As a result of their 3-1 loss to Senegal on Friday, the host nation Qatar was on the verge of being eliminated early from their own World Cup.
Senegal took the lead just before halftime on goals from Boulaye Dia and Famara Diedhiou. Qatar's substitute, Mohammed Muntari, answered in the 78th minute to set a thrilling conclusion.
Six minutes later, Senegal's replacement player Bamba Dieng scored to seal the outcome and put the African champions—who lost their opening match 2-0 to the Netherlands—right back into Group A contention.
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The loss left bottom-place Qatar anxiously awaiting different outcomes if they are to avoid being just the second World Cup hosts to lose in the first round, after South Africa in 2010.
If Ecuador loses against the Netherlands later in the day, Qatar will automatically go home, making the first World Cup hosts fail after two games.
In their opening-round loss to Ecuador by a score of 2-0, Qatar had a shaky tournament, and they continued to exhibit that trepidation against Senegal.
After his weak performance in the opener, the Asian champions moved Saad Al Sheeb to the bench.
Meshaal Barsham, who took over for him, initially needed more confidence, flailing at a corner as Senegal attempted to score first.
By that point, Senegal had already missed scoring opportunities through Ismaila Sarr and Nampalys Mendy. As the first half went on, Idrissa Gana Gueye and Youssouf Sabaly wasted further opportunities.
nearly out of Qatar
Qatar needs to make a better start at home even though they are the hosts and are supposed to triumph to at least the quarter-finals, given that the country has invested a lot in the tournament.
It is a wake-up call or alerts that the nation concentrates on hosting the tournament rather than winning the match.
