On the 2nd of December 2010, almost 12 years prior to the tournament getting underway, it was announced that Qatar would be the hosts of the 2022 World Cup. The country will be the first Arab state to host the World Cup and significant developments have been undertaken in preparation for the competition.

Seven of the eight stadiums that will host matches have been built especially for the tournament and Qatar will also feature a new airport, new metro and new roads to accommodate tourists.

The World Cup is typically held during the northern hemisphere summer months but as temperatures in Qatar can reach 50°C during this time, it was decided that the tournament would take place throughout November & December when the average temperature is around 24°C. Stadiums also have state of the art air conditioning installed which regulate the temperatures throughout for both the players and the spectators.

Hosts of the World Cup generally fair quite well in the tournament as shown in previous tournaments:

Host Nation Performances

• Winners: 6
• Runners-up: 2
• Semi-Finals: 5
• Quarter-Finals: 5
• Last 16: 2
• Round 2: 1
• Group Stage 1

However, Qatar are big outsiders for the tournament, priced as high as 350/1 with some bookies and are also 20/1 underdogs to win their group and so we could very well see the hosts crash at the first hurdle for just the second time in the tournaments history.

Ecuador finished fourth out of ten is the South American qualification table (CONMEBOL) despite being the team with the second-lowest FIFA ranking at the time (64). They’re now ranked 46th which is in the same region as the likes of Slovakia, Turkey and Republic of Ireland, and will look to better their Round of 16 finish that they achieved in 2006.

This is the fourth World Cup finals that Ecuador will be participating in and they’ll be fairly pleased with being drawn into Group A along with the Netherlands, Senegal and hosts, Qatar.

If either of these two sides are to make it through to the knockout stages of the tournament then winning this match would give them a huge advantage. Neither are expected to beat the Netherlands and Senegal will be a tough match for them also.

In terms of rankings, there’s not much between the two with Ecuador ranked 46 in the world and Qatar 51. Qatar do have the advantage of being the hosts which will surely give them a boost in their opening match but this is their first ever World Cup and it’s yet to be seen how they’ll respond to that.

Qatar vs Ecuador Odds

At the time of writing, Qatar are priced at 11/4 for the win, Ecuador 5/4 and the draw 5/2.

It’s a tough one to call but I’d have to side with the draw based on those prices.

Neither side will want to lose this match given what is at stake and I think they may have to settle for a point each and take their chances against Senegal in later matches.

Ecuador registered 27 goals in 18 matches during qualifying which is five more than Uruguay and the same as Argentina who both finished above them. Therefore, I think BTTS is also a reasonable bet at odds of Evens.

Qatar vs Ecuador team news and line ups will be published here once full World Cup squads have been announced.