Qatar-Ecuador 0-2

Despite the allegations of bribery Ecuador showed they are a great side and won a well-deserved opening match against the hosts of Qatar 0-2 on two goals by the veteran Enner Valencia (oldest player to score in an opening match of a World Cup, and the first to score two goals since Italy's Angelo Schiavio in 1934). It could have been a larger victory for a side that controlled the match, and in particular the young Brighton & Hove Albion player Moises Caicedo could be one of the players to watch in the tournament.

Good start for Ecuador, but they now have two difficult matches ahead of them against Netherlands and Senegal.

I don't support Qatar. I hope they get trashed in every match as the worst host nation ever, of a footballing celebration that should have taken place in a real footballing nation. And today, in front of their home spectators they were as poor as a pub side (ironic, since you cannot buy beer); I hope they also get trashed by Netherlands and Senegal, something that should be no problem if they play like today.

Thanks Ecuador!

Bribery accusation

 One SportsBrief report today is accusing Qatar of having bribed Ecuadorian players to lose the opening matech between Qatar and Ecuador. The accusation appears grounded on a twitter account of one Amjad Taha, but it appears difficult to find further information on what the claim is based on.

The sad thing about this, which may not appear true, is that it remains entirely plausible that this could happen; Qatar probably paid to be hosts, so they could be considering bribing their way through the tournament.

And whoever believes that this is not possible at this level should read Declan Hill's exposure of match-fixing in football, which besides documenting match-fixing in the top European leagues, discusses match-fixing in the 2006 World Cup. So it is certainly possible.

However, there are reasons to be skeptical about the accusation, not just because the lack of documentation: firstly, why bribe many Ecuadorian players, one or more of whom could step out and reveal what was happening? Much easier would be to simply bribe a referee (something that Declan Hill documents is quite common), or  simply the goalkeeper to make one drop? Or just intimidate Ecuador by different means that do not need bribery? (something Qataris are probably good at). Furthermore, an accusation like this, appearing plausible, could be an elaborate way to get many people to make bets for Qatar to win, creating a distorted betting market, something that is often the case in football, and which is monitored for alleged bribes. 

Surely there is a lot of betting going on; billions moving around for this World Cup.

So I find this particular story to be implausible, although I find it plausible that it will happen in the World Cup, and that this is not the final accusation in a World Cup that should have never been awarded to these Qataris.