The 22nd edition of the FIFA World Cup will be hosted by Qatar for the first time. Normally the World Cup takes place during the summer months. But because temperatures in Qatar can reach 40 degrees in the summer, it has been decided to move the tournament once to the winter months. The opening match will take place on November 21, 2022, and the World Cup final on December 18, 2022.
The World Cup schedule in Qatar
A total of 32 countries will participate in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. During the World Cup in Qatar, these countries compete against each other in eight groups. There are four countries in each group. They're all competing for that much-loved gold cup and prize money of a staggering $42 million!
This year it is a shorter World Cup than we are used to. The World Cup schedule will last only 28 days this year. This will be the shortest tournament in the past 44 years. This promises to be a short but powerful tournament.
What we are used to is that the competitions take place in various cities. The World Cup in Qatar is also played in several cities. There are five this year, namely in Doha, Ar-Rayyan, Lusail, Al Wakrah and Al Khawr. They will take place in no fewer than eight stadiums.
The 2022 World Cup schedule
The 2022 World Cup schedule begins with a group stage. This is followed by the eighth-finals, quarterfinals, semi-finals, play-offs for third place and of course, the final. The schedule will look like this:
• Monday, November 21: the opening ceremony
• Monday, November 21 to Friday, December 2: the group stage
• Saturday, December 3 to December 6: the eighth-finals
• Friday, December 9 and Saturday, December 10: the quarterfinals
• Tuesday, December 13 and Wednesday, December 14: the semi-finals
• Saturday, December 17: the consolation final
• Sunday, December 18: per tradition, the exciting final will take place on a Sunday
Because the tournament is short and busy, the football World Cup schedule will consist of four games per day. In this way, the players always get enough rest and enough time to recover.
The World Cup schedule
Will the Netherlands finally become world champions after three places in the final? The whole country has support and hope.
The opening game on November 21 will immediately be played by group A consisting of Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands. The kick-off will be at 10:00 AM UK time. The second game will take place on November 25 at 4:00 PM, against Ecuador. On December 29 at 3:00 PM, the Orange Squad will play against Qatar. The last games of the day start at 7:00 PM.
The last two matches of each group will be kicked off at the same time on the same day. This makes it impossible to know the position of a competitor. After the winners of these matches are announced, the schedule of the eighth-finals will be announced.
Predict the winner!
Do you want to give the World Cup some extra excitement this year? Create a group in five minutes and compete against your friends or family.