Enner Valencia bagged a brace to inspire Ecuador to a 2-0 win over hosts, Qatar, in the opening game of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Three minutes into the game, Enner Valencia thought he had scored the first goal of the tournament, but the effort did not stand following a VAR decision to rule out the goal for offside.
Enner Valencia and his teammates kept up the pressure and got due reward when the forward converted from the spot for the first goal of the tournament to put Ecuador 1-0 up.
Despite the cheers from their fans, Qatar failed to string passes together in a porous first half and received extra blow when Enner Valencia bagged his brace in the 31st to gift the South Americans a 2-0 lead at halftime.
Qatar emerged from the break to control possession, passing the ball back and forth with no threat to the Ecuadorians who were comfortable sitting back with the two-goal advantage in the bag.
A drab second period did not produce any goal and Ecuador walked off the 60,000 capacity Al Bayt Stadium with a 2-0 win over Qatar in the opening game of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Senegal will face Netherlands in the other Group A game on Monday November 21, 2022.
