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

Wales start their World Cup campaign against the United States on Monday evening.

Here we take a closer look at Wales’ first opponents:

For Germany, the symbolic sight was of Manuel Neuer, deep in South Korea territory, out on the left wing, losing the ball perhaps 80 yards from his own goal before Heung-Min Son raced away to score.

For Spain, it was of a shellshocked Vicente del Bosque trying to board the Chile coach. Perhaps the World Cup-winning manager was so accustomed to joining celebrating players on a bus that he failed to notice the Spanish-speaking victors were from South America, not Europe.

For Italy, it may have been the image of Fabio Cannavaro, so immaculate in the 2006 World Cup that he completed the 690 minutes of the tournament without a yellow card, dicing with a red in his desperate attempts to halt Slovakia.

The World Cup 2022 is here, with the showpiece event jammed into the middle of the domestic season in Europe.

France, the world champions, defend their title after being hit with several key injuries, including N’Golo Kante, Paul Pogba and Christopher Nkunku.

Brazil are the favourites, but Argentina’s unbeaten streak and victory over the Selecao in the Copa America final have built confidence in a crowning moment for Lionel Messi on the international stage.

Gareth Southgate will hope it’s England’s time, after heartache at Wembley in the Euro 2020 final against Italy, while Gareth Bale leads a Wales side determined to harness memories of Euro 2016 in their first mundial since 1958.

From top goalscorer and the players that emerge as stars to the team that seizes glory, here are Indy Sport’s predictions for the spectacle in Qatar:

The opening ceremony will be performed in the Al Bayt Stadium which will also host the first game of the tournament between Qatar and Ecuador.

Here’s a look at the stadium from The Independent’s Chief football writer Miguel Delaney:

It was vintage Louis van Gaal, if also a twist of the current Van Gaal. The Dutch coach once asked one of his analytical teams to come up with a very specific piece of research, as he wanted insight into a particular area of play. The staff member dutifully went off and did it, but had warned it might not be possible to express in numbers in the way Van Gaal wanted.

“This is low quality,” the coach said, when he finally saw it.

“But it’s exactly what you asked for!” the staff member protested. Van Gaal fixed him that look, before chuckling and patting him on the back. The Dutch coach is famously forthright, but he’s also unfailingly honest - not least with himself.

The 2022 World Cup in Qatar begins on 20 November as 32 teams aim to reach the final and become world champions on 18 December.

The tournament will be the first to be held in the Arab world and only the second to take place in Asia, after Japan and South Korea joint-hosted the event in 2002. This edition will be the last to feature just 32 teams, with the tournament being expanded from 2026 onwards in order to feature 48 nations.

Reigning champions France will be among the favourites, though no team has successfully defended the World Cup since Brazil in 1962, alongside fellow European sides England, Spain, and Belgium. Brazil and Argentina will also likely feature in the knockout stages, while Senegal could represent Africa’s biggest hopes of winning for the first time.

England will meet play-off winners Wales in Group B with USA and Iran. Spain and Germany have been drawn in a tough-looking Group E with Japan and Costa Rica, while Portugal meet Ghana, Uruguay and South Korea in a well-balanced Group H.

Hosts Qatar start their tournament against Ecuador, before taking on Senegal and Netherlands – the latter duo were set to be the first match of the 2022 World Cup before organisers moved Qatar’s match to be a day earlier. Because of excessive summer temperatures in the Gulf state, the Qatar World Cup will be the first to be staged in winter rather than summer.

Check out the full World Cup fixtures and schedule below:

Controversial Islamic preacher, Zakir Naik, who is wanted in India over allegations of terror-related activities and inciting hate speeches, reportedly arrived in Qatar for the 2022 Fifa World Cup.

The Indian Muslim preacher came to Qatar to give many religious lectures, Faisal Alhajri, a presenter at the Qatari state-owned sports channel Alkass said on Twitter.

“Preacher Sheikh Zakir Naik is present in Qatar during the World Cup and will give many religious lectures throughout the tournament,” Mr Alhajri said on Saturday.

An Irish journalist has said he was stopped by police in Qatar while filming coverage ahead of the 2022 World Cup.

Earlier this week, Qatari officials apologised after footage of a Danish camera crew being “mistakenly interrupted” on a live broadcast went viral.

And in the latest incident of that nature, Irish journalist Tony O’Donoghue told RTE how he was stopped by police while filming a piece to camera on Thursday (17 November).

During RTE’s coverage of the Republic of Ireland’s friendly fixture with Norway – a game Ireland lost 2-1 – O’Donoghue explained the moment to the broadcaster.

The wall. The train. The celebrations after another delivery was met by a thundering forehead or a close-range rebound tap-in.

England’s set-piece success at the 2018 World Cup was initially the mark of a well-prepared side, yet soon after was used as a barometer of progress: were the Three Lions really better than some of their opponents, or just better-prepared?

For many coaches those phrases are simply asking the exact same question, given the whole point of match training is to be in a state of readiness - physically, mentally, tactically, technically - to beat the upcoming opponent. That is after all, at the most base level, the idea in football: to win.

And yet, even at a domestic and club level, those who rely or thrive off dead ball scenarios still remain at times damned by faint praise, as though the need to score off a corner might somehow outweigh the benefit of actually doing so.

France star Karim Benzema has been ruled out of the World Cup in Qatar after tearing a muscle in his left thigh during training.

Benzema’s injury is another blow to a France side who are defending the title they won in Russia four years ago but are already missing key midfielders Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante.

The 34-year-old Real Madrid striker claimed the Ballon d’Or earlier this year and will be the first reigning winner of the prestigious award to miss the World Cup since Kevin Keegan in 1978.