- The 2022 World Cup in Qatar kicked off with the hosts taking on Ecuador in Group A.
- Memes aside, there was quite a gap in quality between the two sides with Ecuador never really being in danger in their 2-0 victory, the first loss for a host country in their opener in the tournament's history.
- Probably thinking something fishy was afoot, or possibly that Ecuador had a potential run to the knockout stages in them, the majority of the field went with Qatari selections.
- Unfortunately for Lenny and Pick One newcomer Robert, they drew the short straw of the opening match with striker Almoez Ali. He had one solid chance on net skew wide off his head and was otherwise useless to end on a 5.9 rating.
- Qatar's other starting striker, Akram Afif, didn't fare much better for our other Challenge debutante Martin. Afif received one of four yellow cards for his nation and didn't get a single shot on target, but did complete 94% of his passes to earn a 6.6 rating.
- Andrew had our best showing from the hosts on the day with team captain Hassan Al-Haydos. He did the best in his side's limited capacity to contain Ecuador's dynamic midfield making three key tackles en route to a 6.8 rated opening match.
- But our joint top scorers for the day were the two men who went with selections from the match winners. Michael Estrada (Scott) and Pervis Estupinan (Trevor) were frequent thorns in Qatar's side with crosses and layoffs and both would net 7.1 ratings for their efforts.
- Optimally, Enner Valencia would have given any backer a significant advantage after one match with his two goals and 8.7 rating for the victorious Ecuadorians.
Image Credits: Player Photos (Sofascore)