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 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.

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