When the curtain comes up on the FIFA World Cup in Qatar on Sunday, the hosts and Ecuador will take their turn to try to conjure a contest that is bracketed among the great World Cup occasions. Among all the group stage fixtures, it is often the first of the lot that is remembered besides finals and high-drama knockout ties.

On yet another blisteringly hot morning in downtown Doha, the Qatar Sports Club Stadium turned into the venue for one of the most unique exercises ahead of the 2022 World Cup.

Two weeks after FIFA urged the 32 teams at the World Cup to “focus on the football”, Gianni Infantino veered off-script on Saturday.

Qatar coach Felix Sanchez said the hosts were excitedly looking forward to a “historic moment” when his team open the 2022 World Cup against Ecuador on Sunday.

The wait is almost over as the greatest show on earth, the FIFA World Cup, commences tomorrow. Apart from being the last hurrah for many superstars, the Qatar edition will witness several new rules.

Poland defender Matty Cash had a special request for Aston Villa team mate and Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez ahead of their meeting at the World Cup: to get him Lionel Messi's shirt.

The ceremony starts at 8 PM (Bangladesh Standard Time) on Sunday.

Germany team official Oliver Bierhoff said Saturday he "could not understand the decision" to ban beer from stadium perimeters at the Qatar World Cup.

People of various ages, races, genders, cultures, and nationalities are often brought together through football, and the World Cup is the perfect example of this. Because it is the sport that is played and watched the most around the world, the World Cup is one of the most eagerly awaited sporting occasions, with the Olympics coming in as a distant second.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino blasted the "hypocrisy" of Western critics of Qatar's human rights record on Saturday, making a passionate defence of the World Cup in the Gulf state on the eve of the kick-off.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said Saturday that World Cup fans can survive for three hours a day without beer after sales were banned around stadiums.

Belgium’s defeat to Egypt in Friday’s World Cup warm-up international was a wakeup call before the tournament, said coach Roberto Martinez.

An Indian man has been arrested after upsetting his football-mad neighbours by tearing up a Portugal flag, hoisted for the World Cup, when he mistook it for the emblem of a controversial Islamist group.

India's cricket board has sacked its entire selection committee, led by former fast bowler Chetan Sharma, and put out the call for replacements after the team's humiliating T20 World Cup exit.

The World Cup always provides a stage for young players to make a name for themselves and the younger generation will be eagerly awaiting Sunday's start of the 2022 edition.

A team from outside of Europe has not won the World Cup since 2002, but the public is expecting that to change in Qatar this year.

 Italian Daniele Orsato will referee Sunday's opening World Cup match between hosts Qatar and Ecuador in Group A, FIFA said on Friday.

Spain coach Luis Enrique has said that if his team cannot triumph at the World Cup in Qatar he would like to see Lionel Messi or Luis Suarez crowned with Argentina and Uruguay respectively.

Brazil's former midfielder Ze Roberto said criticism of Dani Alves' call-up for the World Cup in Qatar was due to a cultural taboo on veterans that was still present in Brazilian football, something that he experienced in his last finals in 2006.

FIFA World Cup 2022 will be the shortest ever -- only 28 days.