The 2022 FIFA World Cup started on 20 November 2022, with hosts Qatar playing Ecuador in the opening match at Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor.

Quick Scoop

  • Start date: 20 November 2022.
  • Opening match: Qatar vs Ecuador (Group A).
  • Kick-off time (local, Qatar): 19:00 on 20 November.
  • Tournament window: Ran from 20 November to 18 December 2022.

A bit of context

Originally, FIFA had discussed a 21 November start, but the schedule was adjusted so that the host nation, Qatar, could play the very first game on 20 November in a standalone opening slot. The tournament was moved to Novemberā€“December (instead of the usual Juneā€“July) to avoid the extreme summer heat in Qatar.

In forum and fan discussions back in late 2022, people were often counting down specifically to ā€œNovember 20ā€ as the World Cup 2022 start date, since that Sunday opener felt like the real kickoff to the month-long global football festival.

TL;DR: World Cup 2022 started on 20 November 2022, with Qatar vs Ecuador as the opening match.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.