The 2022 Qatar World Cup has arrived. This tournament will be the highlight of next month.
England will take on USA, Iran, and Wales in group stage. Spain will face off against Germany with a host of mouthwatering ties.
Here’s everything you need to know about the tournament…
World Cup 2022: Important dates for the finals
The tournament will begin on Sunday, November 20,The opening match will see Ecuador facing Qatar, the host country.
England v Iran will play the second match in the tournament on Monday 21 November, before the AFCON champions Senegal meet the Netherlands and USA take on Wales.
The group stage will continue until Friday, December 2, with four games each day following the first two days.
The knockout games begin the next day, Saturday, December 3.
The final will take place at the Lusail Iconic Stadium, which holds 80,000 spectators. Sunday, December 18.
- November 20: World Cup begins
- December 3/6: Round 16
- December 9/10: Quarter-finals
- December 13/14 – Semi-finals
- December 18: World Cup final
The opening match was supposed to be Senegal v Netherlands, but FIFA changed the title to Qatar v Ecuador in August.
The move was in keeping with the long-standing tradition of opening matches that involve hosts or reigning champs.
World Cup 2022: Confirmed group stage fixtures
England will face a first-ever ‘Battle of Britain’ at a World Cup finals.
After their win over Ukraine in their play off, the Three Lions will take on Wales at the group stage.
Gareth Southgate’s men will kick off Group B against Iran, a side they have never faced in a senior competitive international.
They will also face the United States, who they have met twice in the World Cup finals – in 1950 and 2010 – but never beaten.
England will face the hosts Qatar, Netherlands or Ecuador in the final 16 if they can get past their group.
Group E featured former world champions Germany and Spain against one another.
Belgium will face Croatia, another 2018 World Cup semi finalist, in Group F. France takes on Denmark, Tunisia, Australia, as the reigning champions.
- Group A Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands
- Group B: England, Iran USA and Wales
- Group C Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland
- Group D France, Australia and Tunisia
- Group E Spain, Costa Rica, Germany, Japan
- Group F: Belgium, Canada, Morocco, Croatia
- Group G Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, Cameroon
- Group H: Portugal, Ghana Uruguay, South Korea
World Cup 2022: Kickoff times
Qatari time is three hours ahead Greenwich Mean Time.
FIFA has confirmed that the matches will begin at 1pm (4pm, 7pm, 10pm) local time (11am, 4pm, 5pm, 7pm, and 7pm in the UK).
Kick-off times for the final round in group games and knockout round matches will take place at 6pm and 10:30 PM local time (3pm UK time).
The final will take place at 6 p.m. local time (or 3 p.m. UK time).
World Cup 2022: England’s fixtures
Here are the confirmed dates and times of England’s potential fixtures…
Group Stages
England v Iran – 4pm local/1pm UK – Mon 22/11
England vs. USA – 10pm local/7pm UK – Fri 25/11
Wales v England – 10pm local/7pm UK – Tue 29/11
England finishing 1st
Round of 16 – 10pm local/7pm UK – Sun 4/12 (potentially Ecuador or Senegal)
Quarter final – 10pm local/7pm UK – Sat 10/12 (potentially France or Argentina)
Semi-final – 10pm local/7pm UK – Wed 14/12 (potentially Belgium, Germany, Portugal or Spain)
England finishing 2nd
Round of 16 – 6pm local/3pm UK – Sat 3/12 (potentially Netherlands)
Quarter final – 10pm local/7pm UK – Fri 9/12 (potentially Argentina or Denmark)
Semi-final – 10pm local/7pm UK – Tue 13/12 (potentially Spain or Croatia)
Final
Third place play-off – 6pm local/3pm UK – Sat 17/12
Final – 6pm local/3pm UK – Sun 18/12
World Cup 2022 Weather
Weather has been a hot topic since Qatar won the World Cup.
Qatar’s average temperature ranges between 22C and 30C in November and 17C to 25C in December.
Average temperature for the summer months is 37C between May and August.
Qatar is a Persian Gulf peninsular Arab country. It borders Saudi Arabia, and is close to Bahrain and The United Arab Emirates.
World Cup 2022: How does the tournament work
There will be 32 countries participating in the World CupQatari holders will also be participating in the tournament.
The group stage will not be open to all eight teams, as it was at Euro 2020.
The winners and runners up in each group will advance to the round of 16. After that, the tournament will reach the knockout stage.
A third-place playoff match will take place at the Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan, on Saturday December 17.
World Cup 2022: The venues
The tournament will take place in Qatar, with most of the games taking place in Doha, the capital of Qatar.
There are four stadia located in Doha: the Ras Abu Aboud Stadium (Al Thumama Stadium), the Education City Stadium, and the Khalifa International Stadium.
There will be four more venues used for the tournament, the Lusail Iconic Stadium (Lusail) and Al Bayt Stadium (Al Khor) being the largest.
Al Rayyan’s Ahmed bin Ali Stadium and Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah, will also be used.
They will be close to each other with the longest distance between them being 65km, from Al Bayt Stadium to Al Janoub Stadium.
World Cup 2022: The venues
Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail – 80,000
Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor – 60,000
Stadium 974, Doha – 40,000
Al Thumama Stadium, Doha – 40,000
Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan – 45,000
Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan – 44,740
Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan – 40,000
Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah – 40,000
World Cup 2022 – How will it affect the 2022/23 Premier League Season
The new Premier League season began on August 6, and will end on May 28, 2023.
