The first World Cup in the Middle East finally began Sunday night with a flashy opening ceremony and a match between Qatar and Ecuador without any beer for sale in the stadium.

The beer ban imposed two days before the start of the tournament was the latest controversial snag for a global event already under scrutiny for Qatar’s human rights record and the emirates’ frantic push to ready the nation for the most compact World Cup in history.

Thousands of attendees were turned away from a Saturday night concert in the official fan zone because of overcrowding, as 1.2 million visitors are expected to begin arriving this week to the tiny nation on the Arabian Peninsula.

Qatar is home to 3 million people, most of them migrant workers, and has spent more than $200 billion for improvements across the energy-rich country that’s roughly the same size as the state of Connecticut or the island of Jamaica. Among the additions are seven new purpose-built venues, including the 60,000-seat Al Bayt Stadium that hosted Sunday’s opening ceremony and first match.

INJURIES

Two of the best players in the world were ruled out of the tournament with injuries before it even began.

France striker Karim Benzema, the Ballon d’Or winner, is out after hurting his left thigh during training on Saturday. Senegal forward Sadio Mane, runner-up to Benzema in voting for world player of the year, is out with a leg injury he picked up last week while playing for Bayern Munich.

Previously, France midfielders Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante were ruled out, as was Germany striker Timo Werner. Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku and South Korea captain Son Heung-min arrived in Qatar with lingering injuries.