Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup: Dubious distinction for hosts after early exit

The
hosts,
who
were
making
their
debut
at
Qatar
2022
FIFA
World
Cup
had
lost
their
opening
encounter
to
Ecuador
0-2.

And
on
Friday
(November
25),
they
suffered
their
second
successive
reversal
when
Seenegal
beat
them
3-1
to
and
in
the
process
created
a
dubious
distinction
of
being
first
World
Cup
host
to
lose
two
matches
in
a
single
group
round.

Qatar
2022
FIFA
World
Cup:
Qatar
vs
Senegal
highlights;
Hosts
stare
down
the
barrel
after
yet
another
loss

They
joined
South
Africa
as
the
only
hosts
not
to
advance
to
the
second
round
of
the
tournament,
while
failure
to
win
against
the
Dutch
would
see
them
stand
as
the
only
host
nation
not
to
win
a
single
game
at
the
World
Cup.

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Meanwhile,
Qatar
head
coach
Felix
Sanchez
described
Qatar
2022
as
a
great
World
Cup
despite
his
side
being
eliminated
following
the
1-2
loss
to
Senegal
on
Friday.

Mohammed
Muntari
gave
them
hope
of
snatching
a
point
after
Boulaye
Dia
and
Famara
Diedhiou
had
put
Senegal
2-0
up,
yet
substitute
Bamba
Dieng
rounded
off
Senegal’s
victory
six
minutes
from
time.

The
result
saw
them
became
only
the
third
host
nation
to
concede
three
goals
in
a
single
group
stage
game,
after
South
Africa
in
2010
and
Russia
in
2018
(both
0-3defeats
to
Uruguay).

Despite
the
disappointment
of
a
likely
early
exit,
Sanchez
was
full
of
praise
for
the
tournament
–
the
first
to
be
held
in
the
Middle
East.

“We
are
aware
of
how
tough
this
competition
is,
we
wanted
to
go
far
but
we’ve
some
limitations
in
our
country,”
he
said.

“It’s
small,
we
play
in
a
local
league
that
isn’t
the
most
competitive,
but
we’ve
made
a
great
effort.

“Expectations
were
to
give
good
performances
and
organise
a
good
World
Cup.
We
wanted
to
show
what
we
can
do
on
the
pitch.

“Most
of
the
opponents
are
ahead
of
us
but
the
players
performed
very
well.
Some
moments
we
managed
to
compete.

“It’s
our
first
World
Cup
participation.
If
we
could
take
part
in
it
again,
great.

“We
want
this
to
be
a
great
World
Cup
at
all
levels.
That’s
what
we’re
experiencing
–
a
great
World
Cup,
full
stadiums
and
good
matches.

“We’re
very
happy
with
the
attendance.
I
think
they
really
supported
us
and
we’re
very
proud
of
our
fans
who
came
here
to
show
their
support
through
the
game.

Qatar
round
off
their
Group
A
campaign
against
the
Netherlands
on
November
29
with
Sanchez
adamant
his
side
will
give
everything
they
have
got
against
Louis
van
Gaal’s
more
illustrious
opponents.

“We’ve
a
very
tough
game
ahead
of
us,”
he
added.
“We
intend
to
be
competitive.
We
can’t
miss
a
chance
like
this
to
play
against
the
Netherlands,
so
our
plan,
the
goal
is
to
play
a
good
game.

“We’ll
be
facing
a
team
that
hopes
to
go
far
in
the
World
Cup.
The
key
here
is
this
country
has
a
goal
in
mind.
The
World
Cup
will
finish,
but
football
will
continue
here.
We
want
to
keep
developing
talent,
keep
competing
in
Asia.”

(With
inputs
from
Agencies)