Field of dreams opens!
Updated On: 20 November, 2022 08:10 AM IST | Doha | AFP
After years of controversy, FIFA World Cup gets underway with hosts Qatar taking on Ecuador at the Al Bayt Stadium on Sunday
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FIFA World Cup Trophy is placed outside the Al Bayt Stadium, where the opening game will be played on Sunday. Pic/Getty Images
Qatar will finally get their home World Cup under way on Sunday, 12 years after the nation’s successful bid put into motion wide-ranging preparations which cost billions of dollars.
It is widely accepted the Gulf state has spent $200 billion (Rs 16,30,403 crore) on hosting football’s biggest event and Qatar will get its first glimpse at the final product at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor when the hosts take on Ecuador.
Organisers say that 2.9 million of the 3.1 million tickets have been sold and they will be expecting a 60,000 sell-out on Sunday. The home team’s players have also been preparing tirelessly, spending months outside Qatar in isolated training camps, in an attempt to reach the knockout phase on their World Cup debut. “Our situation is different [compared to other teams] and we have to work with what we’ve got,” coach Felix Sanchez told a press conference on the eve of the tournament.
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