(Qatar World Cup) Worst host in history?

Qatar desperately needs to regain Asian Cup winning mentality

　　China News Agency, Beijing, November 21 (Hao Lingyu) In the opening game of the 2022 World Cup that ended in the early morning of the 21st, Beijing time, the host team Qatar lost 0:2 to the Ecuador team, breaking the myth of "the host team is undefeated in the first game" and faced " The fate of the worst host in history.

　　In the past 21 World Cups, the host country has been unbeaten in the first game, which is almost an iron rule.

Whether it is the traditional strong teams such as Italy and France, or the less powerful host teams such as Russia and South Africa, they can all retreat in the first game of the World Cup.

　　Before the start of the World Cup, Qatar ranked 50th in the latest world rankings, while their rival Ecuador ranked 44th.

Compared with the Dutch team ranked 8th in the world in the same group and the African champion Senegal ranked 18th in the world, Qatar coach Sanchez is obviously more sure of defeating the "Plateau Demon". The team is a solid team."

　　Although the Qatar team used a customary formation and a mature team, they obviously failed to bring the good form of winning the Asian Cup in 2019 to their World Cup debut when they entered the highest stage of football for the first time.

On the other hand, its opponent Ecuador has mastered the rhythm of the game at the beginning. Veteran Valencia pierced the goal of Qatar three times in the game, and finally helped the team beat Qatar 2-0 with the last two effective goals and won the World Cup. .

　　In the history of the World Cup, Qatar is not the first host team to fall behind on paper in the finals.

In the 2018 World Cup, Russia, the host team, ranked last among the top 32, but beat Saudi Arabia 5-0 in the first game. With a record of 2 wins and 1 loss, the team ranked second in the group, and beat Spain in the 1/8 finals. Quarterfinals; South Africa, the host of the 2010 World Cup, encountered the Central American powerhouse Mexico in the first game. They scored a goal first and drew with their opponents.

　　In contrast, the first defeat of the current host team Qatar is somewhat surprising.

The double stars Almoyez Ali and Akram Afif, who were given high hopes before the game, performed mediocre. Not only did they fail to score a goal, they also received a yellow card each; Wonderful defensive counterattack, but many mistakes, allowing the Ecuadorians to infiltrate repeatedly; the data of 5 shots and 0 shots on goal highlights the embarrassment of this team lacking World Cup experience.

　　The host's first undefeated golden body was broken, and the Qatar team urgently needs to regain the style of the 2019 Asian Cup champion.

Facing traditional Asian teams such as Japan, South Korea, and Iran, which were generally favored before the game, the Qatar team at that time withstood the pressure on and off the field and gave full play to its own level.

Facing a strong opponent in the final, they lost the burden of "wanting to win and fear losing" and beat the Japanese team 3:1 to win the championship.

　　"Although they have been preparing for this for 12 years, their understanding of the World Cup needs to be a little deeper." This media comment may be the key to Qatar's loss.

　　In the next game, it may be difficult for the Qatar team to grab points from the African champion Senegal and the "uncrowned king" Netherlands. With the mentality that a calf is not afraid of a tiger, enjoy football and enjoy the World Cup stage that may only be once in a lifetime for some players.

　　In the 2010 World Cup, the host South African team also faced many strong enemies in the same group.

Although they failed to break out of the group stage, they defeated the French team and drew with the Mexican team. With 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss in the group stage, they left a memory worth cherishing for their fans.

Fans expect this Asian team to also complete this World Cup journey without regrets.

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