France, Nov. 26 -- Perhaps the omens were there. Twelve years ago, South Africa was thefirst African country to host the World Cup and the team failed to advance from the group stages. Fast forward 12 years andQatar, as the first Middle Eastern land to stage the football fest, have sufferedthe same ignominy.

Qatar's demise came after an opening day loss to Ecuador followed by a 3-1 defeat to Senegal on Friday afternoon.

That concoction of misfortunes left the side's chances dependent on the result between the Netherlands and Ecuador. The 1-1 stalemate at the Khalifa International Stadium in the evening was the kiss goodbye.

"We showed what we are able to do," said Qatar coach Felix Sanchez after the defeat at the Al Thumama Stadium.

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