Qatar's Ismail Mohamad reacts after his side's 1-3 loss against Senegal. Photo / AP
Qatar's Ismail Mohamad reacts after his side's 1-3 loss against Senegal. Photo / AP
World Cup host Qatar has been eliminated, after just six days and two matches into the tournament.
Qatar can’t finish in the top two of its group after losing to Ecuador in the opener and to Senegal on Saturday.
It is the earliest exit by a host nation in the World Cup’s 92-year history. Qatar’s fate was sealed after the Netherlands and Ecuador drew 1-1 in the other Group A match.
Senegal, on the other hand, got its campaign back on track after losing 2-0 to the Netherlands in the first match.
Against Qatar, Senegal striker Boulaye Dia drilled in the first goal after defender Boualem Khoukhi tried to make a clearance under no pressure, didn’t connect properly and landed on his backside. The ball dribbled away from Khoukhi.
Temmates celebrate with Senegal's Bamba Dieng after he scored the side's third goal against Qatar. Photo / AP
Famara Diedhiou made it 2-0 at the start of the second half with a header from a corner while two Qatar defenders failed to stop him.
Qatar was denied a penalty and the chance of the lead before Dia’s goal, though, when Akram Afif was clear on the left and then knocked over by a charging Ismaila Sarr. Referee Antonio Mateu of Spain didn’t award a penalty even though replays suggested that contact was made.
Qatar did at least score a goal through substitute Mohammed Muntari. He headed in to finally beat Edouard Mendy after the Chelsea goalkeeper had pulled off two world-class saves to deny Qatar, which rallied in the second half.
But Qatar’s hopes of a fightback to boost its qualification chances lasted six minutes before Senegal substitute Bamba Dieng reestablished the two-goal advantage.
Qatar’s second defeat of the World Cup — it lost 2-0 to Ecuador in the opening game — sealed an embarrassing exit that underlines one of the many criticisms of the decision to give the wealthy Gulf country the World Cup: It has no established football tradition
Qatar had already made unwanted history as the first host to lose the opening game of the tournament and, while South Africa in 2010 is the only other host team to be eliminated in the group stage, the South Africans at least went out with a win and a draw from their three games.
Qatar spent around US$220 billion on the first World Cup in the Middle East, according to estimates, but has found that great wealth can’t buy a world-class football team.
As it happened - all the action as Qatar take on Senegal at the World Cup:
