Qatar became the first World Cup host country to get eliminated after its first two games following a 3-1 loss to Senegal on Friday.
It’s mathematically impossible for the 2022 World Cup hosts to be one of the top two teams in Group A and make it to the next round even though there’s still one more group stage to go.
The Netherlands and Ecuador each won their first games of the tournament — Ecuador beat Qatar 2-0 — and tied 1-1 on Friday.
They each have four points and Senegal has three after its win over Qatar. Even if Qatar beats the Netherlands on Tuesday it will have no more than three points.
Mohammed Muntari scored for Qatar in the 78th minute, but Senegal put the game away with Bamba Dieng’s 84th-minute goal.
Qatar was a long shot to make it to the knockout rounds entering the tournament but its elimination after two games is nothing short of a massive disappointment for a country that had been preparing for the World Cup for over a decade.
Qatar joins South Africa as the only countries to get knocked out of the World Cup in the group stage.
South Africa tied Mexico to open that World Cup but its win over France in the final group match wasn’t enough for it to move on as Mexico advanced via goal difference.
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