Qatar Becomes Earliest Hosts To Get Eliminated From FIFA World Cup

Qatar became the earliest host nation to get eliminated from FIFA World Cup after its first two games.

After suffering defeats from Ecuador and Senegal in their opening two matches, Qatar became the first team to get eliminated at the 2022 World Cup. They were beaten 3-1 by Senegal on Friday, Nov. 25, and 2-0 by Ecuador on Sunday, Nov. 27. This marks the earliest exit by a host nation in the FIFA World Cup tournament's 92-year history, ESPN reported.

Qatar's hopes of advancing to the knockout stages were ended on Friday when the match between Netherlands and Ecuador ended in a draw.

In their final group game on Friday, Dec. 2, Qatar faces an uphill task of achieving a win against the Netherlands, with the European nation needing a win to guarantee qualification to the round of 16.

South Africa is the only other host team to be eliminated in the group stage. However, in the 2010 World Cup, South Africa went out with a win and a draw from their three games.

"If you expected us to go very far in this tournament, then it will be a disappointment," Qatar coach Félix Sánchez said. "Our goal was to be competitive. We have to forget about today, move on and play the Netherlands."

Even though the Qatar team was the 2019 Asian champion, they looked nervous and were overwhelmed in the 2-0 loss to Ecuador last weekend. During Friday's match against Senegal, the team's performance was a little, but not much better for a squad that all plays in the local league. The team was missing the kind of top talent that is present in almost every World Cup team now, Yahoo News reported.

Qatar had never qualified for the World Cup before FIFA's decision in 2010 to give Qatar the chance to host the tournament. That gave its team automatic entry. Qatar’s national soccer team infrastructure was built for the tournament. Before the World Cup, the national team played in events like the North American Gold Cup to get prepped for the World Cup as well.

Even though Qatar spent around $220 billion on building stadiums, roads, and even a new city for the World Cup, it couldn't put together a solid defense for the team.