©AFP
On Sunday afternoon at 5 pm Belgian time, Qatar and Ecuador kick off the new world championship. For example, it is again the host country that is the first to complete a match, although it was not planned that way at first.
Jens Heylen
Initially, the start date for the World Cup in Qatar was set for Monday, November 21, 2022, but on August 11 (just over three months before the official start), FIFA still decided to start on Sunday, November 20, 2022.
Qatar wanted to open its first match at the World Cup with a real fireworks show and so the match of the host country was set on Monday, November 21. In this way, Senegal-Netherlands was designated as the opening match. To keep the tradition alive – the host country has opened the World Cup since 2006 – and to still give Qatar the requested show, FIFA decided to start a day earlier.
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