Qatar vs Ecuador: 2022 World Cup, Group Stage match, Dream11 Predictions

Qatar vs Ecuador is the opening match in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar as the grand tournament begins on Sunday.

Match Details:

Location: Al Khor
Stadium: Al Bayt Stadium
Referee: Danielle Orsato
Time: 9:30 PM IST
Watch: JIO Cinema App, Sports 18/HD

Qatar vs Ecuador: Match Preview:

The opening match of the 2022 World Cup and the first ever match at the tournament to be staged in the Middle East, almost 12 years on from the Gulf State being awarded the tournament in controversial circumstances. 

Qatar have made big investments into football since, upgrading the infrastructure in the country and developing a national team worthy of doing itself justice on the biggest stage. This is undoubtedly the biggest match in a nation's history and it could genuinely go either way.

Ecuador, meanwhile, are armed with three Brighton players and led by former West Ham man Enner Valencia (remember him?). They're most definitely the least talked about side in their group – but maybe that'll work in their favour. 

Team News:

Qatar:

As Qatar's hosting of the World Cup guarantees them a place in the tournament, Felix Sanchez's side will go into the opener without any real competitive action under their belts.

They go into the clash with Ecuador, however, having recorded five consecutive friendly victories against Albania, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama.

Hassan Al-Haydos is likely to be the host nation's key threat as their most capped international (165) and captain. Qatar's frontman and all-time leading scorer, Almoez Ali, will also be helping to produce and score goals.

Until just a few weeks ago, there were doubts over whether Ecuador would even be playing at the World Cup.

However, after Byron Castillo's citizenship was cleared by FIFA and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), their place among the 32 teams was confirmed. Unfortunately for him though, he was not included in the 26-man squad.

Ecuador:

Ecuador suffered a first-half injury in their final warm-up game as Byron Castillo came off before the break, but the 24-year-old was in fact the player caught up in the ineligibility storm and has been left out of the Tricolor's 26-man squad.

As a result, either Angelo Preciado or Robert Arboleda ought to fill the right-back slot for the South Americans, despite the latter only just coming back from an ankle fracture, while none of Moises Caicedo, Carlos Gruezo or Jeremy Sarmiento were involved against Iraq either, but the trio simply arrived after that game had taken place.

Sarmiento will need a once-over on a minor muscular problem, though, while Gruezo has been training normally after overcoming a thigh issue, and the line will be led by all-time leading scorer Enner Valencia.

Qatar vs Ecuador: Head to Head:

Qatar and Ecuador are on an even footing as far as their head-to-head record is concerned and have won one game apiece out of three matches played between the two teams.

The previous meeting between the two sides took place in October 2018 and ended in a stunning 4-3 victory for Qatar.

Predicted Line-ups:

Qatar (5-4-1): Al Sheeb, Hassan, Al-Rawi, Miguel, Salman, Ahmed; Al-Haydos, Boudiaf, Hatem, Afif; Ali.

Ecuador (4-3-3): Dominguez, Preciado, Torres, Hincapie, Estupinian; Gruezo, Cifuentes, Caicedo; Mena, Valencia, Plata.

QAT vs ECU: Dream11 Predcitions: