The biggest event in the world of sports, the FIFA World Cup football, will be inaugurated today in Qatar with a grand ceremony.
The first match of the World Cup will be played between the hosts Qatar and Ecuador.
64 matches of the mega event will be held in 8 stadiums in 5 cities of Qatar where the defending champions France will defend their title in the event.
In the history of FIFA World Cup, Qatar is the smallest country in the world to host and it has spent more than 200 billion dollars for the event so far.
In the opening ceremony, well-known artists from around the world will perform.
This is the first time a Middle Eastern country is hosting the FIFA World Cup and the first time the tournament is being held in winter.
Millions of fans from all over the world have flocked to Qatar to watch the tournament.
With accommodation and food prices skyrocketing in Qatar, fans have decided to pay hundreds of dollars for a one-bed room to watch the historic tournament.
32 teams participating in the tournament have reached Qatar and have also played warm-up matches before the start of the event.
Stadiums in Qatar
The Qatar government has made 8 stadiums a wonder for the world by building them in a modern style to hold the world’s biggest event.
A stadium consists of 974 containers, which is its own example. Seven World Cup matches will be played in this stadium. Another unique thing is that the stadium is temporary, meaning the shipping containers and seats used in the stadium will be removed after the football world cup. Toilets, waiting rooms and changing rooms have also been built in some of the containers.
974 shipping containers have been included in the construction of this stadium. The 40,000-seat stadium in Doha has been designed by a renowned company.
The stadium is named after the country’s dialing code and the number of shipping containers used in its construction, 974.
Groups
32 teams will compete for the trophy in FIFA World Cup Qatar where all the teams are divided into 8 groups of four each.
Group A consists of hosts Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal and Netherlands while Group B consists of England, Iran, United States of America (USA) and Wales.
Group C will be joined by Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Poland.
Defending champions France are in Group D alongside Australia, Denmark and Tunisia.
Group E features two former champions Spain and Germany, while Costa Rica and Japan are also part of the same group.
Canada and Morocco are in Group F alongside Croatia and Belgium, who finished second and third respectively in the last event.
Group G consists of five-time world champions Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland and Cameroon.
In Group H, two-time world champions Uruguay will clash with superstar Ronaldo’s Portugal, Ghana and South Korea.
It should be noted that four group matches will continue for 12 days on a daily basis.
Knockout Round
Two teams from these groups will qualify for the Round of 16/Pre-Quarter Finals, then the winners of these matches will play the Quarter Finals.
The winners of the quarter-finals will compete in the semi-finals while the final of the event will be played on December 18.
