FIFA World Cup opening ceremony to have SA flavour to it? Who will perform and kick-off times

Host nation Qatar and Ecuador get the ball rolling at the 60,000-seat Al Bayt Stadium in the first of 64 matches of the 2022 FIFA World Cup on Sunday, 20 November.

Here is a helpful list of what time all the group matches are on South Africa time. Be sure to bookmark this page so you can return for an easy reference. 

What time is the World Cup opening match?

Kick-off will be at 18:00 (SA time).

What time is the World Cup opening ceremony?

However, prior to the start of the match, an opening ceremony will take place at 16:00 (SA time), with Shakira reportedly set to perform her mega hit song Waka Waka (This Time for Africa), which was the official FIFA World Cup song during the 2010 edition of the tournament in South Africa.

Along with the Colombian songstress, Robbie Williams, Black Eyed Peas, Nora Fatehi and Jungkook of South Korea's BTS are all reported to perform.

The group stage (A-H) has a total of 48 matches over 12 days with only 16 of the 32 nations advancing to the knockout rounds of the competition. These times will be updated once the group stages progress.

You can get live updates of all the matches here.

Here are all the FIFA World Cup group matches in South African kick-off time:

Group A

Sunday, 20 Nov: Qatar v Ecuador - 18:00

Monday, 21 Nov: Senegal v Netherlands - 18:00

Friday, 25 Nov: Qatar v Senegal - 15:00

Friday, 25 Nov: Netherlands v Ecuador - 18:00

Tuesday, 29 Nov: Ecuador v Senegal - 17:00

Tuesday, 29 Nov: Netherlands v Qatar - 17:00

Group B

Monday, 21 Nov: England v Iran - 15:00

Monday, 21 Nov: USA v Wales - 21:00

Friday, 25 Nov: Wales v Iran - 12:00

Friday, 25 Nov: England v USA - 21:00

Tuesday, 29 Nov: Iran v USA - 21:00

Tuesday, 29 Nov: Wales v England - 21:00

Group C

Tuesday, 22 Nov: Argentina v Saudi Arabia - 12:00