FIFA and Qatari organizers have accepted this change, said the same sources.
They explained that this opening match was initially scheduled for the evening of November 21 and would therefore have taken place after the one scheduled for the day between Senegal and the Netherlands.
The decision, which still needs to be endorsed by the FIFA Council bureau before the 100-day countdown to the start of the tournament, will return to the tradition of the first match being played by the host country.
Contacted by AFP, Fifa and the organizers refused to comment on the subject.
"There have been discussions and an agreement between the two respective teams and there has been a request from Conmebol," the South American football confederation, one of the sources told AFP, under cover of a statement. anonymity as no official decision has been announced.
"We wanted to follow the tradition of the defending champion or the host country being involved in the opening game," she added.
For fans in possession of tickets for the match on November 21, "any disruption will be managed in such a way that the impact is minimal," another source close to the tournament told AFP.
As part of the change, the Netherlands-Senegal match would be moved from 1:00 p.m. local time (10:00 GMT) to 7:00 p.m. (4:00 p.m. GMT).
"It's a better slot for both teams in terms of TV broadcast and other areas," the source explained.
Qatar is the first country in the Middle East to host one of the biggest sporting events in the world.
The competition has been moved from summer to late autumn 2022 due to extreme temperatures in the Gulf emirate.
© 2022 AFP