Qatar fought its way back from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Paraguay in its first ever Copa America game on Sunday, proving it will be no pushover in the tournament by pulling off a thrilling revival at a near-empty Maracana stadium.
The 2022 World Cup host is one of two guest teams at the South American championship along with Japan. However, its debut got off to a nightmare start when Paraguay’s Oscar Cardozo smashed in from the penalty spot in the fourth minute.
Qatar caused its opponent plenty of problems but after Cardozo had another strike ruled out after a VAR-review, the Asian Cup champion conceded again when Derlis Gonzalez scored early in the second half with a long-range rocket.
Striker Almoez Ali made amends for spurning an earlier sitter by pulling his side back into the game with a distance strike which looped into the net in the 68th minute. Nine minutes later, Boualem Khoukhi levelled with a scrappy finish.
In a Group C match at Belo Horizonte, Uruguay crushed Ecuador 4-0 in its opener with help from an early sending off that deflated its opponent and assured the 15-times champion the simplest of starts.
The results: Group B: At Rio de Janeiro: Paraguay 2 (Cardozo 4-pen, Gonzalez 56) draw with Qatar 2 (Ali 68, Khoukhi 77).
Group C:At Belo Horizonte: Uruguay 4 (Lodeiro 6, Cavani 33, Suarez 44, Mina 78-og) bt Ecuador 0 .
