the competition, having sealed a direct entry by being the hosts.
They are the only debutants at the tournament but despite their inexperience at this level, the Maroons can draw upon recent tournament success after winning the Asian Cup in 2019 and reaching the semi-finals of the Gold Cup and Arab Cup last year.
South Africa remain the only nation to fail to reach the knockout stages of their home tournament and former Barcelona youth coach Felix Sanchez has no intention of following suit.
Ranked 48 in the world, Qatar have played a series of friendlies and international competitions in the last few years to gear themselves up for their biggest challenge.
Qatar’s hopes will rest on a large contingent of Al Sadd players, the majority of whom were working under Barcelona legend, and now manager, Xavi until November last year.
Ecuador
This will be Ecuador’s fourth World Cup appearance in their history, with their last appearance coming in 2014. Gustavo Alfaro’s side qualified for the tournament after finishing fourth in the 10-team South American qualifying group behind Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay.
The Tri scored 27 goals during qualifying and was tied with Argentina for second-most in CONMEBOL. They also drew with Brazil at the Copa America.
Michael Estrada was Ecuador’s leading scorer in their qualification campaign with six goals, though Enner Valencia wasn’t too far behind with four.
The former West Ham and Everton forward is the nation’s all-time leading scorer, with 35 goals in 73 international appearances.
Since qualifying for the Qatar showpiece, Ecuador have gone unbeaten in their five friendlies leading up to the tournament.
They registered 1-0 wins over Nigeria and Cape Verde and played out scoreless draws against Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Japan. While the South Americans have struggled to score goals of late, impressively they did not concede a goal across that period.
Ecuador will be looking to make the last 16 for the first time since 2006 and they’ll be expecting three points against Qatar, which would put them in the driver’s seat to qualify for the Round of 16.
Verdict: Draw 2/1
It’s no surprise to see Ecuador come in as the favourite in this match, given the inexperience of this Qatar side. However, the Qataris are in high spirits, and I expect them to perform strongly in front of their home crowd.
