The men's World Cup in Qatar is set to start one day earlier than planned on Sunday 20 November with the hosts taking on Ecuador in Group A in the revised tournament opener.
The match was originally scheduled to take place on Monday 21 November at 16:00 GMT, and was going to be the third match of the tournament. The original opening game was planned to be Senegal vs the Netherlands at 10:00 on the same day.
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This latest development comes following a proposal submitted by the administrative arm of global football governing body Fifa to move the Qatar match so that the hosts are given the honour of playing in the opening game of the tournament. The proposal was submitted following discussions between Qatar and their opponents Ecuador, after receiving a request from the South American confederation Conmebol.
With this change would continue the tradition instigated in 2006 of the host nation playing in the first match of the finals, with the reigning champions having opened the event for a number of editions before then. The final decision is set to be made by the bureau of the Fifa council, which features the six confederation presidents, along with Fifa president Gianni Infantino.
The proposed change in date, which is expected to be approved, will alter the release date for the players from their domestic clubs while the Netherlands vs Senegal match would be moved to 16:00 GMT as there will be three matches on the Monday rather than four originally.
England’s game against Iran on 21 November at 13:00 is unaffected by the changes.
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