2022 FIFA World Cup: Article #1 Ecuador look strong

The World Cup is back. It is that time of the year again.

Ecuador have won 2-0 against Qatar in the opening game of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. And I have got to admit Ecuador look like a serious team who wants to compete and not just make up the numbers. They have some great prospects like Moises Caicedo, Jeremy Sarmiento and Piero Hincapie. This team has a chance if some of the key players flourish. Enner Valencia rolling back the years and scoring a brace in the opening game was a joy to watch, I thought he was done when he left West Ham to join Tigres in Mexico but he returned back to European football and is now at Fenerbahce enjoying a renaissance ever since. He has been very pivotal to Ecuador's attack. Players like Pervis Estupinan who made it to the Champions League semi final last season with Villarreal and is now with Brighton and Hove Albion are also key. I didn't realize that Brighton had a sort of an Ecuadorian contingent. Gonzalo Plata is another player I recognize, I will admit I got confused with another player called Joao Plata, but this is a player I recognize from the Football Manager franchise and he turns out to be a good player. The most exciting Ecuadorian player for me is Piero Hincapie, he has consistently been good for Bayer Leverkusen and looks like a serious talent.

Now let's talk about the Qatar national team. Okay I will admit I have not heard of most of the players except Akram Afif who played a bit in La Liga recently. But before I talk about the national team, I will talk about the Qatari league. It is an emerging league in terms of world standards and already very good in Asia. Many good players have come to play in the Qatari league recently for example, James Rodriguez, Toby Alderweireld, Medhi Benatia, Yacine Brahimi, Mario Mandzukic, etc. So the exposure they have to very good players is certainly beneficial. But, the lack of players going to Europe presumably because of world rankings or maybe because the players are not good enough is a problem. Some players are good in their own league or their own country and they cannot do it elsewhere or in the national team. So here is my unpopular opinion, managers at international level need to pick players who perform well for the international team, yes it is good to give newer players chances but if there is someone who regularly delivers for the national team, play him as often as possible. So this is what I think, about the game itself, the Qatar players did not have much of the ball, they were struggling to string passes together and it was an extremely difficult game for them.

2-0. Routine win for Ecuador. It was a good opening night. Let me know what your thoughts are in the comments.