On Friday evening, Qatar became the first team to be eliminated from this World Cup following their second defeat on the trot (1-3 to Senegal), following a 0-2 loss to Ecuador in their Group A opener previously. 

Worse still, they also suffered the ignominy of making the earliest exit by a host nation in the tournament’s 92-year history. Add to this the fact that they were awarded the rights to host this event in 2010 under controversial circumstances and given their stringent stance against homosexuality and poor human rights record, and there were jokes galore doing the rounds on Friday night. In one funny bit, Qatar’s Mohammed Muntari’s 78-minute goal was touted as the world’s most expensive goal, coming at the cost of USD GBP200 billion—the amount Qatar are said to have spent to organise this footballing extravaganza.