When does World Cup 2022 start, what happens on the opening day? | Qatar World Cup 2022 News

Starting date, opening match, opening ceremony and stadiums that will host the World Cup games.

The World Cup 2022 is now less than a week away.

Teams have started arriving and the excitement levels among fans in Qatar and abroad are getting high.

Here’s everything you need to know about the opening day of the tournament:

When does it officially kickstart?

The tournament begins on Sunday, November 20 and ends on December 18 when the final will take place at Lusail Stadium.

Who is playing the first match of the tournament?

Hosts Qatar will take on Ecuador at Al Bayt Stadium at 7pm (16:00 GMT).

Senegal and Netherlands were initially slated to play the opening game of the World Cup on November 21 but that was changed in August to move the tournament back by a day to allow the hosts to play the opening game of the World Cup, as has been customary since 2006.

When is the opening ceremony and what do we know about it?

The opening ceremony, too, has been pushed back by a day and will take place before the Qatar-Ecuador game on November 20.

Jung Kook, the singer of the hit K-Pop group BTS, will be performing at the opening ceremony which takes place at 5pm (14:00 GMT).

The official tournament anthem and soundtrack are expected to feature in the ceremony and the tournament mascot, La’eeb, too will have a role to play in the festivities.

방탄소년단 ‘정국’이 2022 FIFA 카타르 월드컵 공식 사운드트랙과 월드컵 개막식 공연에 참여합니다. 많은 기대 부탁드립니다!
Proud to announce that Jung Kook is part of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Soundtrack & will perform at the World Cup opening ceremony. Stay tuned!#FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/MwJ2kdNRBp

— BTS_official (@bts_bighit) November 12, 2022

It has also been reported that there will also be a fireworks display on the night of November 20.

How many stadiums will be used for the World Cup?

The World Cup matches will take place across eight stadiums in Qatar.

Al Bayt Stadium in Doha is the venue for the opening ceremony and the first game of the tournament. Shaped like the traditional “bayt-al shaar” tent used in the Gulf, Al Bayt was designed by Dar al-Handasah and has a capacity of 60,000.

Here are the Qatar 2022 World Cup stadiums at a glance.