Valencia, who already scored an early header cancelled out by VAR, gave Ecuador a well-deserved lead from the penalty spot in the 16th minute, before continuing their effort from 12 yards with a brilliant header shortly after the half-hour mark.
Qatar, betting on a World Cup adjustment for the first time, had short-lived moments, however, the Asian country absolutely overcame for long periods the adjustment of Group A in Al Khor and became the first World Cup host to lose its opening adjustment. .
The preparation for the Qatar tournament was fraught with controversy and talking points, and it only took a few minutes to move to the court.
Enner Valencia gave the impression of giving Ecuador the lead in the 3rd minute with a header at point-blank range, but the VAR judged that there was an offside in the play, leaving fans and public perplexed.
FIFA revealed 10 minutes later that Michael Estrada’s shin had been offside before the ball sent a scissors in the way to Valencia, but Ecuador was still able to put its nose in front in the 16th minute.
The resolution of Qatari goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb led to the chain of chances that accompanied the disallowed goal, and a recklessness in the play led him to bring down Valencia when he tried to pass the ball.
After Al Sheeb was admonished for his troubles, Valencia stood up to send the penalty with unwavering confidence, passing the ball to the back corner as Al Sheeb dived into the way.
Despite a first 30 minutes that included 3 yellow cards, Ecuador dominated, and it wasn’t long before Valencia doubled their team’s lead.
Angelo Preciado’s superb cross from the right spotted the Fenerbahce man, who accurately headed Al Sheeb’s back corner from 12 yards.
In the final seconds of added time of five minutes, Qatar could have halved the deficit for Almoez Ali to send a header past the post.
After this opportunity was missed for Qatar, Ecuador was able to stay after the resumption without looking threatening in search of a third goal.
Romario Ibarra saw a curling effort deflected through Al Sheeb, while Qatar’s chance of the game came in the 63rd minute when Ro-Ro launched a header past the post after finding a diagonal ball.
With 15 minutes to go, Ecuador won a blow when Valencia was forced to limp, with the double striker suffering what gave the impression of a knee problem in the first half.
To Qatar’s credit, they performed much better than in the first half, and Mohammed Muntari sent a shot over Hernan Galindez’s crossbar after hooking a ball over the top.
However, it is a rare moment of encouragement for one of the minnows of the competition, who already faces an uphill war to avoid being eliminated before the knockout stages.
The opening match of Group A will take place on Monday when Senegal, winners of the Africa Cup of Nations, face the Netherlands, three-time World Cup finalists.