Enner Valencia, the first hero in the Qatar desert, gives victory to Ecuador

When the opening ceremony was over and the cameras stopped focusing for a while on the box and its politicians, the first soccer man to claim his spot in the Qatari desert was the Ecuadorian Enner Valencia, who finished off the poor hostess with two goals in half an hour (plus another disallowed).

A good representative of those ordinary players in the elite who find heaven with his team, the striker of 33 years and 16 days lived the night of his life.

If the host went out into the field scared, he trembled with him like a baby.

His 1.77 meters were enough to do what he wanted at Al Bayt, a stadium that recreates the shape of the tents used by the nomads of the Gulf region and that rises practically in the middle of nowhere, a faithful reflection of soccer in his team, who left without finishing off on goal.

So disappointing was the night for the locals that a good group of fans did not even return to their seats after the break and many others left throughout the second half, with no interest in witnessing the first defeat of a host team in a World Cup.

When the referee whistled the end, the stands were half empty.

A very soulless image that was added to the large traffic jams at the entrances to the venue when there were still more than two hours left for the duel.

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The only party was that of Valencia, who had already scored one after three minutes, later annulled by the VAR.

After a quarter of an hour, he received a good filtered pass from Estrada and caused a penalty that he converted himself, playing with the goalkeeper.

And after 30 minutes he grabbed a cross from Ángelo Preciado through the air that he was in charge of adjusting in the corner.

Half an hour to put a painting on him and do reports in his country until he dies.

Nobody has made more holes with La Tri in history than him (37 goals) and the last five in a World Cup in Ecuador are his (he came from three in Brazil 2014).

After going through Everton, West Ham, the Mexican Tigres and, since 2020, Fenerbahce, the Valencia game will be rewound for the rest in Ecuador, which, incidentally, is placed on the list of candidates for the eighth.

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From the outset, the football afternoon started with a good portion of VAR, which revealed an offside in a play that required a thorough review of the regulations after the visitors had thanked heaven for Valencia's first sting a long time ago .

The goal was not worth it, but the effect for Qatar was devastating, on the ground throughout the evening, wrinkled behind and shivering on stage.

Few trembled more than their goalkeeper Al Sheeb, blindly into every Ecuadorian attack.

He went out to catch butterflies in the annulled goal, acted like a novice in the penalty action and could not say anything in the final header that made it 0-2.

The only ones who moved in Qatar were the boys from the animation stands who, properly instructed by the organizer, did not stop moving on the set.

Only a header from Almoez Ali in the discount of the first part -quite clear, yes-, another from Khoukhi and an attempt by Muntari after a ball from the cave could be rescued from the local dry land.

Ecuador, a defensive bone that has more than seven games without conceding, did not even flinch throughout the clash.

It would be necessary to throw away a lot of his history to find a World Cup match of his as calm and pleasant as this one.

After the break, it was enough for him to process a host team that had surrendered since it arrived at the stadium.

In Al Bayt, the only one who spoke about the field was Enner Valencia, captain general of Ecuador and the ruin of the sad Qatar, led by the Spanish Félix Sánchez Bas, who awaits a sentence at home if he does not improve against Countries Netherlands and Senegal.

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