2022 FIFA World Cup: Qatar Beckons

Hostilities flag-off November 21, 2022
Lusail Iconic Stadium hosts final Dec 18

Finally, the countdown is on to this year’s global showpiece in the oil-rich nation of Qatar, with 32 nations ready to chase down the grandest prize in international football.

Another four-year cycle is almost over as players, coaches, and supporters from every corner of the planet begin to count down the days to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Interestingly, of the 32 nations looking to chase down global glory in the Middle East, there are plenty of ambitious teams that believe they can emulate the efforts from 2018 of reigning champions France.

However, only one will prevail, but there promises to be plenty of thrills and spills along the way and you can find everything you need to know about every possible step of that journey that will finally terminate right inside Lusail Iconic Stadium slated to host the final match on December 18, 2022

The Selected Stadiums

History is being made in 2022 as the World Cup finals head to the Middle East for the first time. The event will also be taking place across November and December, rather than its standard June/July slot, due to the soaring summer temperatures in Qatar, and will be completed in a condensed 28-day format.

The eagerly-anticipated competition will get underway on November 21 and will see actions happening across eight specially-built venues in five cities, with the Lusail Iconic Stadium playing host to the final on December 18, 2022

City	Stadium	Capacity
Lusail	Lusail Iconic Stadium	80,000
Al Khor	Al Bayt Stadium	60,000
Doha	Stadium 974	40,000
Doha	Al Thumama Stadium	40,000
Al Rayyan	Education City Stadium	45,350
Al Rayyan	Ahmad bin Ali Stadium	44,740
Al Rayyan	Khalifa International Stadium	40,000
Al Wakrah	Al Janoub Stadium	40,000

Dignitaries When The Draw Held

It was a gathering of football icons and celebrities when the draw for this year’s World Cup finals took place at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre on Friday, April 1, 2022

Carli Lloyd, Jermaine Jenas and Samantha Johnson were all on hand to oversee events in Qatar, with assistance provided by the likes of Cafu (Brazil), Lothar Matthaus (Germany), Adel Ahmed MalAllah (Qatar), Ali Daei (Iran), Bora Milutinovic (Serbia/Mexico), Jay-Jay Okocha (Nigeria), Rabah Madjer (Algeria) and Tim Cahill (Australia).

The 29 nations that had already qualified at that stage were, along with three spots allocated to play-off final winners, placed into four pots based on FIFA’s international ranking system.

The Qualifiers At A Glance

Canada celebrate 2022 — **Celebration time for Canada**

There are still three places up for grabs as the finals draw took place, with one of the UEFA section play-offs having to be delayed until June due to Ukraine being unable to take in competitive fixtures following Russia’s invasion of their borders.

Two inter-confederation play-offs are also slated for mid-June, with nations progressing down AFC, CONMEBOL, CONCACAF, and OFC sections involved in those contests.

Below is the full list of teams that have booked their tickets to Qatar so far

Team	Association
Qatar	AFC
Brazil	CONMEBOL
Belgium	UEFA
France	UEFA
Argentina	CONMEBOL
England	UEFA
Spain	UEFA
Portugal	UEFA
Mexico	CONCACAF
Netherlands	UEFA
Denmark	UEFA
Germany	UEFA
Uruguay	CONMEBOL
Switzerland	UEFA
United States	CONCACAF
Croatia	UEFA
Senegal	CAF
Iran	AFC
Japan	AFC
Morocco	CAF
Serbia	UEFA
Poland	UEFA
South Korea	AFC
Tunisia	CAF
Cameroon	CAF
Canada	CONCACAF
Ecuador	CONMEBOL
Saudi Arabia	AFC
Ghana	CAF
AFC-CONEBOL play-off winner	Yet to be determined
CONCACAF-OFC play-off winner	Yet to be determined
UEFA Path A winner	UEFA

All The Groups

Kylian Mbappe France 2022 — **Kylian Mbappe France**

As is always the case in events such as this, the finals draw threw up plenty of intriguing subplots to what is already shaping up to be quite the sporting blockbuster.

The fabled ‘Group of Death’ will see Spain and Germany locking horns in 2022, with there some serious quality on show in that mini-league.

Group A	Group B
Qatar	England
Ecuador	Iran
Senegal	United States
Netherlands	Wales/Scotland/Ukraine

Group C	Group D
Argentina	France
Saudi Arabia	Australia/UAE/Peru
Mexico	Denmark
Poland	Tunisia

Group E	Group F
Spain	Belgium
Costa Rica/New Zealand	Canada
Germany	Morocco
Japan	Croatia

Group G	Group H
Brazil	Portugal
Serbia	Ghana
Switzerland	Uruguay
Cameroon	South Korea

The Kick-off And Dates

World Cup 2022 will kick off on November 21, with hosts Qatar helping to open things up.

An action-packed group stage will run until December 2, when 16 sides will make their way through to the knockout rounds.

The last-16 fixtures are due to take place between December 3 and 6, with the quarter-finals being held on December 9 and 10.

Semi-final showdowns with plenty at stake are scheduled for December 13 and 14, with the final pulling in a global audience of billions on December 18 – the day after a third-place play-off has seen bronze medals handed out. – Goal.com reports