Ecuador fans chant ‘we want beer’ against Qatar

All the excitement of Sunday’s World Cup opener between Ecuador and Qatar didn’t take place on the pitch.

Two days after the announcement of the ban on the sale of beer with alcohol in the eight World Culp stadiums, Ecuadorian fans seemed to chant in the stands “Queremos cerveza, queremos cerveza!” or “We want beer!” as their team beat Qatar, 2-0.

Qatar, the host country, follows a form of Islam called Wahhabism, which places strict limits on the purchase and consumption of alcohol; however, hotel bars have been serving it for years.

However, non-alcoholic beer will still be sold at matches.

As for the game itself, things couldn’t have gone better for Ecuador.

In the third minute, Ecuador seemingly scored the first goal of the tournament, but it was disallowed due to a controversial offside call triggered by VAR. However, Ecuador would get their first goal on a penalty from veteran striker Enner Valencia, who was fouled by Qatari goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb.

Valencia then added a second score before the half-time whistle after heading in a fine cross from right-back Angelo Preciado.

“I dreamed so many times of winning that opening match. It was a dream that I managed to score and help my team get the three points,” Valencia said. “We managed to score a few quick goals, which helped us take control of the game and win the three points. We think we can go very far and perform well.

Ecuador’s three points take them to the top of Group A for now. The other two nations in Group A, Senegal and the Netherlands, will play on Monday.