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Ecuador’s veteran striker Enner Valencia scored an early penalty and added a 31st-minute header to give the South Americans a commanding 2-0 halftime lead against hosts Qatar in Sunday’s World Cup opening game.
Despite months of preparations, Qatar, seeking to avoid being the first World Cup hosts to lose an opening game, looked shaky.
Goalkeeper Saad Alsheeb typified their nerves, tripping Valencia for the penalty and earlier flapping at a ball in a melee that enabled the striker to head into the net in the third minute only to see his effort disallowed for offside.