World Cup: Unfancied Qatar and Ecuador eye best chance for early points

DOHA – World Cup debutants Qatar and South America’s lowest-qualifying nation Ecuador both know Sunday’s opener is their best chance for a win in Group A before facing much scarier rivals.

Ranked a lowly 50th and 44th in the world respectively, hosts Qatar and Ecuador will be hard-pressed to progress as one of the top two in their group without winning at the Al Bayt Stadium.

The more daunting prospects of African champions Senegal and perennial powerhouse the Netherlands await them next.

Both, however, have reason for quiet confidence.

Qatar had longer than most squads to bond during European camps, beat several Central American sides in recent friendlies and draw self-belief from their 2019 Asian Cup title.

Though many outsiders expect Qatar to be drubbed in all three games, home fans know forwards Akram Afif and Almoez Ali have both talent as well as experience, and pray they can penetrate an Ecuador team who have been struggling to score of late.

“Obviously, I’m not talking about Qatar winning the World Cup, but competing at a good level against those three teams is our challenge,” said coach Felix Sanchez.

“Then this is football, and you never know what can happen.

“We have been waiting so long for this moment... We are very much aware of who we are, where we are coming from and who we are facing.

“We know it will be a great challenge for us. Within the limit of our possibilities, we consider ourselves a very competitive team. We are worthy of being here.”

Sanchez also dismissed a report last week by Amjad Taha, an expert in strategic political affairs and regional director of the British Centre in Saudi Arabia, who said that eight Ecuadorean players have been bribed US$7.4 million (S$10.2 million) to lose the match.

“There has been a lot of misinformation on social media but our team spirit is high and we are not affected by external distractions,” he said.

Ecuador are rightly favourites on Sunday, having punched their way into the fourth and last spot from arguably the world’s toughest qualifying campaign.

They boast more recognisable names than the Qataris, including Premier League midfielder Moises Caicedo and veteran striker Enner Valencia.

On Friday, coach Gustavo Alfaro urged Ecuador – whose best result was a last-16 finish in 2006 – to “do things differently” without elaborating.

“I asked my players what they want,” he said.

“Do they just want to participate in the World Cup or do they want to have the best World Cup in Ecuador’s history?

“I said that if they just want to participate, I won’t waste my time. I’ll leave.”

Both teams will seek to ignore the razzmatazz of the opening ceremony and the pressure of a vast audience, with way more focus on what would otherwise be a less-than-mouthwatering game for global spectators.

Even if they lose, Qatar will want to at least avoid humiliation and prove that they are worthy of a place, given the torrent of criticism over Fifa’s awarding of the tournament to a nation that had never qualified before.

They will also be happy to be kicking a ball rather than dealing with the controversies over their nation’s human rights record that reached a peak as the tournament arrived.

Ecuador, too, will be relieved just to be walking out after they faced possible expulsion over an accusation of fielding an ineligible player, Byron Castillo. REUTERS