FIFA World Cup 2022 hosts Qatar created an embarrassing record on Friday (November 25), when it became the first host nation in history to get knocked out of the competition after just two matches. The world’s 50th-ranked team became the first team to get out of the competition after Ecuador played a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands.
Qatar lost its opening two matches of the FIFA World Cup 2022 against Ecuador and Senegal by a margin of 2-0 and 3-1, respectively. They have 0 points from two matches, whereas the Netherlands and Ecuador both have 4 points each. Since only two teams will progress from each group and Qatar can’t match the tally of 4 points, they are out of the race.
It is an embarrassing record for the reigning AFC Asian Cup champions. To date, no host nation has made an exit from the FIFA World Cup as early as they did this year. Qatar, which earlier became the first host nation in history to lose the FIFA World Cup opener, is playing in the FIFA World Cup for the first time.
Only once before has a host nation failed to qualify for the knockout stages. And that happened during the 2010 edition, when South Africa was awarded the hosting rights. But they had a chance to progress until matchday three, whereas Qatar got dumped out after two matches.
In their final Group A match, Qatar will now face the Netherlands at the Al Bayt Stadium on Tuesday (November 29). Qatar will be hoping for a draw, if not a win, in this game to avoid becoming the first host nation to lose all three of their group stage matches. But it won’t be easy because the Netherlands is currently one of the best teams in the world and would like to confirm its place in the Round of 16 by finishing first in the points table.
