World Cup: Ecuador beats Qatar, puts rumours to rest about being bribed to lose

The opening match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup between host nation Qatar and Ecuador has been done and dusted on Sunday evening following the opening ceremony at the Al Bayt Stadium. It basically proved that the Qatar team is not particularly good, and that perhaps there is no truth behind the bribery accusations surrounding the match.

It may be remembered that just days before kick-off, reports circulated claiming that the host nation bribed several players from the Ecuador side an amount which totals US$7.4 million. In return, they are supposed to engineer a 1-0 win for Qatar with the goal coming in the second half.

According to Fox Sports, the allegations originated from author and political affairs expert Amjad Taha, who cites sources from within the national team camps.

Qatar head coach Felix Sanchez called the allegations "misinformation" manufactured on the internet. Now, with Qatar suffering a 0-2 loss, netizens have started to create memes saying that the Ecuadorian players are swimming in cash after taking the alleged bribe while beating their opponents anyway.

There is no evidence to support the match-fixing allegations at least for now. One thing is clear though, Qatar would never have qualified for the tournament this year had they not been given the automatic invite as part of their hosting privileges.

Qatar has never qualified for a World Cup, and were given the customary wild card invite as hosts. This naturally hits a raw nerve on some football crazy nations who narrowly missed out on a slot due to tough competition in the qualifiers.

The quality of play from the Qatari side was largely underwhelming, with passing
mediocre and defending even worse. Locals could not keep their pride long enough either, with most leaving in disgust at half-time, leaving thousands of empty seats in the stadium.

Qatar is the first host nation ever to lose their opening match at a World Cup. They will be facing the Netherlands and Senegal next, with little hope of better results for the remainder of their tournament.

In fact they were lucky to lose 2-0 in their opening match, with Ecuador actually finding the back of the net three times. Enner Valencia was denied his opening goal by an innovative new robot semi-automatic offside linesman. However, he managed to score two more goals which could no longer be disallowed by any technological innovation.

Qatar's best chance came late in the game with substitute Mohammed Muntari hitting the roof of the net.

Meanwhile, chaos also erupted at the Fan Festival venues due to some clashes between local security and an overwhelming number of fans.