Given the level of focus on the Qatari regime, its attitudes toward human rights, immigrant workers, the LGBTQ community — and beer — the World Cup host’s soccer team has slipped under the radar. Qatar opened the tournament against Ecuador on Sunday, but even the buildup to that match was overshadowed by Friday’s announcement that the sale of beer will be banned inside the stadium grounds. The World Cup is a source of immense national pride for Qatar in its attempt to raise its profile on the global stage and drive toward modernization. But what about the team? Read: FIFA earn record $7.5b in revenues for current World Cup period “The best thing that can happen is to focus on football, keep calm and avoid the noise and rumors,” Qatar coach Felix Sanchez said Saturday. “Obviously we don’t like it when people criticize our country. We managed to have great preparation, kept calm and that’s how we planned this.” Qatar has never before appeared in a World Cup and faces a major challenge just to emerge from Group A, which also includes Senegal and the Netherlands. South Africa in 2010 is the only host nation to fail to get beyond the group stage, so to avoid sharing that distinction would be success in itself. Sunday may be Qatar’s best hope for a victory against an Ecuador team that is only five places above it at No. 44 in the FIFA rankings. Qatar’s preparation for this tournament has been going on for several years, including involvement in the 2019 Copa America and 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup. But it was victory in the 2019 Asian Cup that provided evidence of the country’s potential to provide a shock over the next few weeks. That continental title was masterminded by Sanchez, who has been in the position since 2017 and before that was in charge of the under-19 team. The 46-year-old Spaniard learned his trade at Barcelona’s famed academy and his impact has been remarkable, with the Asian Cup success his standout moment. But the World Cup is another level entirely. Read: FIFA World Cup 2022: Things you need to know “We are aware who we are, where we are coming from and who we are facing,” Sanchez said. “We will try to give our all, try to be competitive against such talented teams. It will be a great challenge for us. “When the statistics add up it makes them the favorite. History told us that. Having said this, we consider ourselves to be competitive and worthy of being here.” Ecuador will hope to spoil the party — and has been talked about as a potential surprise package. But the team heads to the World Cup on the back of doubts about whether it would even be allowed to compete after claims it fielded an ineligible player during qualifying. Chile and Peru argued that defender Byron Castillo was actually Colombian and illegally played in qualifying matches. That claim was rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Ecuador kept its place at the World Cup, but will be deducted three points before the start of qualifying for the 2026 competition because of the use of false information on Castillo’s birthday and birthplace in its proceedings to grant him a passport. Castillo was then left out of coach Gustavo Alfaro’s 26-man squad for Qatar. With so much focus away from the field for both teams, Sunday’s opener will bring the conversation back to soccer.

Checkout the livestreaming details of Qatar vs Ecuador FIFA World Cup 2022 match below The biggest sporting event of the year is set to begin on Sunday (November 20) as hosts Qatar will play their first match of the FIFA World Cup 2022 against Ecuador at the Al-Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Qatar. Where and how to watch FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar vs Ecuador live in Bangladesh? Bangladesh viewers can watch the match live on all of these channels: BTV, T Sports, PTE LTD and Viacom 18. Bangladesh viewers can also enjoy live stream online the World Cup games on Toffee, the digital platform powered by Banglalink. Besides, many Facebook pages and YouTube channels also live the match. Read more: Why Maradona's 'Hand of God' goal is priceless -- and unforgettable How to watch Qatar vs Ecuador live stream in India In India, the World Cup is being televised on Sports18, but every game is being shown for free and in 4K via the JioCinema app. You can live stream Qatar vs Ecuador from 9.30pm IST on Sunday night. Coverage is available in Hindi, English, Malayalam, Bengali and Tamil, and the JioCinema app is compatible with Chromecast, so you can get a big-screen experience. Anyone outside of India who wants to watch their home World Cup coverage can just pick up a good VPN and follow the instructions above to safely live stream the action. How to watch Qatar vs Ecuador live stream in Australia Football