Qatar 2022 World Cup daily schedule; who plays today, November 21st

After months of build up, the 2022 World Cup got underway in Qatar on Sunday 20th November. The hosts made their first appearance at the FIFA event, following a spectacular opening ceremony, and duly lost to Ecuador in front of a global audience. With the opening match out of the way, some of the competitions bigger guns get their first taste of action and you’ll want to know when those whistles will be blown for kick off.

World Cup games today (all times ET)

Group B: England v Iran (8 a.m.)

Harry Kane targets Wayne Rooney’s England scoring record. The Tottenham striker needs just two goals to match Rooney’s 53.

“Hopefully (I’ll break it) as soon as possible,” said Kane, whose 51 goals have come in 75 appearances, told reporters on the eve of England’s first ever clash with Iran. “I know it’s there and I know people will talk about it but I like to just focus on my game. I know with the team we have we will create chances and I just need to be ready for the ones that come my way.

“I was lucky enough to play with Wayne and he was a huge player who I looked up to. I watched him play in the major tournaments and it’s a huge honour to be close to him.”

Group A: Senegal v Netherlands (11 a.m.)

Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal says his team is better than the team he took to Brazil, and finished third.

“I believe that this group of players are well-connected to each other together, they work well together in a professional way, and I think that will always contribute to success,” Van Gaal told a news conference on Sunday. “In 2014 we came third with a squad that was of lesser quality than this one, and with this group I expect more. It depends not only on technical skills and tactical skills, but it also depends on a bit of luck, that you score at the right time and that the others don’t score,” he said.

“I think that we could become world champion, but there are squads that, in my view, are at a higher level than my squad ... so I’m saying we can become a world champion. Whether we become world champion is another thing, but we can.”

Group B: USA v Wales (2 .p.m.)

Tyler Adams gets USMNT captaincy for the World Cup, ahead of opener. The Leeds United midfielder Adams, 23, is the youngest captain by a distance at this year’s tournament, with England’s Harry Kane the only other skipper under the age of 30 in Qatar. It also means he is the youngest American captain at a World Cup since Walter Bahr in 1950.

The responsibility has rotated between multiple players throughout Greg Berhalter’s tenure, with Adams, Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Walker Zimmerman all having held the role since the start of World Cup qualifying.

“We’re proud to announce Tyler as the captain for the World Cup. We think he has great leadership capabilities and he leads by his actions and his words,” Berhalter told reporters. “For the last three and a half years we’ve been working with the leadership council... and they thought it’d be better to have a captain named for the World Cup.

“Tyler’s a guy who is mature beyond his years and you notice that as soon as you start talking to him. The team-mates know exactly what they’re going to get from him. They know he’s going to go out on the field and compete.”

Full World Cup 2022 schedule

Find out at a glance when all the games are taking place in Qatar.