World Cup 2022: Teams, fixtures, results, favourites, draw, qualifying, hosts, stadiums, tickets
The World Cup 2022 will start in just a few days. The biggest football tournament in the world is only held every four years, and France is the defending champion going into the next one.
The last World Cup, which was held in Russia, was won by France. They beat Croatia 4–2 in 2018 final to win their second title 20 years after their first win in 1998.
There will be 32 teams competing for the title of world champion. Brazil has won the tournament five times, which is more than any other country.
When is the next World Cup?
The 2022 World Cup will start on November 20, 2022, and end on December 18, 2022. The full event only lasts 29 days, which is much less than usual.
The tournament was supposed to start on November 21, but FIFA moved it up by one day so that the hosts, Qatar, could play the first game against Ecuador. This was the only game on day one.
When is the 2022 World Cup?
Qatar will host the 2022 World Cup. It is the first time the tournament has been held in an Arab country. It is also only the second time the tournament has been held in Asia. In 2002, South Korea and Japan hosted the tournament together.
What are the dates, times, and results of the World Cup 2022?
On November 20, the first game of the World Cup will be between Qatar and Ecuador.
During the busy group stage, which runs until December 2, there will be up to four games a day.
World Cup group-stage fixtures and results
Date | Fixture | KO time (GMT/EST) |
---|---|---|
Nov 20 | Qatar vs Ecuador | 16:00/11:00 |
Nov 21 | Senegal vs Netherlands | 16:00/11:00 |
Nov 21 | England vs Iran | 13:00/08:00 |
Nov 21 | United States vs Wales | 19:00/14:00 |
Nov 22 | Argentina vs Saudi Arabia | 10:00/05:00 |
Nov 22 | Mexico vs Poland | 16:00/11:00 |
Nov 22 | France vs Australia | 19:00/14:00 |
Nov 22 | Denmark vs Tunisia | 13:00/08:00 |
Nov 23 | Spain vs Costa Rica | 16:00/11:00 |
Nov 23 | Germany vs Japan | 13:00/08:00 |
Nov 23 | Belgium vs Canada | 19:00/14:00 |
Nov 23 | Morocco vs Croatia | 10:00/05:00 |
Nov 24 | Brazil vs Serbia | 19:00/14:00 |
Nov 24 | Switzerland vs Cameroon | 10:00/05:00 |
Nov 24 | Portugal vs Ghana | 16:00/11:00 |
Nov 24 | Uruguay vs South Korea | 13:00/08:00 |
Nov 25 | Qatar vs Senegal | 13:00/08:00 |
Nov 25 | Netherlands vs Ecuador | 16:00/11:00 |
Nov 25 | England vs United States | 19:00/14:00 |
Nov 25 | Wales vs Iran | 10:00/05:00 |
Nov 26 | Argentina vs Mexico | 19:00/14:00 |
Nov 26 | Poland vs Saudi Arabia | 13:00/08:00 |
Nov 26 | France vs Denmark | 16:00/11:00 |
Nov 26 | Tunisia vs Australia | 10:00/05:00 |
Nov 27 | Spain vs Germany | 19:00/14:00 |
Nov 27 | Japan vs Costa Rica | 10:00/05:00 |
Nov 27 | Belgium vs Morocco | 13:00/08:00 |
Nov 27 | Croatia vs Canada | 16:00/11:00 |
Nov 28 | Brazil vs Switzerland | 10:00/05:00 |
Nov 28 | Cameroon vs Serbia | 10:00/05:00 |
Nov 28 | Portugal vs Uruguay | 19:00/14:00 |
Nov 28 | South Korea vs Ghana | 13:00/08:00 |
Nov 29 | Netherlands vs Qatar | 15:00/10:00 |
Nov 29 | Ecuador vs Senegal | 15:00/10:00 |
Nov 29 | Wales vs England | 19:00/14:00 |
Nov 29 | Iran vs United States | 19:00/14:00 |
Nov 30 | Poland vs Argentina | 19:00/14:00 |
Nov 30 | Saudi Arabia vs Mexico | 19:00/14:00 |
Nov 30 | Tunisia vs France | 15:00/10:00 |
Nov 30 | Australia vs Denmark | 15:00/10:00 |
Dec 1 | Japan vs Spain | 19:00/14:00 |
Dec 1 | Costa Rica vs Germany | 19:00/14:00 |
Dec 1 | Croatia vs Belgium | 15:00/10:00 |
Dec 1 | Canada vs Morocco | 15:00/10:00 |
Dec 2 | Cameroon vs Brazil | 19:00/14:00 |
Dec 2 | Serbia vs Switzerland | 19:00/14:00 |
Dec 2 | South Korea vs Portugal | 15:00/10:00 |
