England are set to play their first World Cup match at the stadium where a man plunged to his death.

Zachary Cox, who lived in Denmark Villas in Hove, died while working on the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha in Qatar.

England are set to play their first group stage game of the tournament against Iran at the stadium on Monday, November 21.

An inquest at the time said that Mr Cox died while using “potentially lethal equipment”.

Speaking at the inquest in 2017, Brighton and Hove senior coroner Veronica Hamilton-Deeley said: “The site managers at the stadium knew or should have known that they were effectively requiring a group of their workers to rely on potentially lethal equipment.”

The Argus: Khalifa International StadiumKhalifa International Stadium (Image: NQ Staff)

"[The new system] was chaotic, unprofessional, unthinking and downright dangerous.”

Ms Hamilton-Deeley also said that she had not been able to secure any information from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office about Mr Cox’s death.

Mr Cox, 40, died after a platform he was standing on broke and his harness snapped during the fall.

After moving to the UK from New Zealand, Mr Cox had spent 18 months in Qatar working on a visitor’s visa.

At the time of his death, a statement from Midmac-Six Construct said: “For unknown reasons one of the lever hoists supporting the platform failed, causing the fall of the worker, who was wearing all his safety equipment, including the safety harness.

"Sadly, the harness was cut during the fall with a fatal outcome. What caused the cut is subject to further investigation.”

Concerns have been raised over Qatar being allowed to host the World Cup due to a number of problems with workers’ rights and human rights.

The Argus: Zachary Cox, 40, who died in Qatar in 2017Zachary Cox, 40, who died in Qatar in 2017

The deaths of thousands of workers have been reported during building work for new football stadiums in the country for the competition.

Qatar has also been slammed due to its record with LGBTQ+ rights. Homosexuality in Qatar is illegal and can be punishable by imprisonment.

The Argus: Harry KaneHarry Kane (Image: PA)

The Qatari embassy has been contacted for comment regarding the circumstances of Mr Cox’s death.