Qatar have seen the ball in the net twice in the opening 15 minutes of the World Cup, but neither at the right end for the host nation.
Ecuador had scored after just three minutes through former West Ham forward Enner Valencia. A free-kick was not cleared properly after goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb flapped at the ball. Eventually it was hooked back across goal for Enner Valencia to knock in.
Enner Valencia thought he had the first goal of the #FIFAWorldCup
Turns out VAR did not agree! 👀
It remains 0-0#BBCFootball #BBCWorldCup pic.twitter.com/uthdHK7Pxr
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) November 20, 2022
"It's a very strange offside decision, but one that happens when the goalkeeper comes off the line like that."@DrJoeMachnik breaks down the VAR decision: pic.twitter.com/hpEhyI7YNa
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) November 20, 2022
That goal was disallowed after a lengthy VAR review, which established that in the initial ball in and header, the next Ecuador player to play the ball was narrowly offside.
Just 12 minutes later, they would have the ball in the net again. Ecuador cut through Qatar in the middle of the pitch, sending Valencia through on goal. He rounded the goalkeeper and was brought down. After the ball was cleared off the line, a penalty was awarded, which Valencia could not have been cooler with.
The first goal of the #FIFAWorldCup has come from the penalty spot!#BBCFootball #BBCWorldCup pic.twitter.com/BLnogzARhQ
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) November 20, 2022
THE FIRST GOAL OF THE 2022 FIFA WORLD CUP BELONGS TO ECUADOR 🇪🇨🇪🇨🇪🇨 pic.twitter.com/sGTPm4VZaI
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) November 20, 2022
Valencia now has his name down as the Ecuadorian with the most WC goals and the first scorer of the 2022 edition. Qatar are running the risk of being the first host nation to lose the opening game of the World Cup.