FIFA has announced that the start date for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar™ has been pushed forward by one day to November the 20th.

This means that the opening game for the tournament will now be hosts Qatar taking on Ecuador at Al Bayt Stadium from 19:00 Mecca a day earlier than planned. 

Originally, the first game of the tournament was meant to be the Netherlands taking on Senegal at Khalifa International Stadium on the 21st of November from 13:00 Mecca, with the official opening set at 19:00 of the same day involving Qatar and Ecuador. Now the host's opener has been forward one day to be the standalone game on day one of the tournament. 

In a short statement FIFA confirmed the date change; 

"Qatar will now play Ecuador on Sunday, 20 November at 19:00 as part of a stand-alone event. The opening match and ceremony of this year’s tournament at Al Bayt Stadium have been brought forward one day following a unanimous decision taken by the Bureau of the FIFA Council today. Consequently, the encounter between Senegal and the Netherlands has been rescheduled from 13:00 to 19:00 on Monday, 21 November."