World Cup 2022 opening match on November 20, 2022 at 16:00

The 2022 World Cup opening game will be played at Al Bayt Stadium on November 20, 2022. The opening game is the first game of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Qatar and Ecuador will kick off the tournament at 04:00 PM. The opening game is a duel in group A.

From 1974 to 2002, the reigning champion was automatically seeded and allowed to play the opening game. Since 2006, the host country has been allowed to kick off the football tournament. Host country Qatar is therefore not part of the opening game completely outside of tradition.

When is the 2022 World Cup opening match?

The opening match of the 2022 World Cup is on November 20, 2022 at 04:00 PM UK time. The match will be played at the Al Bayt Stadium.

#1) Sun 20 Nov 16:00 Poule A Al Bayt Stadion
Qatar Qatar 0-2 Ecuador Ecuador
 

A beautiful ceremony will be held prior to the opening match of the World Cup. Many fireworks will be set off from the roof of the stadium. Music will also be played and singers and dancers will perform.

Also view the World Cup 2022 schedule.

Host country plays opening match of World Cup

From 1974 to 2002, the reigning champion was automatically seeded and allowed to play the opening game. Since 2006, the host country has been allowed to kick off the football tournament.

Host nation Qatar was initially not supposed to be part of the opening match, but due to the final show, the match has been brought forward one day. This is because they want to hold a large fireworks show and the host country has to play in the evening for that.

The United States also wants to play as late in the day as possible because of the time difference, so that everyone in America can watch the game.

All the opening games of the World Cup

In the early years of the World Cup, several opening games were played simultaneously.

Below is a list of all the opening matches of the FIFA World Cup.

Year Home Away Score Host
1930 France France Mexico Mexico 4-1 Uruguay Uruguay
1930 United States United States Belgium Belgium 3-0 Uruguay Uruguay
1934 Italy Italy United States United States 7-1 Italy Italy
1934 Spain Spain Brazil Brazil 3-1 Italy Italy
1934 Austria Austria France France 3-2 Italy Italy
1934 Hungary Hungary Egypt Egypt 4-2 Italy Italy
1934 Czech Republic Czech Republic Romania Romania 2-1 Italy Italy
1934 Switzerland Switzerland Netherlands Netherlands 3-2 Italy Italy
1934 Germany Germany Belgium Belgium 5-2 Italy Italy
1934 Sweden Sweden Argentina Argentina 3-2 Italy Italy
1938 Switzerland Switzerland Germany Germany 1-1 France France
1942 - - - -
1946 - - - -
1950 Brazil Brazil Mexico Mexico 4-0 Brazil Brazil
1954 Brazil Brazil Mexico Mexico 5-0 Switzerland Switzerland
1954 Yugoslavia Yugoslavia France France 1-0 Switzerland Switzerland
1954 Uruguay Uruguay Czech Republic Czech Republic 2-0 Switzerland Switzerland
1954 Austria Austria Scotland Scotland 1-0 Switzerland Switzerland
1958 Sweden Sweden Mexico Mexico 3-0 Sweden Sweden
1962 Uruguay Uruguay Colombia Colombia 2-1 Chili Chili
1962 Chili Chili Switzerland Switzerland 3-1 Chili Chili
1962 Brazil Brazil Mexico Mexico 2-0 Chili Chili
1962 Argentina Argentina Bulgaria Bulgaria 1-0 Chili Chili
1966 England England Uruguay Uruguay 0-0 England England
1970 Mexico Mexico Russia Russia 0-0 Mexico Mexico
1974 Brazil Brazil Yugoslavia Yugoslavia 0-0 Germany Germany
1978 Germany Germany Poland Poland 0-0 Argentina Argentina
1982 Argentina Argentina Belgium Belgium 0-1 Spain Spain
1986 Italy Italy Bulgaria Bulgaria 1-1 Mexico Mexico
1990 Argentina Argentina Cameroon Cameroon 0-1 Italy Italy
1994 Germany Germany Bolivia Bolivia 1-0 United States United States
1998 Brazil Brazil Scotland Scotland 2-1 France France
2002 France France Senegal Senegal 0-1 Japan Japan
2006 Germany Germany Costa Rica Costa Rica 4-2 Germany Germany
2010 South Africa South Africa Mexico Mexico 1-1 South Africa South Africa
2014 Brazil Brazil Croatia Croatia 3-1 Brazil Brazil
2018 Russia Russia Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia 5-0 Russia Russia
2022 Qatar Qatar Ecuador Ecuador   Qatar Qatar

Opening matches by country

The opening match has been played most often by Brazil and Mexico (7 times each). Germany opened the tournament 5 times and the England 1 time.

Below is the number of opening matches per country.

Country Number
Brazil Brazil 7
Mexico Mexico 7
Germany Germany 5
France France 4
Argentina Argentina 4
Switzerland Switzerland 3
Uruguay Uruguay 3
Belgium Belgium 3
United States United States 2
Italy Italy 2
Austria Austria 2
Czech Republic Czech Republic 2
Sweden Sweden 2
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia 2
Russia Russia 2
Scotland Scotland 2
Bulgaria Bulgaria 2
Netherlands Netherlands 1
Spain Spain 1
Hungary Hungary 1
Chili Chili 1
England England 1
South Africa South Africa 1
Qatar Qatar 1
Egypt Egypt 1
Romania Romania 1
Colombia Colombia 1
Poland Poland 1
Cameroon Cameroon 1
Bolivia Bolivia 1
Senegal Senegal 1
Costa Rica Costa Rica 1
Croatia Croatia 1
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia 1
Qatar Qatar 1
Date published: 16-03-2010 | Date updated: 02-10-2024 | Author:

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The 2022 World Cup opening match will be played on November 20, 2022 at 16:00 AM. The opening game is the first game of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.


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