Qatar became the first host country to lose their opening World Cup match as Ecuador captain Enner Valencia scored twice and condemned them to a 2-0 defeat.

Valencia’s first-half double – a penalty and a perfectly-placed header – proved too much for the hosts, who face even trickier tasks next up against Senegal and the Netherlands.

Felix Sanchez’s Qatar side are the reigning Asian champions, and can probably claim to be the most well-drilled side at the tournament, with all the squad home-based and having played 11 friendlies since July alone.

"There’s no excuse, we want to congratulate our opponents, they deserved to win,” said Sanchez after the game.

Qatar's goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb fails to stop a goal during the Qatar 2022 World Cup Group A football match between Qatar and Ecuador at the Al-Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, north of Doha on November 20, 2022. (Photo by Manan VATSYAYANA / AFP) (Photo by MANAN VATSYAYANA/AFP via Getty Images)

“There is a lot of room for improvement. Maybe the responsibility and nerves got the best of us. We didn’t start well. It was a terrible start actually.”

During Qatar’s preparations, they were beaten by Irish League champions Linfield in a friendly in Marbella in June. The game was part of the Gulf State’s World Cup preparations while for Linfield it was a warm-up game ahead of a UEFA Champions League qualifier.

Chris McKee scored the only goal of the game as Linfield claimed the shock win. Things look ominous or Qatar in their final two group games as they prepare to face Senegal and the Netherlands.

Qatar World Cup 2022: Hosts lost to Northern Irish side Linfield during World Cup preparations