After losing to Senegal 3-1 in their opening match, the 2022 tournament’s host country went home earlier than any other host in the tournament’s history.
After only two games, Qatar became the first team to be eliminated from the 2022 World Cup on their own soil.
Despite putting up a valiant effort, the tournament hosts fell to Senegal by a score of 3-1 on Friday, giving up the most goals in Group A. After Sunday’s 2-0 loss to Ecuador in their opening match, and with Ecuador and the Netherlands playing to a 1-1 draw, they have no chance of advancing to the knockout round.
Qatar still has a chance to catch up in the group with a win in their final game on Tuesday, but even if they upset the Netherlands they would still finish with only three points. For Qatar, who had hoped to inspire the same enthusiasm as previous tournament hosts, this is a bitterly disappointing outcome.
Although they were only down by one goal at halftime, many of their own fans decided to leave the stadium during the second half of the match against Senegal. After 41 minutes of playing time, Senegal finally got their reward when Boulaye Dia scored after pounced on a loose ball in the box. Qatar had a hard time keeping up with their opponents.
Famara Diedhiou’s header off a corner by Ismail Jakobs gave Senegal a 2-0 lead shortly after halftime. Qatar mounted a brief comeback despite the Senegalese drums that sped their team on throughout the match.
Qatar’s first World Cup goal came from Mohammed Muntari, who headed in Ismael Mohammad’s cross past Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy. The Qatari supporters who stayed to cheer on their team were ecstatic.
However, their optimism was short-lived, as Senegal quickly regained a two-goal advantage thanks to a goal from Bamba Dieng six minutes later. Following Dieng’s goal, a sizable portion of the Qatari faithful seemed to accept the inevitable and head for the exit.
As a result, Qatar became the fastest host nation to be eliminated from a tournament they hosted. To advance to the round of 16, they needed the Netherlands to lose, but Louis van Gaal’s team delivered.
The lack of an enthusiastic response from Qatar’s fans will be especially frustrating for the home team after Mohammad’s pregame plea for fan support. He said Thursday that the team “needs the cheering more than ever” at the moment. We hope to do well and bring glory to the whole team.
There were many empty seats at the Al Thumama Stadium, which is typical for championship games. The final announced attendance was 41,797, but by the time the final whistle blew, a good portion of that number had already left.