Match 1
Sunday 20 November, 16.00 GMT @ Al Bayt Stadium
Group A
Day 1: Qatar vs Ecuador - Match Discussion Only Please.
- Thread starter Samid
- Start date
Match 1
Sunday 20 November, 16.00 GMT @ Al Bayt Stadium
Group A
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Eh...?
Just checked the world rankings and Qatar are higher than Ivory Coast, Ghana and Slovakia amongst others. I presumed they'd be shite.
Unsurprising if that is the case
I don't think they have a single player playing in a foreign league.
Won the Asian cup 3 years ago beating South Korea and Japan on the way.
Not too shabby, just me being ignorant then it would seem.
Yeah, they acquitted themselves rather well in last year's Concacaf Gold Cup.
Hoping Ecuador does a number on them.
Hoping Ecuador does a number on them.
They have quite a few key players that were originally from other countries and subsequently naturalized, which is certainly a factor in their success relative to population.
Not against naturalized players in general, but in Qatar's case, one can't help but feel a bit suspicious whether these players actually feel Qatari and want to represent their country, or just enjoy the money.
And it's not just football either. They're doing/have done the same in several other sports. In fact football is probably more recent.
Think Qatar will surprise people.
Qatar to win, to the delight of the Ecuadorian players...
Go go Qatar. Big fan.
Are Qatar the baddies?
I concur, but it would be cheaper and easier to buy referees than a whole squad.
My money would be on Ecuador for this one but I think with Qatar being the host they’ll go for it.
Iran.
Why did you run?
Just felt like it.
The hosts usually win these types of World Cup openers.
FIFA are going to make sure they make it out of the group stage.
Hope the opening goal and ensuing celebration is as good as Siphiwe Tshabalala.
Doubt it...but if the score is 1-0....
Qatar to win 1-0 after an unexplainable ecuador own goal by their gk shooting the ball hard to his own net at a goal kick and then running and celebrating to the local crowd and doing a dance with the host players
The camera angle feeds to the VAR room are going to be dodgier than the ones in La Liga.
Yeah all over the place.
Big fan of Qatar. Hope they go far in the tournament.
It will happen qnd wouldn't be surprised if it hasn't already been happening in previous qatar matches. This world cup could easily make less people around the world follow football
Don't know if the bribery reports as to the Ecuador game are true, but considering Qatar was fine with bribing their way into being WC hosts, I can't imagine they'd have any compunctions about bribing their way to wins either. They've opened themselves up to legitimate skepticism here regardless of the truth.
Isn’t the Qatari league one of the stronger ones in that part of the world?
Bahraini journalist throws shade at Qatar, shock horror. There are some legitimate issues with this World Cup, though I often wonder how much of the negativity is being stoked by Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain. If you’re not familiar, the three of them have had it in for Qatar ever since they supported the popular uprisings of the Arab Spring. Shocking that autocratic dictators felt this way, I know.
To give an example of how far they are willing to go, the UAE hired a Russian hacker to plant a story on the website of the Qatari state news praising Hamas and the like and then used that as a justification for a naval blockade that almost lead to the complete severance of the Qatari food supply.
fifa and their officials dance naked in front of camera for that winner a fitting start to the tournament.He offers no evidence or source , also throws out random numbers, just seems like BS, don't even know who the guy is.
Ecuador to pump them 3-0.
Qatar lost to Albania last week.
Qatar lost to Albania last week.
Yes, but thats only because someone forgot to initial the cheques...
Game of the round
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Fake news or not it's 100% possible