Only three out of the last eight hosts failed to win their opening games despite not losing—England in 1966, Mexico in 1970, and South Africa in 2010.
Qatar lost 0-2 to Ecuador in the opening match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Ecuador opened the scoring three minutes into the match through Enner Valencia but his goal was ruled out for offside after a VAR check.
Valencia who is the skipper of the Ecuadorians was later fouled in the box and awarded a penalty kick which he made no mistake to put the ball behind the net in the 16th minute.
It was the first time the first goal of the World Cup was scored from a penalty spot.
In the 30th minute, the Fenerbahce forward doubled the lead with a headed goal to move his tally to five goals in the World Cup finals and officially become the all-time Ecuadorian scorer in the history of the competition.
Qatar will now face Senegal on Friday while the now Group A leaders Ecuador will play the Netherlands on the same day.
