Qatar vs Ecuador Odds & Prediction – World Cup Group A (Nov 20)

• Hosts meet South Americans in high-profile curtain-raiser at 11:00 am ET on Sunday
• Both teams are enjoying unbeaten runs in pre-tournament warm-up friendlies
• See the Qatar vs Ecuador odds and best bets for World Cup Group A  Matchday1

The World Cup kicks off on Sunday with Qatar vs Ecuador taking place as the showpiece curtain-raiser for the controversial tournament in the Middle Eastern Nation.

In Group A, these teams must also prepare to face strong sides from the Netherlands and Senegal.

So both the sides in Qatar vs Ecuador will be keen to give themselves a solid base in the first fixture while awaiting the tougher challenges ahead.

The World Cup winner will be decided in the final on December 18.

Qatar vs Ecuador Odds

Odds as of November 19 at DraftKings Sportsbook. Claim this DraftKings Sportsbook promo code before betting on the match.

At DraftKings, Ecuador is unsurprisingly favored at +150 in the World Cup odds to win the opening fixture despite the host nation’s eagerness to record a historic victory on a momentous day in its history.

Qatar, moreover, is priced at +220  with the draw at +205.

Ahead of Qatar vs Ecuador, the Qatari team is the fourth-rated outsider with DraftKings to win the group at +1000.

Furthermore, Ecuador is priced as the third favorite at +500.

This will be Qatar’s first match at a World Cup finals tournament. 

Meanwhile, Ecuador has reached this stage three times previously – with its best performance a journey to the round of 16 in Germany in 2006.

The opening Qatar vs Ecuador game will take place before a predicted 60,000 crowd at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor – with kick-off at 11:00 am ET.

The Al Bayt Stadium in Qatar which will host the 2022 World Cup opening ceremony and the first game between Qatar vs Ecuador.pic.twitter.com/KOA81I5Ykq

— Benie™ 🇰🇪 (@_benie) November 19, 2022

As hosts, Qatar did not have to qualify for the finals. 

But running up to Qatar vs Ecuador, it has put together an impressive run of five games unbeaten in official preparation friendlies.

This run has included a creditable 2-2 draw against Chile in September last year.

Qatar vs Ecuador Statistics

*Statistics from last five friendlies.

It has also defeated Guatemala, Honduras and Panama with its most recent outing a 1-0 defeat of Albania on November 9.

Ecuador, meanwhile, finished fourth of 10 teams in the South American qualifying section with seven wins, six defeats and five draws.

It is undefeated in its last seven matches in a run that includes a 1-1 draw at home with giants Argentina in World Cup qualifying last March.

Its last three matches ahead of Qatar vs Ecuador have all finished in goalless draws – against Saudi Arabia, Japan and, finally on November 12, Iraq.

Over/Under & Spread

With a goals record of 8-3 in its current run of five unbeaten official friendlies, the Qatari team appears to be not especially prolific.

Clearly, given its recent run of three stalemates, Ecuador is not particularly ruthless in front of goal either.

These recent runs of form ahead of Qatar vs Ecuador means there is some value in predicting that there will be fewer than two goals at +150 (Total Goals Un 1.5.)

https://youtu.be/8oy5U6WZqi8

Alternatively, the odds of there being three goals or more are slightly more attractive at +165 (Total Goals Ov 2.5.)

The spread offers are tight with Qatar at +165 to win by one goal or more (Asian Handicap -0.25.).

Ecuador is priced at +110 to win by the same margin (Asian Handicap -0.25.)

Enner Valencia to Score Odds

Ecuador’s captain Enner Valencia is the most favored player among the goalscorer props.

He is rated at +220 to hit the net at any time in Qatar vs Ecuador – with odds of +500 available for him to score first or last.

He has scored 35 times in 74 appearances for his country – although his last international goal was seven games ago against Argentina.

Enner Valencia 🇪🇨 pic.twitter.com/5l9A2lrZST

— TRT Spor (@trtspor) November 19, 2022

Michael Estrada of Ecuador is the second favorite at +280 – or +600 to score first or last.

His international record stands at eight goals in 35 appearances, although he has not hit the net in his most recent eight games.

However, he scored six times in World Cup qualifying.

Qatar’s Almoez Ali is rated joint second among the goalscorer props.

He is also priced at +280 to get on the scoresheet and at +650 to be the first or last goal-getter.

Born in Sudan, he has 39 goals in 82 internationals.

He scored the winner in the 1-0 friendly defeat of Albania on November 9.

Qatar vs Ecuador History

In one previous meeting of Ecuador vs Qatar in Doha in October 2018, Qatar was a 4-3 winner.

Qatar vs Ecuador Line-Ups & Injuries

Qatar projected line-up: Al-Sheeb; Miguel, Al-Wari, Salman, Hassan, Ahmed; Hatem, Boudiaf; Al-Haydos; Almoez Ali, Afif

 Qatar Injuries: None

 Ecuador projected line-up: Dominguez; Preciado, Torres, Hincapie, Estupinan; Gruezo, Caicedo, Cifuentes; Plata, Valencia, Ibarra

 Ecuador Injuries: Arboleda

Qatar vs Ecuador pick

This is likely to be a very tight game played under immense pressure with the world watching – so it seems there will be few goals, with the Total Goals offer of +155 for there to be just one goal looking like a promising choice for our World Cup picks.

 Pick: Total Goals Under 1.5 (+155)

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