The FIFA World Cup is one of the most prestigious tournaments for football players across the world. The tournament takes place once every 4 years and is set to take place towards the end of 2022. The last tournament took place in 2018, which resulted in France beating Croatia in the World Cup final to lift the trophy.
The upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup is a much anticipated tournament with many countries buzzing to show how much their squad has improved and what they can achieve at the biggest stage in football. There are many strong contenders this year with many teams itching to finally get their hands on the elusive World Cup trophy.
France, the winner of the last World Cup will try and extend their status as the World Champions whereas Brazil and Argentina, who faced off against each other in the Copa America final last year will try and clinch the World Cup this year.
When and where is the 2022 World Cup?
The FIFA World Cup 2022 is scheduled to run from 21st November 2022 till 18th December 2022. This year’s World Cup is set to take place in Qatar. The games will be played across 5 different cities in 8 different stadiums. Lusail, Al Khor, Doha, Al Rayyan, and Al Wakrah are the 5 cities where the World Cup games will be played.
Qatar was appointed as the host for the 2022 World Cup on 2nd December 2010 after a successful bid by Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, son of Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani the then Emir of Qatar. Qatar beat United States in the final round to become the hosts of the FIFA World Cup 2022. The groups for each team as well as the fixtures have already been decided. The opening game of the 2022 FIFA World Cup will see Senegal face off against Netherlands.
What are the qualified teams for World Cup 2022?
The FIFA World Cup 2022 will have 32 different teams competing in this competition. They have all qualified through different qualifiers depending on their region. They have been divided in the following groups:
GROUP A
| Pos | Team |
| 1 | Qatar(H) |
| 2 | Ecuador |
| 3 | Senegal |
| 4 | Netherlands |
GROUP B
| Pos | Team |
| 1 | England |
| 2 | Iran |
| 3 | United States |
| 4 | Wales |
GROUP C
| Pos | Team |
| 1 | Argentina |
| 2 | Saudi Arabia |
| 3 | Mexico |
| 4 | Poland |
GROUP D
| Pos | Team |
| 1 | France |
| 2 | Australia |
| 3 | Denmark |
| 4 | Tunisia |
GROUP E
| Pos | Team |
| 1 | Spain |
| 2 | Costa Rica |
| 3 | Germany |
| 4 | Japan |
GROUP F
| Pos | Team |
| 1 | Belgium |
| 2 | Canada |
| 3 | Morocco |
| 4 | Croatia |
GROUP G
| Pos | Team |
| 1 | Brazil |
| 2 | Serbia |
| 3 | Switzerland |
| 4 | Cameroon |
GROUP H
| Pos | Team |
| 1 | Portugal |
| 2 | Ghana |
| 3 | Uruguay |
| 4 | South Korea |
What are the venues?
The eight stadiums where the games will be played are divided in 5 different cities as shown in the table below.
| Lusail | Al Khor | Doha | ||
| Lusail Iconic Stadium | Al Bayt Stadium | Stadium 974 | Al Thumama Stadium | |
| Capacity: 80,000 | Capacity: 60,000 | Capacity: 40,000 | Capacity: 40,000 | |
| Al Rayyan | Al Wakrah | |||
| Education City Stadium | Ahmad bin Ali Stadium | Khalifa International Stadium | Al Janoub Stadium | |
| Capacity: 45,350 | Capacity: 44,740 | Capacity: 40,000 | (upgraded) | Capacity: 40,000 |