Dec 2 | Ghana vs Uruguay | 15:00/10:00 |
Dec 3 | Winners A vs Runners-Up B | 18:00/15:00 |
Dec 3 | Winners C vs Runners-Up D | 22:00/19:00 |
Dec 4 | Winners D vs Runners-Up C | 18:00/15:00 |
Dec 4 | Winners B vs Runners-Up A | 22:00/19:00 |
Dec 5 | Winners E vs Runners-Up F | 18:00/15:00 |
Dec 5 | Winners G vs Runners-Up H | 22:00/19:00 |
Dec 6 | Winners F vs Runners-Up E | 18:00/15:00 |
Dec 6 | Winners H vs Runners-Up G | 22:00/19:00 |
Dec 2 | Quarter-final 1 | 18:00/15:00 |
Dec 2 | Quarter-final 2 | 22:00/19:00 |
Dec 2 | Quarter-final 3 | 18:00/15:00 |
Dec 2 | Quarter-final 4 | 22:00/19:00 |
Dec 2 | Semi-final 1 | 22:00/19:00 |
Dec 2 | Semi-final 2 | 22:00/19:00 |
Dec 2 | Third and fourth playoff | 18:00/15:00 |
Dec 2 | Final | 18:00/15:00 |
Eight games in the round of 16 are set for December 3–6, and the quarterfinals are set for December 9 and 10.
The two semi-finals will be on December 13 and 14. The third-place game will be on December 17, and the World Cup final will be on December 18.
What teams have qualified for World Cup 2022?
World Cup 2022: Qualified teams
Team | Confederation |
---|---|
Qatar (hosts) | AFC |
Australia | AFC |
Japan | AFC |
Iran | AFC |
Saudi Arabia | AFC |
South Korea | AFC |
Mexico | CONCACAF |
United States | CONCACAF |
Canada | CONCACAF |
Costa Rica | CONCACAF |
Senegal | CAF |
Cameroon | CAF |
Ghana | CAF |
Morocco | CAF |
Tunisia | CAF |
Argentina | CONMEBOL |
Brazil | CONMEBOL |
Ecuador | CONMEBOL |
Uruguay | CONMEBOL |
Belgium | UEFA |
Croatia | UEFA |
Denmark | UEFA |
England | UEFA |
France | UEFA |
Germany | UEFA |
Netherlands | UEFA |
Poland | UEFA |
Portugal | UEFA |
Serbia | UEFA |
Spain | UEFA |
Switzerland | UEFA |
Wales | UEFA |
Hosts Qatar got in automatically, but Germany was the first team to join them by finishing first in Group J of their UEFA qualifying group.
Denmark was the second team to make it out of qualifying. They took first place in Group F with two games left.
On November 11, Brazil became the first team from South America to qualify for the World Cup. They beat Colombia 1-0 thanks to a goal from Lucas Paqueta. This put them in the top four of their CONMEBOL qualifying group.
France and Belgium qualified for the World Cup on November 13, and Croatia beat Russia 1-0 in Split on November 14 to move ahead of their rivals and win Group H and a spot in the World Cup.
Spain got into Qatar 2022 by beating Sweden 1-0 in Group B, but the big surprise happened in Group A. Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a goal in the last minute to give Serbia a 2-1 win in Portugal. This meant that Cristiano Ronaldo had to play in a playoff to get to his fifth World Cup.
On November 15, two more teams, including the runner-up at Euro 2020, made sure they would be in Qatar.
With a 4-0 win over Bulgaria, Switzerland was able to finish first in Group C, ahead of European champions Italy. Italy was held to a draw by Northern Ireland, which was a surprise and made them, like Portugal, vulnerable in the playoffs, and they didn’t make it to the next round.
On November 16, it was the Netherlands’ turn to make sure they were going to the World Cup. They beat Turkey to win Group G.
There are 13 European teams that made it into the tournament, and UEFA’s qualification process will start on March 24, 2021.
Ten of these teams were group winners from UEFA’s qualification pools, and the other three came from the playoff rounds, which had 12 teams competing (the 10 group runners-up and two sides who gain entry via the Nations League tournament).
In the playoffs, Wales, Poland, and Portugal won the last three spots from UEFA, while European champions Italy was the biggest team that didn’t make it.
