luckadjusted
World Cup Final · 2026

Matchday 1 · World Cup 2022 · November 20, 2022

Qatar 0–2 Ecuador: who deserved to win?

Ecuador beat Qatar 2–0, and the replays back it up: with the way both teams played, Ecuador win 6 of 10, 3 end level. Ecuador made the better chances: 1.1 expected goals to 0.3.

Full time

TeamGoalsxG
Qatar 0 0.30
Ecuador 2 1.15

November 20, 2022 · Al Bayt Stadium · Referee: Daniele Orsato

Luck index +20 Ecuador about even · −20 Qatar

Each team’s own shots from this match, resampled into new matches 4,000 times, each a goal at its expected-goals chance: with the way both teams actually played, how often does this performance win? How the replay works

Ten replays. Qatar win 1, 3 end level, Ecuador win 6.

  1. 1 QAT 1 ECU 0
  2. 2 QAT 0 ECU 0
  3. 3 QAT 0 ECU 0
  4. 4 QAT 0 ECU 0
  5. 5 QAT 0 ECU 3
  6. 6 QAT 0 ECU 2
  7. 7 QAT 0 ECU 2
  8. 8 QAT 0 ECU 1
  9. 9 QAT 0 ECU 1
  10. 10 QAT 0 ECU 1

The narrowest view of luck

The same match, with only the coin flips re-rolled: every shot kept where and how it was taken, its outcome redrawn at its chance (75% of finishing counts as luck), own goals at the league’s rate.

There is no betting line for this match, and no forecast from before kickoff: matches of past seasons are replayed, not forecast.

How 4,000 replays of the 90 minutes ended

Qatar win 7%, 27% end level, Ecuador win 66%. The line is what actually happened: Ecuador by 2.

Show as a table
After 90 minutes in the replaysShare of replays
Qatar by 3+0.1%
Qatar by 20.8%
Qatar by 15.8%
Draw27.3%
Ecuador by 133.3%
Ecuador by 220.3%
Ecuador by 3+12.4%

Where the luck was

FinishingShotsGoalsExpected goalsAbove expected
Qatar500.30−0.30
Ecuador6 (1 pen)21.15+0.85

Own goals aren’t shots, so they’re counted on their own. A side above expected finished better than its chances, or met a goalkeeper on a bad day; 75% of the gap counts as luck (why that share).

The big chances, and every goal

MinuteChancexG
15'Enner Remberto Valencia Lastra scored from a penalty0.78
30'Enner Remberto Valencia Lastra scored from a shot0.09

When it happened

Qatar’s chance of winning

Numbers mark the biggest luck moments, listed below.

Our in-game win probability: the score and the minutes left, with goals for the rest of the match at the league’s rates. A draw counts half, as in the replays. Shaded above the middle while Qatar was ahead in it, below while Ecuador was.
#WhenWhat happenedWin probability for
1 15' Enner Remberto Valencia Lastra scored from a penaltyFinishing · 78% chance +5% ECU
2 28' Romario Andrés Ibarra Mina didn’t score from a shotFinishing · 6% chance +1% QAT
3 30' Enner Remberto Valencia Lastra scored from a shotFinishing · 9% chance +14% ECU
4 32' Abdelkarim Hassan Al Haj Fadlalla didn’t score from a shotFinishing · 1% chance +0% ECU
5 49' Almoez Ali Zainalabiddin Abdulla didn’t score from a shotFinishing · 21% chance +3% ECU
6 54' Romario Andrés Ibarra Mina didn’t score from a shotFinishing · 8% chance +0% QAT
7 61' Pedro Miguel Correia didn’t score from a shotFinishing · 3% chance +0% ECU
8 85' Mohammed Muntari didn’t score from a shotFinishing · 5% chance +0% ECU

Adjust the assumptions

Think finishing is more skill than we do? Change how much of it counts as luck and the coin-flip replay of the 90 minutes reruns in your browser.

Only coin-flips re-rolled

Qatar 1% · draw 7% · Ecuador 92%

Final margin
Ecuador by 2
Luck in goals
0.9 for Ecuador
Luck-adjusted margin
Ecuador by 1.1
Replay with same day's form
Qatar 7% · draw 27% · Ecuador 66% unchanged: why
How much of each is luck?

0% treats it as skill, 100% as pure luck. The tick is our fit.

What counts
Flip a play

Force the other outcome, in this match and in every replay: a goal becomes a save, a chance goes in.

About these numbers

Expected goals per shot from StatsBomb’s open data; the replays, the in-game win probability and the luck shares are our own models, fitted and tested on every shot of four full league seasons and four tournaments, these matches included (methodology and validation). Ecuador win 80% of replays (a draw counted as half).

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