Qatar v Ecuador

A Game Of Few Chances Expected?

We're not expecting a thriller in the opening game of World Cup 2022. Ecuador have drawn four of their last 5 games 0-0, and Qatar come into the tournament as automatically qualified hosts and have not really been tested in the run up to the tournament.

Qatar will have the obvious home support behind them, so expect them to be on the front foot and Ecuador to perhaps sit back and soak up some of the early pressure.

Remember, this is a group with Senegal and Netherlands, so the battle for a qualifying position in this group may come down to results against second favourites Senegal. A result for either team here however will put them in a good position going into their other two games.

Ecuador have proven during qualification that they can grind out results against the big teams – they qualified from a tough South American federation. They actually scored as many goals as Argentina during that qualifying campaign. Ecuador also pulled off draws against Argentina and Brazil during qualifying.

We can't see Qatar getting a win here, even with home support. Ecuador would be our winner if we had to pick one, but we're going for a game of few chances and a goalless draw in this opening game.