Colombia's Joao Rodriguez, who plays for Portugal's Vitoria Setubal, finished off a superbly timed passing move and slotted home past goalkeeper Yousuf Hassan in the 25th minute of their FIFA U-20 World Cup Group C opener at Hamilton's Waikato Stadium.
Despite picking up the pace in the second half, the loss was an early setback to Qatar's journey to the 2022 World Cup with coach Felix Sanchez stating his job was to develop a team that would provide the bulk of the squad for that tournament.
"These boys will be at a great football age in 2022, by which time they will be 25, 26, and there is a huge desire among all those who work with the team for them to be competing in their home World Cup," the Spaniard told FIFA's website.
"It is a long journey but it will be enriching for them to experience this U-20 tournament, which is the closest you can get to the World Cup itself." In the first half on Sunday, the Qatar team were outclassed by the South Americans, who dominated possession and territory and were too slick in their passing and movement off the ball.
However, the team improved in the second half and stretched the Colombian defence but Jassim Al Jalabi and Ahmed Alsadi wasted golden opportunities to score, with Colombia keeper Alvaro Montero diving low to his left to thwart the latter.
