The 2022 FIFA World Cup is ready to kick off as hosts Qatar match up against Group A opponents Ecuador at the Al Bayt Stadium on sunday.

Felix Sanchez Bas's men are competing on the biggest international stage for the first time in their history, while the South American nation make their return to the World Cup finals after an eight-year absence. It's often said that it is crucial for the host nation to get off to a positive start and make it through the group stage to ensure their fans stay invested in the tournament, and Qatar have a big opportunity to get 3pts on the board when they take on Ecuador in the opening game of the 2022 World Cup. Qatar claimed a 4-3 win when these two teams locked horns in Doha for a friendly back in 2018. Akram Afif scored a hat trick on that day and the 25-year-old should be in the starting eleven against La Tri for the opening game of the 2022 World Cup. With the home fans behind them, Qatar will be taking that as a morale booster and will be looking to avoid a defeat here. Qatar have lots of experience in their side and have been playing together for a long time, it is no wonder that they have great chemistry on the pitch and this will most certainly be crucial in this match. Looking at their past 5 games, Qatar have been exceptional as they secured 3 wins and a draw. They come into this game on a4-game unbeaten run and an impressive 3 game winning streak and they will be looking to extend that record here. Qatar has shown the ability to find the back of the net as they have done so in 4 of their last 5 games, scoring a total of 7 goals in that time period.

Ecuador on the other hand will come into this game on the back of a very inconsistent run of performances. They have only managed to secure a win in 1 game of their last 5 matches and this will be worrying for them and in those five matches, 4 ended in a 0-0 draw. They are currently on a 3 game winless streak and also 3-game goalless streak. They have struggled in recent times to find the back of the net and this could be attributed to the fact that Ecuador don't have a good number of international experienced players in their side and evidently, they lack goal threats.

Records have shown that the hosts, Qatar have the clear advantage here and the last time these two sides met ended in a 7-goal thriller in favor of Qatar. We are backing the hosts here to do enough to avoid a defeat in this match by earning a draw or by securing a victory by the end of this game.

本译文使用有道机器翻译，仅供参考：

2022年世界杯即将开赛，东道主卡塔尔将于周日在巴耶特体育场迎战A组对手厄瓜多尔。

菲利克斯·桑切斯·巴斯(Felix Sanchez Bas)的国家队历史上首次在最大的国际舞台上参赛，而这个南美国家在缺席8年之后重返世界杯决赛圈。人们常说，对于主办国来说，取得一个积极的开始并通过小组赛至关重要，以确保他们的球迷继续投入到比赛中，而卡塔尔在2022年世界杯揭幕式上对阵厄瓜多尔时，有很大的机会获得3分。2018年，两队在多哈进行友谊赛时，卡塔尔以4-3获胜。阿克拉姆·阿夫在那天上演了帽子戏法，这位25岁的球员应该会在2022年世界杯揭幕战对阵拉特里的比赛中首发11人。在主场球迷的支持下，卡塔尔将以此为鼓舞士气的动力，力争在这里避免失利。卡塔尔队有丰富的经验，他们在一起踢了很长时间，难怪他们在球场上有很好的化学反应，这在这场比赛中肯定是至关重要的。回顾他们过去的5场比赛，卡塔尔取得了3胜1平的优异表现。他们在这场比赛中保持了4场不败和令人印象深刻的3连胜，他们希望在这场比赛中延续这一纪录。卡塔尔在过去5场比赛中有4场表现出了寻找球门背面的能力，在这段时间里一共打进了7球。

另一方面，厄瓜多尔在这场比赛中表现非常不稳定。他们在最近的5场比赛中只取得了1场胜利，这对他们来说是令人担忧的，在这5场比赛中，4场以0-0的平局结束。他们目前正处于3连胜和3连胜无球的状态。他们最近一直在努力寻找破门机会，这可能是因为厄瓜多尔没有足够多的国际经验丰富的球员，显然，他们缺乏进球威胁。

记录显示，东道主卡塔尔在这场比赛中占有明显优势，两队上次交锋以7球险胜卡塔尔。我们支持东道主在这场比赛中通过赢得平局或在比赛结束前确保胜利来避免失败。