'Where is the offside?': Why was Ecuador's opening goal against Qatar adjudged offside?

Ecuador began their FIFA World Cup campaign with a 2-0 win over hosts Qatar in the Group A match. Both the goals for Ecuador were scored by their skipper Enner Valencia inside the first 45 minutes of the Qatar vs Ecuador match. However, the opening goal of the tournament could have been inside the first five minutes, had it not been disallowed by VAR.

Qatar 2022: Why was Enner Valencia's opening goal disallowed?

Enner Valencia scored the goal in the third minute of the match by heading the ball in from a very close range following an acrobatic cross from Felix Torres. However, the celebrations were cut short with the goal disallowed for marginal offside. According to the offside rule, if the goalkeeper is the second-last opponent and an individual is spotted behind him, he shall be deemed offside.

However, if there are two players behind the goalkeeper, the individual will be considered offside if he is ahead of the second-last opponent. During this moment, Ecuador's Michael Estrada was played offside since he was ahead of the line of goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb and another Qatar player. Besides VAR, the semi-automatic offside technology was also used to check if the goal stood eligible, however, replays showed Estrada was placed offside during the follow of play from the free kick.

However, at first, it was not clear which player was adjudged to have been ruled offside, leading to even more confusion as to why the goal was ruled out. Fans took to Twitter, questioning why the goal was disallowed.

Qatar vs Ecuador match highlights at a glance

After missing out on the chance of scoring the fastest goal in the history of FIFA World Cup, Valencia gave Ecuador the lead in the 16th minute of the match through a penalty after being tripped inside the box by Qatar goalkeeper Saad Alsheeb. By scoring the opening goal, Valencia became Ecuador's leading goal-scorer at the FIFA World Cup with four goals. He managed to surpass Agustin Delgado's record of three goals at the showpiece event. 

The 33-year-old doubled the lead for his team inside the first 45 minutes. In the 33rd minute, Valencia headed the ball into the back of the net following the cross from Angelo Preciado. Qatar's lacklustre attack tried hard to at least find one goal and came close to doing that. Almoez Ali missed a header from six yards out after great work from Hassan Alhaydos. The second half did not produce any goals as Ecuador ran out as comfortable winners.