They were declared guilty even before the kick-off. A goalless stalemate at half-time and a 1-0 win for Qatar in the end. That was the alleged deal involving millions of dollars between the FIFA World Cup hosts and Ecuador. Eight of the South American players were allegedly bribed and convinced to engage in match-fixing.So, that was the story… And the reality?🇪🇨Ecuador fans chanting “we want beer” (“queremos cerveza”) in the opening World Cup game at Qatar.pic.twitter.com/CznahzbxmA— Sam Street (@samstreetwrites) November 20, 2022 Anything but that – Ecuador played more than a decent game of football to shatter all those nonsense and beat woeful Qatar 2-0 to perfectly kickstart their WC campaign.The tournament’s opening match was a one-sided game, as the South Americans netted twice early on and stuck to it until the end. Enner Valencia scored a brace after his super-fast opener, only two minutes into the game, was disallowed to a very questionable offside.Ecuador’s last five World Cup goals:▪️ Valencia vs. Switzerland (2014)▪️ Valencia vs. Honduras (2014)▪️ Valencia vs. Honduras (2014)▪️ Valencia vs. Qatar (2022)▪️ Valencia vs. Qatar (2022)🌟 pic.twitter.com/oeF0jwd1ay— B/R Football (@brfootball) November 20, 2022 The veteran striker didn’t let that VAR decision ruin the day for him, but stepped up two more times before the break to seal the much-deserved win.Ecuador’s skipper Valencia scores a brace to kickstart the World Cup!Firstly, from the spot, after the keeper took him down in the box, and then Valencia took us to the pinnacle – if Caicedo’s cross from the righthand side was superb, then the Ecuador captain’s header was a work of art. This perfect, smooth shot went past the custodian straight into the back of the net for 2-0.From that moment on, it was blatantly clear Ecuador would win this encounter, not having the slightest of trouble against the Asian champions.The offside call released by VAR. pic.twitter.com/ibdL5opzhw— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) November 20, 2022 The lack of composure and quality was evident regarding the deplorable hosts, who were nowhere near the opponent’s goal for most of the match. Not a single shot on the target for 90 minutes speaks for itself.Hopefully, we’ll see much better games in the upcoming days since the tournament got underway with this rather dull duel.WORLD CUP – GROUP STAGESunday, Nov 20thQatar – Ecuador 0-2 (0-2)/Valencia 16, 31/Monday, Nov 21st16:00: (1.35) England (4.60) Iran (10.5) B19:00: (6.00) Senegal (3.70) Netherlands (1.62) A22:00: (2.65) USA (3.00) Wales (2.90) BTuesday, Nov 22nd13:00: (1.18) Argentina (7.25) Saudi Arabia (15.0) C16:00: (1.45) Denmark (4.20) Tunisia (8.00) D19:00: (2.75) Mexico (2.95) Poland (2.85) C22:00: (1.25) France (6.25) Australia (11.0) DWednesday, Nov 23rd13:00: (4.20) Morocco (3.40) Croatia (1.92) F16:00: (1.50) Germany (4.30) Japan (6.50) E19:00: (1.15) Spain (7.50) Costa Rica (20.0) E22:00: (1.42) Belgium (4.50) Canada (8.00) FThursday, Nov 24th13:00: (1.75) Switzerland (3.45) Cameroon (5.20) G16:00: (1.80) Uruguay (3.40) S.Korea (4.90) H19:00: (1.43) Portugal (4.20) Ghana (8.50) H22:00: (1.48) Brazil (4.20) Serbia (7.25) GFriday, Nov 25th13:00: (2.25) Wales (3.05) Iran (3.60) B16:00: (3.80) Qatar (3.10) Senegal (2.15) A19:00: (1.65) Netherlands (3.80) Ecuador (5.50) A22:00: (1.65) England (3.70) USA (5.70) BSaturday, Nov 26th13:00: (2.90) Tunisia (3.00) Australia (2.65) D16:00: (1.63) Poland (3.80) Saudi Arabia (5.70) C19:00: (2.00) France (3.40) Denmark (3.90) D22:00: (1.62) Argentina (3.70) Mexico (6.00) CSunday, Nov 27th13:00: (1.85) Japan (3.40) Costa Rica (4.60) E16:00: (1.55) Belgium (4.00) Morocco (6.25) F19:00: (1.80) Croatia (3.50) Canada (4.70) F22:00: (2.60) Spain (3.25) Germany (2.75) EMonday, Nov 28th13:00: (4.20) Cameroon (3.35) Serbia (1.95) G16:00: (2.55) S.Korea (2.95) Ghana (3.05) H19:00: (1.50) Brazil (4.10) Switzerland (7.00) G22:00: (2.10) Portugal (3.20) Uruguay (3.80) HTuesday, Nov 29th18:00: (1.30) Netherlands (5.20) Qatar (11.0) A18:00: (2.80) Ecuador (3.10) Senegal (2.65) A22:00: (6.00) Wales (3.80) England (1.60) B22:00: (3.60) Iran (3.35) USA (2.10) BWednesday, Nov 30th18:00: (10.0) Tunisia (5.00) France (1.33) D18:00: (7.00) Australia (3.60) Denmark (1.58) D22:00: (5.20) Poland (3.70) Argentina (1.70) C22:00: (5.70) Saudi Arabia (3.80) Mexico (1.63) CThursday, Dec 1st18:00: (3.80) Croatia (3.45) Belgium (2.00) F18:00: (3.45) Canada (3.15) Morocco (2.25) F22:00: (8.50) Japan (4.80) Spain (1.37) E22:00: (12.0) Costa Rica (6.50) Germany (1.23) EFriday, Dec 2nd18:00: (8.00) S.Korea (4.50) Portugal (1.42) H18:00: (4.80) Ghana (3.45) Uruguay (1.80) H22:00: (11.0) Cameroon (5.20) Brazil (1.30) G22:00: (2.60) Serbia (3.40) Switzerland (2.70) G***odds are subject to change***
