Liveupdated

Qatar vs Ecuador LIVE: World Cup 2022 result, final score and reaction as Enner Valencia double downs hosts

Qatar 0-2 Ecuador: Valencia netted twice in the first half as the South Americans outclassed their hosts in the tournament opener

Sunday 20 November 2022 13:59 EST

‘Today I feel gay, I feel disabled': Fifa president Gianni Infantino at World Cup

Enner Valencia’s two first-half goals led Ecuador to a dominant 2-0 victory over Qatar as the home nation froze on their big night with an error-strewn display that left them as the first World Cup hosts to lose their opening game.

Valencia, who had already had a third-minute header ruled out by VAR for offside, slotted in the tournament’s opening goal from the penalty spot in the 16th minute after being brought down by nervous-looking goalkeeper Saad Alsheeb.

He powered home a 31st-minute header for the second and the South Americans then cruised home as an outclassed Qatar struggled to mount any meaningful attacks and had only a fluffed header by Almoez Ali to show for their limited efforts.

The other teams in Group A, Senegal and the Netherlands, meet in one of three games on Monday.

Relive the action with our live blog below.