FIFA World Cup 2022: Everything you need to know

There are only 15 days to go until the FIFA World Cup 2022 gets underway. Qatar will be hosting this biggest football show, where global stars like Ronaldo, Messi, Mbappe, Pogba, Neymar, and Kane are ready to light it up.

It is the first men’s FIFA world cup not taking place in the northern hemisphere summer and is being held at the end of Autumn and the start of Winter in the Persian Gulf region.

The FIFA men’s world cup trophy is up for grabs, four years after France claimed the right to call themselves world champions.

The matches of the tournament kick off on Sunday 20th November 2022 and run through to Sunday 18th December. Hosts Qatar will open the tournament with a Group A match against Ecuador on Sunday.

The 64 matches of the tournament will be held in 8 different stadiums across the middle-eastern nation of Qatar: Lusail Iconic Stadium, Al Bayt Stadium, Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, Khalifa International Stadium, Stadium 974, Al Thumama Stadium, Education City Stadium, Al Wakrah Sports Complex.

The furthest distance between any two World Cup 2022 stadiums is around 70 kilometers, or 45 miles, meaning that it’s one of the most densely packed tournaments ever.

The 32 countries qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup are Qatar (Hosts), Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Spain, Belgium, Portugal, Germany, The Netherlands, Uruguay, Croatia, Denmark, Mexico, the United States, Senegal, Wales, Poland, Australia, Japan, Morocco, Switzerland, Ghana, Korea Republic, Cameroon, Serbia, Canada, Costa Rica, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Ecuador.

The teams have been drawn into eight groups for the first phase of the tournament. There are four teams in each group and the countries will play the other teams in their group once. Winners are awarded with 3 points, there’s 1 point to each team if there match ends level, and losers get no points. At the end of the group stage, the top two teams with most points in each group qualify for the knock-out rounds, beginning with the round of 16.

World Cup Qatar 2022 groups

All visitors entering Qatar and planning to attend the matches are required to apply for a Hayya card. The Hayya card is also mandatory for children and those below the age of 18 must have a parent or guardian apply on their behalf.

International visitors traveling to Qatar for the FIFA World Cup will not need a visa to enter the country as long as they have a valid Hayya card. Hayya card-holders can stay in Qatar until January 23, 2023.

Two candidates for footballing G.O.A.T., Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, will be there for probably their final attempt at winning the big one.

Ronaldo is now 37 and Messi 35, and both have admitted that this is their last dance.

Past World Cup results

Qatar 2022 will be the sixth World Cup this century.

2018 champions: France
2014 champions: Germany
2010 champions: Spain
2006 champions: Italy
2002 champions: Brazil

There were 16 World Cups that took place in the 20th century.

1998 champions: France
1994 champions: Brazil
1990 champions: Germany FR
1986 champions: Argentina
1982 champions: Italy
1978 champions: Argentina
1974 champions: Germany FR
1970 champions: Brazil
1966 champions: England
1962 champions: Brazil
1958 champions: Brazil
1954 champions: Germany FR
1950 champions: Uruguay
1938 champions: Italy
1934 champions: Italy
1930 champions: Uruguay

Most World Cup titles
Brazil (5)
Germany (4)
Italy (4)
Argentina (2)
France (2)
Uruguay (2)
England (1)
Spain (1)