In the opening match of the World Cup, the global audience witnessed Ecuador's 2-0 victory over Qatar and felt Ecuador's unique way of celebrating goals: players gathered in a circle, kneeling on the ground and pointing their fingers in the sky.
It is reported that this is to commemorate the national team teammate Christian Benitez who died in Qatar in 2013.
At this moment, the World Cup ushered in the most touching and warm moment.
In 2013, at the age of 27, Benitez left the Premier League to play in the Qatari League. Less than a month after he joined the team, he died of illness. And the place where he left was in Doha, Qatar.
At that time, Benitez agent José Chamorro said in an interview with Ecuadorian media that Benitez had complained of abdominal pain, entered a local hospital in Qatar for observation treatment, and eventually died.
Benitez was the main striker of the Ecuadorian national team and the third all-time goalscorer, scoring a total of 24 goals for the team.
In 2005, Benitez was selected for the national team for the first time and participated in the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. In the 2014 FIFA World Cup South American qualifiers, Benitez scored four goals and contributed to the team's qualification for the World Cup finals.
After Benitez's death, Ecuador travelled his old partner Valencia to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
At that time, the 24-year-old Valencia shouldered the task of attacking Ecuador. That World Cup, Valencia scored three goals for Ecuador.
Eight years later, Ecuador moved to the place where Benitez died that year to play in the World Cup opener, with Valencia winning two goals. In the end, the spirit of old teammates still inspires the team to move forward steadily.
It is worth mentioning that after Valencia's goal, he knelt down excitedly, and all his teammates on the field also gathered together, pointing their fingers to the sky, sharing the joy of victory with his former teammates. At this moment, the World Cup ushered in the most tender and touching moment.