Qatar freeze in front of the world and flop on their big opening night

Qatar 0 Ecuador 2 THE MOST FRAUGHT and controversial World Cup stage of them all opened with a non-event.

The final stretch of a 12-year journey to this World Cup came across slick, fresh tarmac, lining miles of empty, rubble-strewn desert with nothing on the horizon but giant, squat electricity pylons linked by slack cables. Perhaps Fifa looked at those grand, inert links in a chain leading to the Qatar World Cup and thought about the symbolism.

Another feature of the opening bash was the walk-on of all previous World Cup mascots, dancing on stage before 2022 Qatar assumed its curious place among all that went before. A giant version of La’eeb, a design inspired by the traditional Arab headdress worn by men, loomed above the pitch.Qatar were hopelessly, cruelly out of their depth on it, monstered physically by a Ecuador side led by former West Ham striker Enner Valencia.

Instead they got a second goal, Valencia brilliantly heading Angelo Preciado’s right-wing cross. That sapped the game’s little energy entirely, as Ecuador coasted.All of Qatar’s squad play in their domestic league, which was suspended in September to allow the squad to get a four-month head start on preparation. What cohesion and spirit that might have brought was tipped by their inability to step up to Ecuador’s level: physically, they could not compete.

thejournal_ie Money can't buy everything

Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

World Cup 2022 team-by-team guide - Group GBrazil and Neymar embark out on campaign to end World Cup drought
Source: IrishTimes - 🏆 3. / 98 Read more »

World Cup 2022 team-by-team guide - Group HHow will Portugal fare given recent controversy surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo?
Source: IrishTimes - 🏆 3. / 98 Read more »

Qatar 2022: The carbon-neutral World Cup that never wasQatar and FIFA promised a carbon-neutral World Cup, but experts argue it is far from that. So Qatar lied what's new? Too bad, money will outweigh words how are you surprised I am shocked and surprised to find FIFA and Qatar are untrustworthy!
Source: thejournal_ie - 🏆 32. / 50 Read more »

World Cup 2022: Your complete guide to fixtures, results and standingsWorld Cup: Your complete guide to fixtures, results and standings via IrishTimesSport WorldCup2022
Source: IrishTimesSport - 🏆 2. / 99 Read more »

RTE viewers praise 'bold' Eamon Dunphy after legendary pundit takes aim at QatarRTE viewers praise 'bold' Eamon Dunphy after legendary pundit takes aim at Qatar on Late Late Show Jumping on the bandwagon Dunphy is your classic establishment pundit. He sat on rte panel for years and never once criticised John delaneys disastrous mgmt of irish soccer. His podcast show mainly focuses on trump Ukraine and the tories and rarely takes on any domestic issues
Source: IrishMirror - 🏆 4. / 98 Read more »

Sportsfile - M.Donnelly GAA Wheelchair Hurling / Camogie All-Ireland Final 2022 Photos | page 1
Source: sportsfile - 🏆 14. / 63 Read more »