fans in Australia can watch Qatar vs Ecuador, along with every World Cup 2022 game, on free-to-air SBS. You can tune in on TV or live stream Qatar vs Ecuador using SBS On Demand. Just be warned that Qatar vs Ecuador kicks off at 3am AEDT in the early hours of Monday morning, with coverage beginning at 2am. SBS on Demand is free to use and works on a range of smart devices including mobile phones, smart TVs and web browsers. How to watch Qatar vs Ecuador: live stream World Cup 2022 soccer in the US without cable Soccer fans in the US can watch Qatar vs Ecuador on FS1 and Peacock TV, with kick-off set for 11am ET / 8am PT on Sunday morning. FS1 shares TV rights to the 2022 World Cup group stage with Fox, but Fox will be showing every game of the knockouts. Qatar vs Ecuador live stream without cable If you don't have cable TV, a cord-cutting service is what you need for instant access to Fox and FS1. Sling Blue is the cheapest option. It's $40 per month but you can get your first month half-price with this discount. FuboTV is another good option. It carries both Fox and FS1, and over 100 channels besides, and allows you to watch the World Cup 2022 in 4K HDR. It's more expensive at $69.99 a month, but first there's a FREE FuboTV trial. Read more: Karim Benzema's hopes of World Cup glory ended by injury Every game of the World Cup is also being shown on Peacock TV, but the catch is that commentary will be in Spanish. To make up for that, Qatar vs Ecuador and a few other games are being shown for FREE. The Peacock price comes in at $4.99 a month and the service also offers live coverage of the NFL, EPL and WWE. If you subscribe to Sling, Peacock or any other US streaming service, and find yourself unable to access coverage because you're out of the country, consider using a VPN – we rate ExpressVPN as the best of the best. How to watch Qatar vs Ecuador live stream in UK Football fans in the UK can watch a Qatar vs Ecuador live stream for free on BBC iPlayer, along with many more World Cup 2022 games, as coverage of the tournament is split evenly between the BBC and ITV. Qatar vs Ecuador kicks-off at 4pm GMT on Sunday afternoon, with coverage beginning at 3pm. Every BBC game will be on BBC TV channels in HD and also live streamed on BBC iPlayer in glorious 4K HDR. Just make sure you possess a valid TV license and that your device is 4K-compatible with iPlayer. Away from home in the UK right now? No worries: Use ExpressVPN to watch BBC iPlayer from abroad. BBC iPlayer is free to use and works across a wide range of devices including smart TVs, laptops, games consoles, mobile phones, tablets and streaming sticks. You can watch all the other World Cup 2022 live streams for free on ITV Hub. Read more: Cristiano Ronaldo gambles on World Cup to restore reputation How to watch Qatar vs Ecuador live stream in Canada TSN is the place to watch every 2022 World Cup soccer game in Canada. If you get the channel as part of your cable deal, you'll be able to log in with the details of your provider for access to a Qatar vs Ecuador live stream. Kick-off is at 11am ET / 8am PT on Sunday morning, with coverage beginning at 9am ET / 6am PT. If you don't have cable, you can subscribe to TSN on a streaming-only basis for $19.99 a month or $199.90 per year. If you decide to subscribe, or already have, remember you can take your favorite sports streaming service with you wherever you go – just try our No. 1 overall rated VPN 100% risk-free for 30-days and follow the instructions What time and date will the FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar vs Ecuador match be played? The FIFA World Cup 2022 match Qatar vs Ecuador match will be played on Sunday - 20 November at 9:30 PM IST. Read More: Portugal Squad Analysis for 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar Qatar squad & team news Qatar's attack will be led by Almoez Ali and Akram Afif. Skipper Hassan Al Haydos should slot in just behind the two strikers as a typical No.10. Felix Sanchez Bas is likely to field a five-man backline and it will be led by veteran campaigner Abdelkarim Hassan. They have only one injury concern in Ahmed Alaaeldin, who was replaced against Albania last week with an unspecified injury. Qatar predicted XI: Al-Sheeb; Ro-Ro, Al-Rawi, Salman, Hassan, Ahmed; Hatem, Boudiaf; Al-Haydos; Ali, Afif. Read More: Who Will Perform in Qatar World Cup Opening Ceremony? Ecuador squad and team news Enner Valencia and Romario Ibarra are likely to be paired up front for Ecuador. Pervis Estupinan and Moises Caicedo should also start following their impressive form in the Premier League. Ecuador have no injury concerns heading into the fixture. Ecuador predicted XI: Dominguez; Preciado, Porozo, Hincapie, Estupinan; Franco, Gruezo, Caicedo; Plata, Valencia, Ibarra.