After a spectacular opening ceremony, attended by the famous American actor Morgan Freeman and recalling previous World Cup editions, Al Thani said, "Starting from this evening and for 28 days, we will follow, along with the entire world, God willing, the great football festival, in this open space for human and civilizational communication."

The opening match between Qatar and Ecuador in Group A started with intense excitement from the very first seconds after a goal by the visitors, scored by Enner Valencia in the third minute, was disallowed for offside from the start of the play.

A penalty was later awarded to the visitors, which the same player converted into the first goal for the home team.

The same group includes the Netherlands and Senegal, who meet tomorrow.

The match is still ongoing, and there is complete control of the field by the Ecuadorian team, which is outplaying Qatar and currently leads by two clean goals.

The Qatari team is showing weak and shaky performance and seems lost on the field so far, which is unbefitting for the opening match of this global tournament.