Qatar 2022: Dubious distinction for hosts after early exit

Bengaluru/Doha, November 25: Qatar became the first host nation since South Africa at the 2010 edition to be knocked out in the opening round of the FIFA World Cup.

The hosts, who were making their debut at Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup had lost their opening encounter to Ecuador 0-2.

And on Friday (November 25), they suffered their second successive reversal when Seenegal beat them 3-1 to and in the process created a dubious distinction of being first World Cup host to lose two matches in a single group round.

Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup: Qatar vs Senegal highlights; Hosts stare down the barrel after yet another loss

They joined South Africa as the only hosts not to advance to the second round of the tournament, while failure to win against the Dutch would see them stand as the only host nation not to win a single game at the World Cup.

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Meanwhile, Qatar head coach Felix Sanchez described Qatar 2022 as a great World Cup despite his side being eliminated following the 1-2 loss to Senegal on Friday.

Mohammed Muntari gave them hope of snatching a point after Boulaye Dia and Famara Diedhiou had put Senegal 2-0 up, yet substitute Bamba Dieng rounded off Senegal's victory six minutes from time.

The result saw them became only the third host nation to concede three goals in a single group stage game, after South Africa in 2010 and Russia in 2018 (both 0-3defeats to Uruguay).

Despite the disappointment of a likely early exit, Sanchez was full of praise for the tournament - the first to be held in the Middle East.

"We are aware of how tough this competition is, we wanted to go far but we've some limitations in our country," he said.

"It's small, we play in a local league that isn't the most competitive, but we've made a great effort.

"Expectations were to give good performances and organise a good World Cup. We wanted to show what we can do on the pitch.

"Most of the opponents are ahead of us but the players performed very well. Some moments we managed to compete.

"It's our first World Cup participation. If we could take part in it again, great.

"We want this to be a great World Cup at all levels. That's what we're experiencing - a great World Cup, full stadiums and good matches.

"We're very happy with the attendance. I think they really supported us and we're very proud of our fans who came here to show their support through the game.

Qatar round off their Group A campaign against the Netherlands on November 29 with Sanchez adamant his side will give everything they have got against Louis van Gaal's more illustrious opponents.

"We've a very tough game ahead of us," he added. "We intend to be competitive. We can't miss a chance like this to play against the Netherlands, so our plan, the goal is to play a good game.

"We'll be facing a team that hopes to go far in the World Cup. The key here is this country has a goal in mind. The World Cup will finish, but football will continue here. We want to keep developing talent, keep competing in Asia."

(With inputs from Agencies)