Brazil was the first South American team to make it out of the group. Argentina, Ecuador, and Uruguay were the next three teams to do so.
Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, and Tunisia all made it to the next round.
Qatar, Iran, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea will also be at the event. Also from the CONCACAF region will be Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
The inter-confederation play-offs were used to decide who would get the last two spots at the World Cup. One team from South America, Asia, CONCACAF, and Oceania will make it to the playoffs. The winners of the last two matches, which will be held in June 2022, will fill the last two spots in the event.
In those games, Costa Rica beat New Zealand, and Australia kept Peru from going to the tournament.
Here on FootballCritic, you can find the final standings for Europe, CONMEBOL, CAF, CONCACAF, and Asia for the World Cup.
Which stadiums will be used during the 2022 World Cup?
At the 2022 World Cup, games will be played in eight stadiums in five different cities in Qatar.
The Lusail Iconic Stadium, which will be the largest, will be able to hold up to 80,000 people. This is where the final and one of the two semi-finals will be held.
The next biggest is Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor. It can hold 60,000 people and will be used for the second semi-final and the first game of the tournament, which will be played by Qatar, which is hosting the event.
Ras Abu Aboud Stadium and Al Thumama Stadium are the two venues in Doha, the capital city.
Education City Stadium, Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, and Khalifa International Stadium will be the three World Cup stadiums in Al Rayyan.
The last stadium on the list is Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah.
When will the World Cup 2022 draw be?
The World Cup 2022 finals were drawn on April 1, 2022, after all of the international games in March were done.
What is the schedule for the 2022 World Cup?
GROUP STAGE: On November 20, the round-robin stage starts, and Qatar plays the first game of the tournament in Group A. In eight groups, each team plays three games until December 2, when this part of the event ends. During the group stage, there will be FOUR games per day, which football fans are sure to enjoy.
LAST 16: In the second round, 16 teams will try to win a one-off knockout game and move on to the last eight. From December 3 to December 6, there will be four days straight of games.
On December 9 and 10, two very important days, four of the last eight matches will be played.
SEMI-FINALS: The first match between the last four teams is on December 13, and the second is on December 14.
The World Cup final will be held in Lusail on December 18. The game for third place is a day earlier.
What are the World Cup 2022 groups?
Group A: Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands
Group B: England, Iran, United States, Wales
Group C: Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland
Group D: France, Australia, Denmark, 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
Who is most likely to win the World Cup in 2022?
Since all of the qualified teams are now known, the odds have changed a lot as the tournament in Qatar gets closer.
For now, Brazil is most often listed as the favorite, with odds of around 4/1. Their price has been going down over the past few months.
They are one of five teams that are thought to have the best chance of winning. The other four are Argentina (11/2), which won the Copa America, France (6/1), which is the defending world champion, Spain (17/2), and England (8/1).
People also think that Germany (10/1) and Belgium, Portugal, and the Netherlands (all around 12/1) could win.
After these nine teams, there is a big gap before the next teams that could win. Uruguay (60/1), Croatia (66/1), and Denmark (40/1) are some of the teams that are thought to have a chance.
How do you get tickets to the 2022 World Cup?
FIFA said in its most recent update: “The Sales Phase 2 “First Come, First Served” period is over.
“The Last Minute Sales Phase will be open until the end of the tournament. It will be first come, first served.
“Check fifa.com/tickets often to see if the opening date has changed. It will be said at the right time.”
Here is the website for Fifa that has information about tickets.
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What teams have qualified for World Cup 2022?
World Cup 2022: Qualified teams
Team | Confederation |
---|---|
Qatar (hosts) | AFC |
Australia | AFC |
Japan | AFC |
Iran | AFC |
Saudi Arabia | AFC |
South Korea | AFC |
Mexico | CONCACAF |
United States | CONCACAF |
Canada | CONCACAF |
Costa Rica | CONCACAF |
Senegal | CAF |
Cameroon | CAF |
Ghana | CAF |
Morocco | CAF |
Tunisia | CAF |
Argentina | CONMEBOL |
Brazil | CONMEBOL |
Ecuador | CONMEBOL |
Uruguay | CONMEBOL |
Belgium | UEFA |
Croatia | UEFA |
Denmark | UEFA |
England | UEFA |
France | UEFA |
Germany | UEFA |
Netherlands | UEFA |
Poland | UEFA |
Portugal | UEFA |
Serbia | UEFA |
Spain | UEFA |
Switzerland | UEFA |
Wales | UEFA |