An impressive ceremony for the Qatar World Cup.. and Al-Annabi loses the kick-off

At the start of the Qatar World Cup 2022, and in the opening match hosted by Al Bayt Stadium, Qatar lost to Ecuador with two clean goals.

The Ecuadorian national team owes credit for this victory to Enir Valencia, the Turkish striker of Fenerbahce, who scored the goals of the match in the 16th and 31st minutes from a penalty kick, and the referee canceled a goal in the third minute for offside.

The Ecuadorian national team dominated the course of the game throughout the two halves of the match, at a time when Qatar’s Al-Annabi did not appear at its usual level, which qualified it to win the 2019 Asian Cup title and third place during the 2021 edition of the Arab Cup.

Despite losing the start, the Qatar national team will try to compensate during the confrontation that brings it together with its Senegalese counterpart next Friday, in Group A, while Ecuador faces the Netherlands with the ambition of early qualification.

The Qatari team played its first World Cup match at a time when Ecuador returned to the world championship after an absence of eight years.

The match was preceded by a dazzling opening ceremony, which witnessed many artistic and lyrical performances, in the presence of many world leaders, Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Gianni Infantino, FIFA President.

The opening ceremony began with a group of dance performances that ignited the enthusiasm of the crowd, preceded by a lyrical piece of heritage at the beginning of the ceremony.

The opening ceremony witnessed a special presentation of the championship mascot, which flew in the air to the sound of music, after which the famous movie star Morgan Freeman delivered a speech accompanied by the young Qatari Ghanem Al-Moftah, Goodwill Ambassador to Qatar.

The ceremony also witnessed a performance of songs from previous World Cup tournaments, followed by a multilingual song with the participation of the famous Korean singer Jungkook.

A documentary film was broadcast of a group of young people playing football outdoors with the participation of Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani during his youth, and Emir Hamad appeared in the cabin of Al Bayt Stadium and signed the shirt he wore decades ago.

Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of Qatar, delivered a speech on the sidelines of the opening ceremony, during which he welcomed fans from all over the world, regardless of their nationality, religion or race.

Emir Tamim stressed that Qatar has made strenuous efforts to organize one of the most successful tournaments in the history of the World Cup, expressing his hope that the whole world will witness a dazzling football festival on the land of Doha.