FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 isn’t just another World Cup. It is unique and different in its own way. First, it will be the first instance where a Gulf nation will be hosting the football World Cup. Second, it will be the first-ever Winter-Edition World Cup as the footballing extravaganza kicks off this year on November 21 with Senegal facing the Netherlands in the Group A encounter.
The World Cup over its entire course has mouth-watering clashes, namely, England vs Wales, Belgium vs Croatia, Portugal vs Uruguay, Spain vs Germany, and France vs Denmark. This edition has almost every heavyweight, except Italy who shockingly choked against North Macedonia in qualifiers.
The ticket sales are at a high as well as the highest ticket requests have been received from Argentina, followed by Brazil and England. It is for sure that the footballing world wants to witness the greatest player of all time, Lionel Messi, in maybe his last ever World Cup, and probably his best shot at the glory as Argentina stand-in as favourites this time around. Also, their group stage matches have the tickets sold out, against Poland, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia.
Also, this edition will be the last instance where there will be 8 groups as the next edition’s World Cup (World Cup 2026 in the US, Mexico, and Canada) will be expanded from 32 teams to 48 teams.
This edition has 48 group stage matches that will end on December 2, 2022. Thereafter, the teams will go to knockout stages which will date from December 3 – December 6, after that, quarter-finals will be followed up, then semi-finals, and the final will be held on December 18, at the Lusial Stadium, Lusail, which holds a capacity of 80,000 people.
The tournament will have 8 stadiums as hosts, namely:
- Lusail Stadium, Lusail
- Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor
- Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah
- Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan
- Khalifa International Stadium, Doha
- Education City Stadium, Doha
- Stadium 974, Ras Abu Aboud, Doha
- Al Thumama Stadium, Doha
FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group Stage Matches:
November 21: Senegal vs the Netherlands, Al Thumama Stadium, Doha.
November 21: England vs Iran, Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan.
November 21: Qatar vs Ecuador, Al Bayt Stadium, Al Kohr.
November 22: USA vs Wales, Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan.
November 22: Argentina vs Saudi Arabia, Lusail Stadium, Lusail.
November 22: Denmark vs Tunisia, Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan.
November 22: Mexico vs Poland, Stadium 974, Doha.
November 23: France vs Australia, Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah.
November 23: Morocco vs Croatia, Al Bayt Stadium, Al Kohr.
November 23: Germany vs Japan, Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan.
November 23: Spain vs Costa Rica, Al Thumama Stadium, Doha.
November 24: Belgium vs Canada, Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan.
November 24: Switzerland vs Cameroon, Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah.
November 24: Uruguay vs South Korea, Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan.
November 24: Portugal vs Ghana, Stadium 974, Doha.
November 25: Brazil vs Serbia, Lusail Stadium, Lusail.
November 25: Wales vs Iran, Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan.
November 25: Qatar vs Senegal, Al Thumama Stadium, Doha.
November 25: Netherlands vs Ecuador, Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan.
November 26: England vs US, Al Bayt Stadium, Al Kohr.
November 26: Tunisia vs Australia, Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah.
November 26: Poland vs Saudi Arabia, Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan.
November 26: France vs Denmark, Stadium 974, Doha.
November 27: Argentina vs Mexico, Lusail Stadium, Lusail.
November 27: Japan vs Costa Rica, Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan.
November 27: Belgium vs Morocco, Al Thumama Stadium, Doha.
November 27: Croatia vs Canada, Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan.
November 28: Spain vs Germany, Al Bayt Stadium, Al Kohr.
November 28: Cameroon vs Serbia, Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah.
November 28: South Korea vs Ghana, Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan.
November 28: Brazil vs Switzerland, Stadium 974, Doha.
November 29: Portugal vs Uruguay, Lusail Stadium, Lusail.
November 29: Netherlands vs Qatar, Al Bayt Stadium, Al Kohr.
November 29: Ecuador vs Senegal, Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan.
November 30: Wales vs England, Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan.
November 30: Iran vs US, Al Thumama Stadium, Doha.
November 30: Tunisia vs France, Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan.
November 30: Australia vs Denmark, Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah.
December 1: Poland vs Argentina, Stadium 974, Doha.
December 1: Saudi Arabia vs Mexico, Lusail Stadium, Lusail.
December 1: Croatia vs Belgium, Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan.
December 1: Canada vs Morocco, Al Thumama Stadium, Doha.
December 2: Japan vs Spain, Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan.
December 2: Costa Rica vs Germany, Al Bayt Stadium, Al Kohr.
December 2: South Korea vs Portugal, Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan.
December 2: Ghana vs Uruguay, Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah.
December 3: Cameroon vs Brazil, Lusail Stadium, Lusail.
December 3: Serbia vs Switzerland, Stadium 974, Doha.
FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Knockout Fixtures
December 3: Round of 16 – 1: Winners Group A vs Runners-up Group; B Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan.
December 3: Round of 16 – 2: Winners Group C vs Runners-up Group; D Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan.
December 4: Round of 16 – 3: Winners Group D vs Runners-up Group C; Al Thumama Stadium, Doha.
December 4: Round of 16 – 4: Winners Group B vs Runners-up Group A; Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor.
December 5: Round of 16 – 5: Winners Group E vs Runners-up Group F; Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah.
December 5: Round of 16 – 6: Winners Group G vs Runners-up Group H; Stadium 974, Doha.
December 6: Round of 16 – 7: Winners Group F vs Runners-up Group E; Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan.
December 6: Round of 16 – 8: Winners Group H vs Runners-up Group G; Lusail Stadium, Lusail.
December 9: Quarter-final 1: Winners Round of 16 – 5 vs Winners Round of 16 – 6; Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan.
December 9: Quarter-final 2: Winners Round of 16 – 1 vs Winners of Round of 16 -2; Lusail Stadium, Lusail.
December 10: Quarter-final 3: Winners Round of 16 – 7 vs Winners Round of 16 – 8; Al Thumama Stadium, Doha.
December 10: Quarter-final 4: Winners Round of 16 – 3 vs Winners Round of 16 – 4; Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor.
December 13: Semi-final 1: Winners Quarterfinal 2 vs Winners Quarterfinal 1; Lusail Stadium, Lusail.
December 14: Semi-final 2: Winners Quarterfinal 4 vs Winners Quarterfinal 3; Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor.
December 14: Third place play-off: Losers Semifinal 1 vs Losers Semifinal 2; Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan.
December 18: Final: Winners Semifinal 1 vs Winners Semifinal 2; Lusail Stadium, Lusail.