Day 1: Qatar vs Ecuador - Match Discussion Only Please.

2mufc0 said:
Even if they went for prayers they could have come back? Or even prayed after the match at home. But agree your explanation is plausible bit I think it's unlikely. I also know tickets were really hard to come by for this game and it's a shame these fans didn't stick around as there were plenty of others that would have if they could have got their hands on them.
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Fair enough fella. As I say it's just a thought I had when I saw them walking. But I wasn't aware of timings etc so accept I may have been wrong.

The dress of those walking was also relevant in my thought process. They looked like locals and the conditions for a local at prayer times are different to visitors. Some places praying at home isn't an option when the adhan goes.

Again not saying I am right.
 
Just saw the highlights. Was Qatar as comprehensively shit as they appeared in the YouTube clip I watched?
 
calodo2003 said:
Just saw the highlights. Was Qatar as comprehensively shit as they appeared in the YouTube clip I watched?
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Yeah, they were really bad. As you said you saw the highlights, so they were probably worse than they appeared in that clip.
 
calodo2003 said:
Worst host ever vis à vis football talent? I can’t think of a worse one, but I also cannot recall super old WC sites off the top of my head.
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Well every single host has qualified for the 2nd round up until South Africa in 2010. And they weren’t even too bad going out with 4 points

Qatar will be comfortably the worst ever team to host a wc
 
That Enner Valencia looks a good player.

Be a hell of a signing for someone like West Ham.
 
calodo2003 said:
Worst host ever vis à vis football talent? I can’t think of a worse one, but I also cannot recall super old WC sites off the top of my head.
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Yeah it was bordering on farcical how bad they were, especially in the first half hour. Looked like they won a competition to be there (which in a sense…)
 
rpitroda said:
Worst opening game by a host I can recall - not just the result but the performance. They were comprehensively beaten.
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Right you are. It's not about the result or even individual mistakes. They were collectively atrocious. League 1 or League 2 level at best. The team didn't know how to press, they didn't know how to take up new positions after a completed pass to help their teammates and it took most players far too long to control the ball that they anyhow didn't know what to do with once they got it under wraps.
 
Qatar were really poor. The quality of the players as well.
I doubt Ecuador will qualify in this group.
 
Telsim said:
I said that. And it has nothing to do with Islam, or Muslims, or the people around that guy. And everything to do with how absolute power operates with impunity and cruelty. Which is what the royal family and those close to it possess. If this World Cup was in China, which wouldn't surprise me in the slightest by this point, I'd be saying they'd send the secret police after him and put him in a camp. If mocking authoritarian regimes who trample callously on innocent lives is enough to get me banned, then get it over with.
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I appreciate the explanation.
 
calodo2003 said:
I should have put ‘highlights’ in quotes. They didn’t seem to flatter Equador either.
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Ecuador were good. They just slowed down after it was clear how much better they were than Qatar, which makes sense when you consider they have to prepare to play the Netherlands and Senegal. No point in risking injuries or wasting all their energy in a game that they were clearly going to win. I think they could come 2nd ahead of Senegal tbh. There were definitely some talented players in that group. Interested to see how Senegal look tomorrow without Mane.
 
KikiDaKats said:
Qatar were really poor. The quality of the players as well.
I doubt Ecuador will qualify in this group.
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I think they naturalised some players too, I only saw the highlights they were shocking the goalkeeper looked like it was his first game in football
 
Qatar were abysmal. Almoez Ali looked like he never played football before, Al Haydos gave one good pass and Afif was so desperate at one point he came to get the ball directly out of the feet of his CB's as a striker. Those three are supposed to be their best players.

They created nothing bar maybe one chance that was offside and a shot from a long ball. Barely could string any passes together. They didn't even press.

Very weird. It's like they were shaking in their boots. No enthusiasm, nothing. The only one who really tried was that Brazilian rightback.
 
Hopefully tomorrow's games are better. Holland-Senegal should be a cracker although the loss of Mane will make a big difference. England will be England so not holding out any hope in getting much excitement in that game. Wales-USA on the other hand could be interesting.
 
Qatar must be better than that given their recent wins. Probably a mix of where they are/occasion getting to them.

It's pretty much impossible for them to qualify, but expect them to be better against Senegal and Netherlands, although I expect they'll lose by bigger margins to both
 
First host nation to lose in the opening game of the World Cup. They're already in the history books. If the Netherlands win the group, as expected, Ecuador vs Senegal is shaping up to be an interesting game.
 
groovyalbert said:
Qatar must be better than that given their recent wins. Probably a mix of where they are/occasion getting to them.

