World Cup 2022 opening ceremony LIVE!
It’s finally here. A World Cup no other kicks off this afternoon as Qatar welcomes the world’s best players for a winter World Cup. After over a decade of controversy, the world is watching as the Gulf state raises the curtain on the latest edition of the football extravaganza.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino yesterday did little to calm fears of a chaotic World Cup with a remarkable, and defiant, speech criticising the western media coverage of the hosts. But now football must be played, and the tournament officially begins inside the Al Bayt Stadium at around 2.30pm, before the first game between Qatar and Ecuador.
We are expecting pop star Jung Kook of BTS to be involved, but opening ceremony stalwart Robbie Williams will not be performing despite claims on the contrary. Follow the opening ceremony below with Standard Sport’s dedicated LIVE blog, featuring on-the-ground insight and reaction from Malik Ouzia in Doha.
