FIFA World Cup 2022: What led to clashes between Ecuador and Qatar fans during the opening match?

The world's biggest football tournament, the FIFA World Cup, kicked off with a grand ceremony, followed by a match between host Qatar and Ecuador on Sunday. Qatar’s first ever World Cup match, however, ended in dismay after it got outplayed and embarrassed by Ecuador. It lost the match 2-0 to Ecuador in front of 67,372 fans at Al Bayt Stadium. This was the first time in the last 92 years of the soccer tournament that the host team had lost its opening game.

Thanks to the two goals scored by Ecuador captain Enner Valencia, Ecuador managed a comfortable 2-0 win over the host side Qatar on Sunday in the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2022. Following which, there were clashes among the fans of the two teams.

As per reports, tensions started after an Ecuadorian fan named Peter gestured "money, money" with his hands in order to taunt the home fans. One Qatari fan protested this and, in rage, asked Peter to "sit down" and shut his mouth. When the situation appeared to be getting out of hand, the Ecuadorian fan asked the enraged home fan to calm down.


After that, all seemed to be going fine as the duo became friendly and apologised to one another while filming it, and they exchanged pleasantries as well.

Ecuador's start to the FIFA World Cup 2022 campaign was successful, as the South American side earned three points by easily defeating Qatar at home. Ecuador relentlessly attacked the home side.

Apart from the two goals scored by captain Enner Valencia, a third was ruled out for offside as well, and it seemed that the home side had no answer to the attacks from Ecuador. However, the victory could have been even bigger for the South Americans as they missed many other chances.

FAQs:
When will FIFA World Cup start?
The FIFA World Cup started on November 20, 2022

Where can you watch the FIFA World Cup?
You can watch the ongoing FIFA World Cup on FOX Sports in the USA, and in India, you can watch it on Sports18.