Qatar will be hoping to make World Cup history against Ecuador in the tournament's opening fixture on Sunday.

Twelve years after initially being given host status, Qatar will finally get the competition underway at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor.

The Maroon are participating in their first-ever World Cup and are regarded as the underdogs in Group A with matches to follow against Senegal and Netherlands.

When Felix Sanchez's side go head to head with their South American opponents, they will be attempting to become the first team to achieve a particular feat at the tournament.

Throughout history when previous AFC confederation nations have competed in their first-ever match, they have never ended up on the winning side.

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As many as 10 of the previous 11 teams have come up short in their debut encounter, with only Kuwait managing to avoid defeat.

That came in 1982 when the Blue Wave earned a 1-1 draw against Czechoslovakia before going on to lose to France and England respectively.

Coincidentally, one of Qatar's upcoming opponents Senegal were the last debut team to win their first match in the competition when they stunned France back in 2002.

Opening matches at the World Cup tend to produce goals with 17 coming during their last four contests, but Ecuador head into this game having registered six successive clean sheets.

These two teams will be meeting on the international stage for the fourth time.

Written by
Darren Plant