The long, sometimes agonising, wait finally complete, Qatar’s quest for a statement worthy of the occasion extinguished not long after Morgan Freeman and the fireworks.
Ecuador and Enner Valencia were the great party poopers on Sunday night in Al Khor, the South Americans striking twice early on to claim the opening match of the first Fifa World Cup held in the Middle East.
For Qatar, they were history-makers in more than one instance, initially as the trailblazing Arab hosts of football’s marquee tournament, then as the only home team to lose on their big bow.
More than 4,000 days had passed since the small Gulf State was awarded the game’s grandest event, the road long and often rocky, and the magnitude of the moment told.
The burden of the build-up, protracted and pockmarked by controversy, seemed to have taken its toll. Qatar looked nervous at a packed and expectant Al Bayt Stadium, and understandably so: reigning Asian champions or not, this was their first World Cup appearance overall, and to have it on home soil only added to the pressure.
In truth, that was evident on Sunday before a ball was even kicked. Pedro Miguel, the Brazil-born right-back, was visibly moved to tears as the Qatar national anthem rang around the immaculate arena, succumbing to his emotions as the words were belted back from the stands.
The start certainly did not help settle the home side. After a spectacular opening ceremony in which Oscar winner Freeman took centre stage, Ecuador needed only three minutes to silence their surroundings.
Valencia reacted quickest to Angelo Preciado’s acrobatic volley when Qatar goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb strayed too far from his line, and the former West Ham United forward headed into the empty net.
However, his joy was short-lived. The Video Assistant Referee was checking the goal, the news confirming as much on the giant screen drawing whistles from the home support. Replays showed Michael Estrada’s lower leg was offside during the initial attack, and Ecuador’s lead was rescinded. Cue a cacophony of catcalls.
Yet Qatar were soon behind for real. On 15 minutes, Valencia raced through and, as he rounded Al Sheeb, the goalkeeper thrust out his arms and brought him down.
Valencia placed the ball on the spot, inhaled deep, sauntered forward and sent Al Sheeb the wrong way. This time, for Qatar, there would be no reprieve.
The goal took the Ecuador captain, 33, to four in the World Cup, making him his country’s lead scorer in the competition. Then, just after the hour, he climbed to five.
This time, Valencia met Preciado’s deep cross to brilliantly head down past Al Sheeb, the ball nestling inside the far post. The Ecuadorians all around Al Bayt Stadium, the majority gathered behind their team’s goal and the rest easy to spot in their vibrant yellow, erupted. Soon, they bounced almost in unison.
On the other side, to a man, Qatar looked lost. Akram Afif, the most recent Asian footballer of the year and supposedly his side’s standout, struggled to make any impact. Captain Hassan Al Haydos, with close to 170 caps for this national team, was poor both in possession and out.
If only he had helped reduce the deficit moments before half-time. Finding space on the right, Al Haydos crossed to Almoez Ali but the striker, positioned right in front of goal and without an opposition defender in sight, somehow glanced his header off target. Ali, remember, struck a record nine times as Qatar triumphed at the 2019 Asian Cup. He is his country's joint-highest all-time goalscorer.
In the second half, Qatar improved, yet Ecuador always seemed the more dangerous. At one point, Romario Ibarra forced a save from Al Sheeb. At the other end, Afif fired well over from range. With minutes remaining, Qatar substitute Mohammed Muntari sent a half-volley on to the roof of the net.
Qatar’s night in the spotlight had ended in disappointment. They must now move forward to Senegal on Friday and move on from their opening defeat. For sure, they must be better.
The African champions will most probably present an even greater test, but perhaps with Sunday's pomp and circumstance out of the way, Qatar can breathe and go again.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
SPECS
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More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Match info
Liverpool 4
Salah (19'), Mane (45 2', 53'), Sturridge (87')
West Ham United 0
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Chef Nobu's advice for eating sushi
“One mistake people always make is adding extra wasabi. There is no need for this, because it should already be there between the rice and the fish.
“When eating nigiri, you must dip the fish – not the rice – in soy sauce, otherwise the rice will collapse. Also, don’t use too much soy sauce or it will make you thirsty. For sushi rolls, dip a little of the rice-covered roll lightly in soy sauce and eat in one bite.
“Chopsticks are acceptable, but really, I recommend using your fingers for sushi. Do use chopsticks for sashimi, though.
“The ginger should be eaten separately as a palette cleanser and used to clear the mouth when switching between different pieces of fish.”
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Real Madrid 2 (Benzema 13', Kroos 28')
Barcelona 1 (Mingueza 60')
Red card: Casemiro (Real Madrid)
SHOW COURTS ORDER OF PLAY
Wimbledon order of play on Saturday, July 8
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Centre Court (4pm)
Agnieszka Radwanska (9) v Timea Bacsinszky (19)
Ernests Gulbis v Novak Djokovic (2)
Mischa Zverev (27) v Roger Federer (3)
Court 1 (4pm)
Milos Raonic (6) v Albert Ramos-Vinolas (25)
Anett Kontaveit v Caroline Wozniacki (5)
Dominic Thiem (8) v Jared Donaldson
Court 2 (2.30pm)
Sorana Cirstea v Garbine Muguruza (14)
To finish: Sam Querrey (24) leads Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (12) 6-2, 3-6, 7-6, 1-6, 6-5
Angelique Kerber (1) v Shelby Rogers
Sebastian Ofner v Alexander Zverev (10)
Court 3 (2.30pm)
Grigor Dimitrov (13) v Dudi Sela
Alison Riske v Coco Vandeweghe (24)
David Ferrer v Tomas Berdych (11)
Court 12 (2.30pm)
Polona Hercog v Svetlana Kuznetsova (7)
Gael Monfils (15) v Adrian Mannarino
Court 18 (2.30pm)
Magdalena Rybarikova v Lesia Tsurenko
Petra Martic v Zarina Diyas
Federer's 19 grand slam titles
Australian Open (5 titles) - 2004 bt Marat Safin; 2006 bt Marcos Baghdatis; 2007 bt Fernando Gonzalez; 2010 bt Andy Murray; 2017 bt Rafael Nadal
French Open (1 title) - 2009 bt Robin Soderling
Wimbledon (8 titles) - 2003 bt Mark Philippoussis; 2004 bt Andy Roddick; 2005 bt Andy Roddick; 2006 bt Rafael Nadal; 2007 bt Rafael Nadal; 2009 bt Andy Roddick; 2012 bt Andy Murray; 2017 bt Marin Cilic
US Open (5 titles) - 2004 bt Lleyton Hewitt; 2005 bt Andre Agassi; 2006 bt Andy Roddick; 2007 bt Novak Djokovic; 2008 bt Andy Murray
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Price, base / as tested From Dh173,775 (base model)
Engine 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo, AWD
Power 249hp at 5,500rpm
Torque 365Nm at 1,300-4,500rpm
Gearbox Nine-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined 7.9L/100km
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