Top 10 World Cup opening matches

However, before 1966, it was not usual for there to be an 'opening match' as the first matchday or group would be played simultaneously.

In 1966 and 1970, the hosts kicked the tournament off, but from 1974 to 2002, the defending champions got the action underway.

FIFA then reverted back to the old format for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, and the host nation has continued to get the finals off and running ever since.

Here, ahead of Qatar's clash with Ecuador on Sunday, Sports Mole looks back at the best and most memorable opening matches in World Cup history, with matches here spanning back right across the 92-year history of the competition.

10. Italy 7-1 USA (Italy, 1934)

In 1930, hosts Uruguay did not feature in any of the opening, simultaneously-played matches, so Italy became the first hosts to do so four years later, along with the other seven last-16 matches which got the tournament underway.

On their way to the World Cup crown, Italy started off by hammering the United States 7-1 in Rome, with Angelo Schiavio netting a hat-trick and the legendary Giuseppe Meazza scoring the final goal of the rout.

The finals proved very popular in terms of attendances, as 137,000 fans turned out for those eight opening matches, and 55,000 for the final, but the tournament was unfortunately a big platform from which the Italian government used to promote fascism across Italy and to the world.

9. Argentina 0-1 Belgium (Spain, 1982)

For the opener of the 1982 World Cup finals in Spain, 95,000 packed into Barcelona's Camp Nou to witness the reigning champions Argentina face Belgium.

With Diego Maradona, Mario Kempes and Daniel Passarella in their side, Argentina looked set to make light work of their group, which included the Belgians, Hungary and minnows El Salvador.

However, after missing numerous gilt-edged chances, a 62nd-minute strike from Erwin Vandenbergh put the European side deservedly ahead, and after resisting late pressure from Argentina, held on for a famous win.

8. Brazil 4-0 Mexico (Brazil, 1950)

The Brazilian people went into the 1950 finals very confident of their side being successful on home soil, and they got the tournament underway against Mexico in front of a packed, expectant Maracana.

A commanding 4-0 win in the fixture raised hope and expectations in front of 82,000 people, as attendances for Brazil matches then regularly topped well over 100,000, including an astonishing 175,000 for the final fixture against Uruguay.

Ademir, who went on to be the runaway leading scorer at the finals, scored the first and final goals of the match, on his way to notching nine in the tournament.

7. South Africa 1-1 Mexico (South Africa, 2010)

Sixty years on, Mexico played in the opening match against the host country again, this time playing in the first ever World Cup match played on the African continent.

South Africa were not highly fancied among the African nations, but gave us one of the moments of the tournament when Siphiwe Tshabalala netted the first goal of the first African finals for South Africa.

Their orchestrated celebration which followed on from Tshabalala's fantastic strike has gone down in folklore, but a late Rafael Marquez equaliser denied them a chance to record an opening victory.

Mexico went on to reach the last 16 as they always do in the modern era, while South Africa exited their own party early, despite picking up a very respectable four points in the group.

6. Russia 5-0 Saudi Arabia (Russia, 2018)

Optimism was extremely low among Stanislav Cherchesov's Russian side going into their home World Cup in 2018 and some supporters felt disenchanted and worried about their side flopping on the world stage.

However, when they faced Saudi Arabia in the tournament opener at the Luzhniki Stadium, the 78,000-strong capacity went home beaming as they put on one of the most dominant displays seen at the finals.

A strong start saw Yury Gazinskiy put them in front early, before it turned into the Denis Cheryshev and Aleksandr Golovin show, with one of the duo involved in all five Russian goals as they stormed to an opening-day victory.

That victory lifted the nation and earned the side a renewed sense of support going through the tournament, and they were only a penalty shootout success away from reaching the semi-finals.

5. Brazil 2-1 Scotland (France, 1998)

While France fancied themselves as big favourites at their home finals in 1998, Brazil, as reigning champions, had the opportunity to put a marker down and stake their claim to be the side everyone fancied in the tournament opener.

They kicked the tournament off in Saint-Denis, where an 80,000 capacity crowd came to see the opening match against Scotland, but despite having an all-star cast on show, including Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Bebeto, they faced some difficulties against a resilient Scottish side.

