Day 1 of World Cup 2022: Qatar v Ecuador

After four long years, the FIFA Men’s World Cup will be held again.

The tournament kicks off on Sunday with four weeks of football action scheduled. Here’s everything you need to know from your first day in Qatar.

The brilliance of the opening ceremony

The official opening ceremony of Qatar 2022 at Ar Bait Stadium captivated the audience. All 32 national flags of participating countries were displayed with impressive visuals and dances.

American actor Morgan Freeman makes a surprise appearance as narrator, stating, “Football spans the globe, and the love of the beautiful game unites nations. What unites nations unites communities.”

Meanwhile, Korean pop singer Jung Kook of boyband BTS also performed his new single “Dreamers” to celebrate the start of the tournament.

Various world leaders including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Ruler of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and FIFA President Gianni Infantino attended.

Qatar take on Ecuador in opener

The first official match of the tournament will start at 11am EST / 8am PST as hosts Qatar will face Ecuador in Group A.

Prior to the game, both teams announced their starting line-ups. This is the person who makes the cut.

Qatar XI: Saad Al-Seeb; Bassam Al-Rawi, Buarem Kooki, Abdelkarim Hassan. Pedro Miguel, Karim Boudiahu, Abdulaziz Hatem, Homam Ahmed. Hassan Alhaidous, Almoez Ali and Akram Afif.

Ecuador XI: Hernan Galindes; Angelo Preciado, Felix Torres, Piero Hincapie, Pervis Estupinan. Gonzalo Plata, Sebas Mendes, Moises Caicedo and Romario Ibarra.Ener Valencia, Michael Estrada

On Monday, Senegal will face the Netherlands to wrap up Group A action.

Group B will also start on Monday with England v Iran and the USA v Wales.

This is breaking news. More updates will follow.