On Sunday, the controversial World Cup kicked off in Qatar. Host nation Qatar, who have never before qualified for a World Cup, against Ecuador. The championship has been hotly debated and full of controversy since it was awarded in 2010. Now, 12 years later, the first kicks were taken at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor – one of the eight stadiums built just for the championship in Qatar. But one hour into the WC’s first game, something else startling happened. The crowd had started to leave the stadium, long before the match was over and the score was 2–0 to Ecuador. – These are sad pictures. It is perhaps the first of unfortunately several pictures showing that football culture is not very strong. It is unfortunately a hopeless situation for the man in the street to travel to a world championship where you have to break even to get there and live there. It’s sad, quite simply, says news’s expert Kristoffer Løkberg. Watch the crowd leave the stadium: According to Fifa, 67,372 spectators were in the stadium, and before kick-off the stands appeared to be quite full. – Honestly, I didn’t see that, because we are very focused on the game. But it’s normal when your national team loses, says Ecuador player Sebas Mendes to news about the audience leaving the stadium. FULL?: This is what it looked like in the stadium just before kick-off. Photo: Natacha Pisarenko / AP VAR chaos three minutes into the World Cup The weeks leading up to the opening match have been little about football, but instead have been characterized by both accusations against the authorities of a PR stunt and Gianni Infantino who lashed out at Qatar criticism. And sportingly, Qatar’s national team players had a tough encounter with the football World Cup. Because after just three minutes played in the opening match, Enner sent Valencia Ecuador into the lead. The sound level in the stadium dropped considerably – until the referee signaled for VAR. And after a couple of minutes, the verdict was clear – Valencia’s goal was canceled for offside. Qatar goalkeeper Saad Al-Sheeb was out to box the ball away, but collided with Ecuador’s Félix Torres. Torres kicked the ball forward on a volley to Valencia who scored, but the replays showed that Torres’ foot was offside. news’s experts Åge Hareide and Kristoffer Løkberg had to see the situation several times before it was possible to understand why VAR intervened. CRITICAL TO COMMUNICATION: news expert Kristoffer Løkberg. Photo: Nicolai Eid Trondal / news – He is second to last in scoring, so it is offside. He is involved in the game when he comes out again, so then it is correct, concludes Hareide. Kristoffer Løkberg is primarily critical of how the decision is communicated. – Here we have the main problem with VAR. It can end up with incomprehensible decisions. They sit and watch the images from all the world’s camera angles, and then it must be possible to get it out to the people. So that it is easy to accept and understand, says Løkberg. – If they could show the pictures straight away, the discussion would be over. Two-goal scorer in 31 minutes But Ecuador did not allow themselves to be affected by the chaos early in the match. About ten minutes after the cancellation, Al-Sheeb was once again in focus, as he was reckless in his own box and left Valencia on the ground. PENALTY MADE: Here, Valencia (TV) is brought to the ground by Al-Sheeb. Photo: Manu Fernandez / AP The Fenerbahçe striker scored the penalty himself and became WC 2022’s first goalscorer at the second attempt. And Valencia retained one of the main roles also beyond the match. For this year’s WC, he was just over half an hour old when he thumped in Ecuador’s, and his own, second goal of the evening. Al-Sheeb in the Qatar goal had no chance to stop the Ecuadorian’s header. Valencia’s scores also secured victory for Ecuador’s victory in the opening game. DOUBLE: In half an hour, Enner Valencia (TV) scored two goals for Ecuador. Photo: AMR ABDALLAH DALSH / Reuters Unusual national team Often the opening game in the World Cup is only associated with football joy and enthusiasm, but this year it has been different. Never before has there been so much controversy surrounding a WC organizer. At the same time, when it comes to purely sporting matters, the Qatari national team has been a blank slate for most. Never before have they qualified for a World Cup – the opening match against Ecuador was their first ever World Cup game. And it is not just the debutante status that is special with Qatar’s national team, which is in practice run as a club team. The charging has also been very different to most other WC nations:
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