Qatar – Ecuador

Qatar does not look weaker than Ecuador in the first match

The World Cup kicks off on Sunday 20 November. Qatar will play Ecuador at home. Both teams are considered group underdogs, with Senegal and the Netherlands also playing. Qatar will play in the World Cup for the first time. That said, the progress of the local team is evident. If they were to qualify, they would certainly qualify for Asia. Qatar won the last Asian Cup in 2019. The Spaniards have had a huge impact on local football. Qatar try to operate in the Catalan style. Felix Sanchez is currently coaching the national team. Several Spaniards are on his coaching staff. After winning the Asian Cup, Qatar have played friendlies and took part in the Arab Cup. In 2021, the team finished third in the tournament, losing to Algeria. There was also a series of friendly matches against European clubs in the summer of 2022. Qatar did not lose to Lazio and Fiorentina. Both meetings ended without goals. The national team has been preparing diligently for the home tournament. Five matches against average opponents have been played since October 13 alone. All the encounters were won. The most recent encounter was a 1-0 win over stalwart Albania. Ecuador qualify for the World Cup as one of the major underdogs of the tournament. The team finished third in South American qualifying, behind only Brazil and Argentina, but they made the most of their home-field advantage. There have been few notable away victories. At the moment Ecuador have some very high level players in their squad. First of all, Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo stands out. Offensively, Enner Valencia will be the man of the match. The veteran comes to Qatar with 13 goals in 12 Turkish league games. Plus Valencia was Ecuador's all-time top scorer in World Cup qualifying. Qatar go the outsider in a home match. You could argue with that. The team has been preparing hard and playing matches since June on a very serious schedule. Qatar have a well-played squad. They have the core of the national team from the victorious Asian Cup. Ecuador will find it difficult to cope with the starting pressure. There is no global disparity in terms of class between the two teams. It is logical to assume that it will be Qatar who will hold the initiative in the first leg and try to play to win. We should not forget about the home refereeing factor. Qatar can probably count on some loyalty from the referees. Against Ecuador and strange results of recent friendly games. The national side have drawn four of their five matches by a 0-0 scoreline.