(Reuters) - World Cup debutants Qatar and South America's lowest-qualifying nation Ecuador both know Sunday's opener is their best chance for a win in Group A before facing much scarier rivals.
Ranked a lowly 50th and 44th in the world respectively, Qatar and Ecuador will be hard-pressed to progress as one of the top two in their group without winning at the Al Bayt Stadium, where the Middle East's first World Cup kicks off at 1600 GMT.
Though many outsiders expect Qatar to be soundly drubbed in all three games, home fans know forwards Akram Afif and Almoez Ali have both talent and experience and pray they can penetrate an Ecuador team themselves struggling to score of late. Even if they lose, Qatar will want to at least avoid humiliation and prove that they are worthy of a place, given the torrent of criticism over governing body FIFA's awarding of the tournament to a nation that had never qualified before.
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