Netherlands – Senegal becomes the opening match of the World Cup at the request of Qatar TV and American TV Sports

The opening match of the World Cup is usually played by the organizing country. But Qatar prefers not to play in broad daylight because the big fireworks display around the opening ceremony will then be less exciting. US TV would like the US to act as late as possible on November 21 due to the time difference with Qatar.

The Netherlands will open the World Cup against Senegal on Monday 21 November at 11am and Qatar will kick off against Ecuador at 5pm. The opening match will be held at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha (40 thousand seats), and Qatar will play at Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor.

Ecuador will be the second contender for the oranges on Friday, November 25th at 5pm. That match will be held at Khalifa International Stadium in Al Rayyan (45,000 seats). The match of the third group of the Dutch national team will be held on Tuesday, November 29, at 4:00 pm, against Qatar at Al-Bayt Stadium (60,000 seats).

England and the United States will also play on the opening day of the World Cup. The English game against Iran at 2 pm. The American opponent has not yet qualified. Wales, Ukraine and Scotland compete for this place.

The group match between Germany and Spain will take place on Sunday 27 November at 8 pm.

KNVB counts on 8 percent of orange World Cup tickets

KNVB expects to be able to distribute 8 per cent of available tickets for every Orange World Cup match among Dutch supporters.

Al Thumama Stadium, where the Netherlands will open the World Cup, south of Doha, near Hamad International Airport. The soccer field is in the shape of a cranium, a traditional hat worn by men in the Middle East. After the World Cup, the stadium’s capacity will be halved to 20,000 spectators.

Al Thumama Stadium.
Al Thumama Stadium. © AFP

Khalifa International Stadium is the only World Cup stadium that was not built specifically for the World Finals. It has been renewed several times since 1976. Liverpool and Flamengo played the FIFA Club World Cup Final there in 2019.

Al Bayt Stadium is located in Al Khor on the northern coast of Qatar, about 35 kilometers from the capital, Doha. The stadium is shaped like a Bedouin tent. Al Khor is not connected to the new metro network.

FIFA announced last week that more than 800,000 tickets for the World Cup have been sold. The next sales round will begin on April 5th. The most loyal fans of Orange in recent years have been given priority by the KNVB in card distribution.

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