The Premier League will break after the weekend of November 12/13 before resuming fixtures again on Boxing Day.
The players will be able to spend a week with their national teams in preparation for the tournament in Middle East.
They will then have only eight days to recover in time for the league’s resumption should they reach the final on December 18.
Only six weekends are planned without Premier League matches.
What about beer?
Alcohol isn’t illegal in Qatar, but there is zero tolerance for drinking in public and being drunk in public is a crime.
There has been an exception to the rules, with beer fans now able to purchase beer at the Arcadia Festival up to 19 hours per day as well as the official FIFA fan fest.
Click here for a detailed explanation on beer rules.
World Cup 2022: Full schedule list
All times are GMT
Group stage
Sunday, November 20, 2008
Group A – Qatar v Ecuador, 4pm
Monday, 21 November:
Group B – England v Iran, 1pm
Group A – Senegal v Netherlands, 4pm
Group B – USA v Wales, 7pm
Tuesday 22 November
Group C – Argentina v Saudi Arabia, 10am
Group D – Denmark v Tunisia, 1pm
Group C – Mexico v Poland, 4pm
Group D – France v Australia, 7pm
Wednesday, November 23:
Group F – Morocco v Croatia, 10am
Group E – Germany v Japan, 1pm
Group E – Spain v Costa Rica, 4pm
Group F – Belgium v Canada, 7pm
Thursday, November 24
Group G – Switzerland v Cameroon, 10am
Group H – Uruguay v South Korea, 1pm
Group H – Portugal v Ghana, 4pm
Group G – Brazil v Serbia, 7pm
Friday, November 25, 2009
Group B – Iran v Wales, 10am
Group A – Qatar v Senegal, 1pm
Group A – Netherlands v Ecuador, 4pm
Group B – England v USA, 7pm
Saturday, 26 November
Group D – Tunisia v Australia, 10am
Group C – Poland v Saudi Arabia, 1pm
Group D – France v Denmark, 4pm
Group C – Argentina v Mexico, 7pm
Sunday, 27 November:
Group E – Japan v Costa Rica, 10am
Group F – Belgium v Morocco, 1pm
Group F – Croatia v Canada, 4pm
Group E – Spain v Germany, 7pm
Monday, November 28
Group G – Cameroon v Serbia, 10am
Group H – South Korea v Ghana, 1pm
Group G – Brazil v Switzerland, 4pm
Group H – Portugal v Uruguay, 7pm
Tuesday, November 29
Group A – Netherlands v Qatar, 3pm
Group A – Ecuador v Senegal, 3pm
Group B – Wales v England, 7pm
Group B – Iran v USA, 7pm
Wednesday, November 30:
Group D – Tunisia v France, 3pm
Group D – Australia v Denmark, 3pm
Group C – Poland v Argentina, 7pm
Group C – Saudi Arabia v Mexico, 7pm
Thursday, December 1
Group F – Croatia v Belgium, 3pm
Group F – Canada v Morocco, 3pm
Group E – Japan v Spain, 7pm
Group E – Costa Rica v Germany, 7pm
Friday, December 2nd:
Group H – South Korea v Portugal, 3pm
Group H – Ghana v Uruguay, 3pm
Group G – Cameroon v Brazil, 7pm
Group G – Serbia v Switzerland, 7pm
Round-of-16
Saturday, December 3
Match 49 – 1A v 2B – Khalifa International Stadium, 3pm
Match 50 – 1C v 2D – Al Rayyan Stadium, 7pm
Sunday, December 4, 2009
Match 52 – 1D v 2C – Al Thumama Stadium, 3pm
Match 51 – 1B v 2A – Al Bayt Stadium, 7pm
Monday, December 5, 2009:
Match 53 – 1E v 2F – Al Janoub Stadium, 3pm
Match 54 – 1G v 2H – Ras Abu Aboud Stadium, 7pm
Tuesday, December 6
Match 55 – 1F v 2E – Education City Stadium, 3pm
Match 56 – 1H v 2G – Lusail Stadium, 7pm
Quarter-finals
Friday, December 9
Match 57 – Winner of Match 49 v Winner Match 50 – Lusail Stadium, 7pm
Match 58 – Winner of Match 53 v Winner Match 54 – Education City Stadium, 3pm
Saturday, December 10
Match 59 – Winner Match 51 v Winner Match 52 – Al Bayt Stadium, 7pm
Match 60 – Winner Match 55 v Winner Match 56 – Al Thumama Stadium, 3pm
Semi-finals
Tuesday, 13 December:
Match 61 – Winner Match 57 v Winner Match 58 – Lusail Stadium, 7pm
Wednesday, December 14:
Match 62 – Winner Match 59 v Winner Match 60 – Al Bayt Stadium, 7pm
Third-place play-off:
Saturday, December 17, 2017
Match 63 – Khalifa International Stadium, 3pm
Final
Sunday, 18 December
Match 64 – Lusail Stadium, 3pm
TalkSPORT will show you the World Cup.
At talkSPORT we are powered by fans, so come and join us for the ultimate World Cup fan experience this winter – at the TalkSPORT Fan Zone.
In a huge indoor venue under the arches at Waterloo in London, we’ll bring you live screenings of every World Cup game.
There will be Q&As with talkSPORT talent, you’ll be part of our live broadcasts, and there will be plenty of food and drink on offer too.
Come and enjoy the best World Cup fan experience in London – and enjoy a pint on us – with tickets for England and Wales’ group stage games on sale Get it now!
