November 25, (THEWILL) – The 1-1 draw in Group A between the Netherlands and Ecuador on Friday, ensured that Qatar became the first team to be eliminated from their own World Cup.
As THEWILL reported, the Asian Cup champions lost their opening group encounter to the South Americans 2-0, and then on Friday, they lost to Senegal 3-1, making them the first World Cup host to lose two games in a row.
After South Africa in 2010 and Russia in 2018 — both of which lost 3-0 to Uruguay — Qatar became just the third host nation to concede three goals in a single group stage encounter as a result of their defeat to Senegal.
Now that Qatar has been eliminated from the World Cup earlier than any other host nation in history, Felix Sanchez’s team has nothing left to play for but dignity when they take on the Netherlands in their final group encounter. If they lose to the Dutch, they will join South Africa as the only hosts, who have not advanced to the second round of the World Cup.
They will also become the only hosts who have not won a single game if that happens. On Friday, Mohammed Muntari became the first player in World Cup history to score for his team, giving Qatar at least one goal in the competition, even if it was only a more consolatory effort.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
