World Cup highlights Ecuador beats Qatar to kick things off

Ecuador made two late subs, with Alan Franco and Kevin Rodríguez replacing Moisés Caicedo and Michael Estrada, respectively.

As in the first half, we have five minutes of stoppage time.

Mohammed Muntari nearly got the hosts on the board in the 86th minute when his attempt from outside the box sailed just over the crossbar.

How important is a win in a team’s group stage opener? According to Fox Sports 1, since 1998, 84 percent of the teams that have won their first match advanced to the knockout round, compared with only 11 percent of the teams that lost their first match.

Akram Afif was handed Qatar’s fourth yellow card in the 78th minute, putting The Maroon at risk of going down a player if he, Saad Al-Sheeb, Almoez Ali or Karim Boudiaf — who were penalized in the first half — earn another yellow card in their next match against Senegal on Friday.

Al Bayt Stadium has gone drowsy in the second half here save for a durable band of Qatari revelers behind the Ecuador goal, and swaths of empty seats suggest a possible run on nonalcoholic beer

After two goals (and one disallowed goal) and numerous rough challenges from Qatar, Ecuador’s Enner Valencia departed in the 77th minute, replaced by José Cifuentes. He was moving very slowly as he left the field.

With roughly 20 minutes to go, Ecuador remains in complete control of the opening match. Most of the scoring opportunities in the second half have come in front of Qatar goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb, though Qatar forward Akram Afif just whistled one over the crossbar in the 75th minute.

Qatar finally shook up its lineup in the 71st minute, with captain Hassan Al-Haydos departing in favor of Mohammed Waad and Almoez Ali getting replaced by Mohammed Muntari.

Ecuador is the first to make a lineup change, with midfielder Jeremy Sarmiento replacing Romario Ibarra in the 68th minute. It’s the World Cup debut for Sarmiento.

Qatar’s second scoring chance of the game came on a long pass from Abdelkarim Hassan that Pedro Miguel headed just wide of the goal in the 62nd minute. The opportunity came with Ecuador’s Ángelo Preciado on the sideline after he was injured breaking up a pass. Preciado has since returned.

It seems some fans have already seen enough of Qatar-Ecuador, as empty seats are prevalent.

Ecuador’s Jhegson Méndez was given a yellow card for a hard foul on Akram Afif in the 56th minute that could’ve easily warranted a red card.