- Education City Stadium hosted its first official match
- Al Sadd defeated Al Kharaitiyat 5-1 at the 2022 World Cup venue
- Santi Cazorla impressed with two excellent goals
Education City Stadium, one of the right 2022 FIFA World Cup™ stadiums, hosted its first official match on Thursday as Al Sadd SC and Al Kharaitiyat SC contested the 2020/21 Qatar Stars League season-opener.
Fans who attended the stadium, which is located in the heart of Qatar Foundation for Education, were not only witness to the making of history but were entertained by six goals. Two of those came virtue of an outstanding brace from Spain international midfielder Santi Cazorla, who claimed the honour of scoring Education City’s first-ever goal.
The occasion also offered fans the chance to see and experience the stadium facilities before watching the match in ideal conditions. Indeed, thanks to the cooling technology that will be on show in 2022, the temperature at the stadium was 20 degrees Celsius, while it was outside it more than 35.
Another reason to celebrate came in recognising the achievement of the 2019 AFC Player of the Year Akram Afif. The Qatar international was the Qatar Stars League MVP last season and was honoured alongside Tarek Salman, who was chosen as the division’s best U-23 player.
Players from the two teams formed a guard of honour for the duo as they entered the pitch. “It was a great win and we are more than happy to be the first to play here,” said Salman after the match. “The stadium speaks for itself and is really beautiful.”
“I hope that I can play again at this stadium with the national team in 2022,” added the young defender.
Education City Stadium has a capacity of 40,000 and is set to host six matches in the group stage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup before staging a Round-of-16 tie and one of the tournament’s quarter-finals.