It's pretty much impossible for them to qualify, but expect them to be better against Senegal and Netherlands, although I expect they'll lose by bigger margins to both
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Wasn't sure if this was sarcasm, given that they recently got destroyed by Canada and Croatia under 23s in preparation for this tourney
 
KikiDaKats said:
Qatar were really poor. The quality of the players as well.
I doubt Ecuador will qualify in this group.
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Ecuador are hardly chocked full of world beaters, but they have an energetic, physical team that qualified from one of the better confederations alongside two of the tournament’s favorites. Senegal lost their best players and the Dutch has question marks over their attack as well. I wouldn’t count them out.
 
All 3 of tomorrow's games scream low scoring to me. I reckon we'll have to wait til Tuesday to see an entertaining game, where I fully expect Argentina and France to dismantle Saudi Arabia and Australia respectfully.
 
Well deserved win for Ecuador and important one as they have a chance to progress to knockout stages, with Mane unavailable for Senegal. Qatar are poor but at least it wasn't a trashing, though it may come in remaining 2 games.
 
InfiniteBoredom said:
Ecuador are hardly chocked full of world beaters, but they have an energetic, physical team that qualified from one of the better confederations alongside two of the tournament’s favorites. Senegal lost their best players and the Dutch has question marks over their attack as well. I wouldn’t count them out.
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Ecuador are my dark horses for this tournament.
 
a player like Neymar tonight could have had the Golden Boot wrapped up from just this game alone
 
Lee565 said:
Up their with Saudi Arabia of 2002
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I disagree, I just think people are seriously underrating Ecuador. Brazil and Argentina both struggled against them and they have the youngest average aged squad in the world cup. (To put it into perspective, Ecuador's last 2 qualifying games against Brazil were 1-1 draws). They haven't conceded a goal in 11+ hours and have had some impressive wins in their qualifying campaign such as a 2-0 win vs Chile, 6-1 win vs Colombia and 4-2 win vs Uruguay.
Ecuador will give Netherlands a game.
 
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Not related to this match but any decent app which shows the fixture list and time of kick off..
 
Been reading a about Argentinian football history, read this just yesterday:

"You have to understand when you talk about World Cups there are World Cups before satellite television and World Cups after satellite," said Antonio Rattin, Argentina's captain in 1966, when England won as the host nation. "Before satellite the host nation always did well, because the only way FIFA made money was from selling tickets to the games. I remember in '66 there was not a single ad in the stadium. So the host team had to do well. Until 1970, the country that organised the World Cup either won it or made it into the final. Sweden played the final. Who the feck are Sweden in football? Chile earned third place. . . Empty stadiums, unless the hosts were playing. After satellites they could make money from TV, so it was not so important."

Perhaps Qatar are just too late to the party! And poor Sweden.
 
crossy1686 said:
It’s insulting that Qatar are in the competition and a storied team (and current European champions) didn’t qualify for a World Cup because their qualifying pool is one of the hardest in the world.
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I don’t care about Qatar nor do I care about Italy’s history. Italy didn’t qualify. It is what it is.
 
Roane said:
Fair enough fella. As I say it's just a thought I had when I saw them walking. But I wasn't aware of timings etc so accept I may have been wrong.

The dress of those walking was also relevant in my thought process. They looked like locals and the conditions for a local at prayer times are different to visitors. Some places praying at home isn't an option when the adhan goes.

Again not saying I am right.
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A quick google search tells you the last prayer time today in Doha was at 6:16 p.m. And that the game started at 7 p.m.
 
pratyush_utd said:
Not related to this match but any decent app which shows the fixture list and time of kick off..
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I'm using SofaScore. You can follow only leagues you care about, including the World Cup, and check KO times. You can also set reminders on your phone. Also has some nifty stats, if you care about that.
 
InfiniteBoredom said:
Ecuador are hardly chocked full of world beaters, but they have an energetic, physical team that qualified from one of the better confederations alongside two of the tournament’s favorites. Senegal lost their best players and the Dutch has question marks over their attack as well. I wouldn’t count them out.
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I agree that they're being underestimated due to how atrocious Qatar was to watch. I personally think they go through ahead of Senegal but it is important to remember the altitude advantage they have in qualifying.
 
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