The original plan was for the opening ceremony to be held before Qatar’s game on Nov 21 against Ecuador, which would have created the unusual situation of two matches – Senegal v Netherlands and England v Iran – being held before the ceremony.

Normally, the ceremony is conducted before the kick-off of the first game of the tournament.

Hosts Qatar will now make their World Cup debut against Ecuador at 7pm local time (midnight, Malaysian time) after an opening ceremony at the 60,000-capacity Al Bayt Stadium.

The change is in line with the long-standing tradition of opening matches involving hosts or holders.

The Group A match between Senegal and Netherlands, originally scheduled to be the tournament opener, has been pushed back by six hours from 1pm local time on Nov 21 to the 7pm slot vacated by Qatar v Ecuador.

England’s Group B match with Iran and the United States’ opener against Wales, which are also scheduled for Nov 21, remain unaffected by the change.