Stealing the opener from FIFA is enough to see Qatar's ambitions, and with the team's 15 years of dormancy, it certainly doesn't want to just go through the motions in the group stage, if not too far, it definitely wants to take a place in the knockout rounds. As the most "special" World Cup to date, not only the first time it has been held in winter, but also the first time in history to be held in a country that has never experienced a World Cup, which obviously will also make FIFA worried about the strength of the Qatari team, so it will arrange the opening match between the Netherlands and Senegal.
But who would have thought that after some "pushing and pulling", the Qatari team finally got what it wanted, and successively hosted the record of the opener, but this result was accompanied by huge controversy, and many voices questioned whether Qatar had a black box operation behind it. As the race draws closer, this opener is once again shocking! It is reported that in order to win the opening game, the Qatari team directly bribed the players of the Ecuadorian team, and the number of them was as many as 8.
The Middle Eastern journalist's revelations were enough to make the entire football world sensational, and even made it very clear that Qatar offered $7.4 million, and that Qatari and Ecuadorian insiders knew about it, and that Ecuador would lose 0:1. There is not only content but also results, it seems that this news is already a hundred nails. However, no authority or official person has come forward to make any response to this matter, so the veracity of the news remains to be considered.
However, after the news was exposed, it was a bit difficult for the two teams in the opener, will Qatar win 1-0? And how will Ecuador's players perform in the game? It will definitely be the focus of attention, and it can be said that the attention paid to this matter has far exceeded the competition itself. The reason why such a scandal broke out before the game may really be related to the temptation of money.
This World Cup can be described as the most "extravagant" ever, with a total prize fund of 440 million US dollars, and the winner will receive 42 million, setting a new record in the history of championship prize money. In addition, as long as they qualify for the World Cup main event, the group elimination guarantee will also receive 9 million, while the team that advances to the round of 16 will receive a guaranteed 13 million. For Ecuador, even if they stand out in the group stage, it may be difficult to reach the last eight, and if they can get 7.4 million for one game, the total prize money will not be reduced too much.
In addition, this amount of money for Qatar can be described as "a drop in the bucket", 7.4 million is not worth mentioning at all, so it also makes the opener more questionable. In addition, Qatar attaches great importance to this World Cup, whether from the previous election campaign to the preparation of the event, it can be said that it is used to open the way, and everything starts on money. As the hosts, Qatar naturally wants to achieve good results, but also hopes to use the opportunity of the World Series to enhance its international image. But such a practice will inevitably attract the envy of the outside world, so some uncontrollable situations may occur.
For example, the scandal that was exposed before the opening game is even more shameful than the South Korean team in the 02 World Cup, and even its bad impact has far exceeded before. But for the Qatari team, regardless of whether the event is true or not, there is no need to make an off-market move, after all, the overall strength of its team is not weak, and it also has the blessing of the undefeated talisman of the host opener. In addition, Senegal in the same group has announced that Mane is out, which will undoubtedly increase the possibility of Qatar breaking through in the group stage. Therefore, for the host Kata pair, it is very likely to set a new record in the history of advancing to the round of 16 in their first competition.