Qatar become first host nation to lose opening World Cup game

Qatar became the first ever host nation to lose the opening game of a World Cup as Ecuador kicked off the tournament with a 2-0 victory thanks to a brace from Enner Valencia.

The former West Ham striker looked to have headed Ecuador in front inside three minutes after Qatar goalkeeper Saad Al-Sheeb made an unconvincing clearance, but the goal was ruled out after a lengthy VAR check for offside.

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The pressure continued to mount on Qatar, and 13 minutes later, Ecuador made the breakthrough. Al-Sheeb's hesitance to deal with Valencia as he drove into the penalty area ended with him clumsily tripping over the Ecuador striker, who then calmly dispatched the spot kick, with this being the first time a penalty has opened the scoring at a World Cup.

The dominance continued and the visitors doubled their lead in the 31st minute, with Valencia emphatically heading home Angelo Preciado's cross for his fifth goal at a World Cup finals.

There was some worry for Ecuador supporters when the 33-year-old looked to have hyperextended his knee late in the first half, but he would go on to play for another uneventful half an hour before eventually being replaced.

Fears were eased when Ecuador manager Gustavo Alfaro confirmed post-match that Enner Valencia would be available for their next group game against The Netherlands on Friday.

Alfaro said: "It was a great victory. As usual the first match of a World Cup you feel more pressure and tension. We were aware we were going to feel that. We are the youngest team at this World Cup.

"The most important thing was to win. We played the way we wanted. I'm not entirely happy but I am calm enough because we did what we had to do. We need to improve certain things to reach the round of 16.

"Enner [Valencia] will play against the Netherlands, there is no doubt about that."