IFA has announced that the 2022 World Cup will be officially launched by 24 hours, so that the tournament will start on November 20 instead of the 21st. Thus, Qatar will meet in the opening ceremony with Ecuador, after the opening ceremony, instead of Senegal and the Netherlands at eight in the evening, Cairo time. The match between Senegal and the Netherlands was scheduled to be the first in the tournament, after which the opening ceremony would be held before the meeting between Qatar and Ecuador. However, FIFA indicated on its official website on Thursday that, after consultations, it was decided to maintain the tradition of holding the opening match of the World Cup with the presence of the host or the title holder. It is noteworthy that this edition of the World Cup is the last with the participation of 32 teams, as the number of teams will be increased to 48 starting from 2026.