World Cup diary: Day 1 - Enner Valencia blasts Ecuador past host nation in Qatar 2022 opener
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VAR controversy, squabbling fans, and a brilliant display by Ecuador's captain lit up the opening day of the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup on Sunday.
The first-ever winter World Cup kicked off after an eye-catching opening ceremony at the Al Bayt Stadium in Doha.
Before a ball was hoofed in earnest, the world's best two players - according to the Ballon D'Or awards anyway - were ruled out of action as France striker Karim Benzema joined Senegal talisman Sadio Mane in pulling out of the tournament due to injury.
Beer bans in stadiums hit the pre-tourney headlines, begging the question of how the Tartan Army would have coped if Scotland had qualified?
All of the world's eyes were on Qatar, the controversial hosts of the event. With so little known about their national team, could their meticulous preparations for the tournament pay off, having shut their domestic season down many weeks ago to get their squad ready for the big stage?
The answer was a resounding no.
Qatar became the first host nation to lose an opening fixture in the World Cup. In their debut appearance, they were dominated by a slicker and better-organised Ecuador outfit.
The South Americans quickly discovered that their opponents had precious little quality or experience in their ranks, in terms of playing at the top international level.
Qatar goalkeeper Saad Al-Sheeb was a shaky Al-Sheeb from the word go, making a right hash of a Ecuador free kick leading to what we thought was the opening goal with just two minutes and 40 seconds on the clock.
We might have guessed that once the celebrations died down following Enner Valencia's close range header, VAR would come into play and sure enough, a hair on Valencia's knee had strayed beyond the offside line and we were back to 0-0.
But not for long. Ecuador skipper Valencia showed his class and belied his 33 years, with a top-class example of how to lead a front line and inspire a nation.
The former West Ham and Everton front man raced through on 16 minutes and was fouled by the hapless Al-Sheeb for a penalty which Valencia oh-so-coolly slotted home for the opening goal he was robbed of minutes earlier.
By the half hour mark it was 2-0 and pretty much game over when Valencia found the net for a third time, not quite the World Cup's fastest-ever hat-trick but a stunning header from a perfect Angelo Preciado cross.
There later emerged some video of a Qatar fan irritated by one of his Ecuador counterparts seated in front of him and daring to enjoy his team's scoring performance.
Peace broke out by half time as the pair kissed and made up, letting the whole world know that football has the power to end all wars.
Back on the pitch, Qatar had nothing to respond with. Too loose in possession and seemingly lacking the desire to force their way back into the match, their goose was cooked long before the final whistle.
Top scorer Almoez Ali failed to add to his 41 international goals when he spurned an easy headed chance and the second half turned into a snooze-fest with Ecuador cruising to a comfortable victory.
Just how good were the South Americans? It's difficult to tell when face by such poor opposition. One thing seems certain, and that is an early exit for Qatar with what looks like even tougher challenges to face against Netherlands and Senegal.
Finally, spare a thought for those poor Ecuador fans celebrating their team's success at the end.
"We want beer, we want beer," was the chant. The whole of Scotland felt their pain.