John Collins's penalty brought Scotland level after Cesar Sampaio's early opener, and it took a Tom Boyd own goal to clinch the three points for the Selecao.

They could not replicate their achievements from USA '94 though, as the hosts overcame them in the showpiece event four weeks later.

4. Brazil 3-1 Croatia (Brazil, 2014)

After being denied the chance to kick the 2006 World Cup off as reigning champions given the change in format, Brazil only had to wait another eight years before they had another opportunity, as they hosted the finals in 2014.

They would face perennial dark horses Croatia, who posed a real threat once again as they have done in many major tournaments since their first as an independent nation at Euro '96.

With Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic and Ivan Perisic in the lineup, there was an argument to say that, man-for-man, Croatia had a stronger side, and the Vatreni silenced the Brazilian party early on, when a faint touch by Nikica Jelavic led Marcelo to divert the ball into his own net after just 11 minutes.

However, Brazil had a man called Neymar in their ranks, and it was not long until he had his say, finding the equaliser before the half hour mark, before squeezing a penalty beyond the palm of Stipe Pletikosa in the Croatian goal to turn the game around.

Oscar sealed the win late on as Brazil started their first home finals in 64 years with a crucial win in a very entertaining encounter.

3. Argentina 0-1 Cameroon (Italy, 1990)

There were not many people planning to tune in to the opener of Italia '90 who ever doubted that Argentina would get the job done comfortably in their tie with Cameroon.

In just their second appearance, Cameroon had not yet won a World Cup finals match, and Argentina entered the tournament as holders after they were led to a second title by the genius of Maradona in Mexico four years earlier.

With a squad compiled of players mainly playing either in Cameroon or at smaller French clubs (and in Reunion in Roger Milla's case), the Indomitable Lions set out to hit Argentina with aggressive tackles and physical battles in the air.

That is how they found their opening goal, as despite being down to 10 men following Andre Kana-Biyik's dismissal, Francois Omam-Biyik got on the end of Cyrille Makanaky's cross, which squirmed in beyond Argentine goalkeeper Nery Pumpido.

They would finish the game with nine men after Benjamin Massing's infamous full-blooded challenge on Claudio Caniggia saw him receive a second booking, but Cameroon held on for a shock win.

2. France 0-1 Senegal (South Korea & Japan, 2002)

The 2002 World Cup was the final iteration which saw the reigning champions play in the opening fixture, and like so many who have gone before them, France lost to weaker opposition.

Senegal were their opponents, and the first ever Asian-hosted finals started off with a scoreline that lingers long in the memory.

After claiming the World Cup crown as hosts in 1998, France followed up their success by becoming European champions too in 2000, and with the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira in their squad, they were highly fancied to retain their crown in South Korea and Japan.

Senegal's squad contained many French-born players playing in Ligue 1, but who had chosen to represent the nation of their family with opportunities to break into an elite French side unlikely.

However, they showed that individual quality is not solely sufficient in any World Cup fixture as they deservedly beat a dire French side with Papa Bouba Diop's strike on the half-hour mark sending the Senegalese faithful into wild celebration.

France would go on to exit the competition at the group stage, becoming the first of four reigning champions to fail to progress at this stage since the turn of the millennium.

1. Germany 4-2 Costa Rica (Germany, 2006)

The greatest opening World Cup match comes from one of the greatest tournaments in the modern era, the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

The change in format meant Germany became the first hosts to play the opening fixture at a finals since Mexico in 1970, and against Costa Rica, they were expected to see off the CONCACAF nation with relative ease.

Despite going in front early, Germany were pegged back by Paulo Wanchope's strike, and just when they seemed comfortable at 3-1 up with 15 minutes to play, Wanchope popped up again to score, but Die Mannschaft would eventually run out 4-2 winners.

The game is remembered best for the two Goal of the Tournament contenders which were scored in the game - the opening goal from Philipp Lahm, and the clinching goal which settled a lot of German nerves from Torsten Frings, both of which were long-range scorchers.