QATAR WORLD CUP 2022
The World Cup is only a few short months away and all eyes will turn to the Middle East for its first time hosting one of the biggest sporting events in the world.
Qatar were awarded the World Cup back in 2010 to a little controversy, but there’s no doubt the spectacle will be enthralling to watch as ever, with no end of drama, skill and goals all guaranteed on the international stage.
Some of the world’s biggest stars will grace the new stadiums in Qatar, from Neymar to Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo to Kylian Mbappe, and it will be intriguing to see a World Cup take place in November and December for the first time ever – right in the middle of some of the biggest domestic leagues in the world.
Now the qualifying has been completed and we know which 32 nations will be competing when the tournament gets underway in November – check out all the groups, fixtures and talking points below.
Qatar World Cup 2022 Group Stage
The first stage of the World Cup 2022 sees the 32 teams that have qualified face off in 8 groups of 4. Each team will play every other team in their group once and the top 2 will progress through to the knockout stages – where things get really interesting.
If teams are tied on points, the tournament rules stipulate that the team with the best goal difference will progress. If the teams have the same goal difference, then the team who has scored the most goals progresses.
Check out the World Cup groups below.
Group A – Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, The Netherlands
Group B – England, Iran, USA, 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, Korea Republic
Group A
20/11/2022
Qatar
Ecuador
STARTS AT
17:00 GMT+0100Group B
21/11/2022
England
Iran
STARTS AT
14:00 GMT+0100Group A
21/11/2022
Senegal
Netherlands
STARTS AT
17:00 GMT+0100Group B
21/11/2022
USA
Wales
STARTS AT
20:00 GMT+0100Group C
22/11/2022
Argentina
Saudi Arabia
STARTS AT
11:00 GMT+0100Group D
22/11/2022
Denmark
Tunisia
STARTS AT
14:00 GMT+0100Group C
22/11/2022
Mexico
Poland
STARTS AT
17:00 GMT+0100Group D
22/11/2022
France
Australia
STARTS AT
20:00 GMT+0100Group F
23/11/2022
Morocco
Croatia
STARTS AT
11:00 GMT+0100Group E
23/11/2022
Germany
Japan
STARTS AT
14:00 GMT+0100Group E
23/11/2022
Spain
Costa Rica
STARTS AT
17:00 GMT+0100Group F
23/11/2022
Belgium
Canada
STARTS AT
20:00 GMT+0100Group G
24/11/2022
Switzerland
Cameroon
STARTS AT
11:00 GMT+0100Group H
24/11/2022
Uruguay
Korea Republic
STARTS AT
14:00 GMT+0100Group H
24/11/2022
Portugal
Ghana
STARTS AT
17:00 GMT+0100Group G
24/11/2022
Brazil
Serbia
STARTS AT
20:00 GMT+0100Group B
25/11/2022
Wales
Iran
STARTS AT
11:00 GMT+0100Group A
25/11/2022
Qatar
Senegal
STARTS AT
14:00 GMT+0100Group A
25/11/2022
Netherlands
Ecuador
STARTS AT
17:00 GMT+0100Group B
25/11/2022
England
USA
STARTS AT
20:00 GMT+0100Group D
26/11/2022
Tunisia
Australia
STARTS AT
11:00 GMT+0100Group C
26/11/2022
Poland
Saudi Arabia
STARTS AT
14:00 GMT+0100Group D
26/11/2022
France
Denmark
STARTS AT
17:00 GMT+0100Group C
26/11/2022
Argentina
Mexico
STARTS AT
20:00 GMT+0100Group E
27/11/2022
Japan
Costa Rica
STARTS AT
11:00 GMT+0100Group F
27/11/2022
Belgium
Morocco
STARTS AT
14:00 GMT+0100Group F
27/11/2022
Croatia
Canada
STARTS AT
17:00 GMT+0100Group E
27/11/2022
Spain
Germany
STARTS AT
20:00 GMT+0100Group G
28/11/2022
Cameroon
Serbia
STARTS AT
11:00 GMT+0100Group H
28/11/2022
Korea Republic
Ghana
STARTS AT
14:00 GMT+0100Group G
28/11/2022
Brazil
Switzerland
STARTS AT
17:00 GMT+0100Group H
28/11/2022
Portugal
Uruguay
STARTS AT
20:00 GMT+0100Group A
29/11/2022
Netherlands
Qatar
STARTS AT
16:00 GMT+0100Group A
29/11/2022
Ecuador
Senegal
STARTS AT
16:00 GMT+0100Group B
29/11/2022
Iran
USA
STARTS AT
20:00 GMT+0100Group B
29/11/2022
Wales
England
STARTS AT
20:00 GMT+0100Group D
30/11/2022
Tunisia
France
STARTS AT
16:00 GMT+0100Group D
30/11/2022
Australia
Denmark
STARTS AT
16:00 GMT+0100Group C
30/11/2022
Poland
Argentina
STARTS AT
20:00 GMT+0100Group C
30/11/2022
Saudi Arabia
Mexico
STARTS AT
20:00 GMT+0100Group F
01/12/2022
Croatia
Belgium
STARTS AT
16:00 GMT+0100Group F
01/12/2022
Canada
Morocco
STARTS AT
16:00 GMT+0100Group E
01/12/2022
Japan
Spain
STARTS AT
20:00 GMT+0100Group E
01/12/2022
Costa Rica
Germany
STARTS AT
20:00 GMT+0100Group H
02/12/2022
Korea Republic
Portugal
STARTS AT
16:00 GMT+0100Group H
02/12/2022
Ghana
Uruguay
STARTS AT
16:00 GMT+0100Group G
02/12/2022
Cameroon
Brazil
STARTS AT
20:00 GMT+0100Group G
02/12/2022
Serbia
Switzerland
STARTS AT
20:00 GMT+0100
03/12/2022
Netherlands
USA
STARTS AT
16:00 GMT+0100
03/12/2022
Netherlands
USA
STARTS AT
16:00 GMT+0100
03/12/2022
Argentina
Australia
STARTS AT
20:00 GMT+0100
03/12/2022
Argentina
Australia
STARTS AT
20:00 GMT+0100
04/12/2022
France
Poland
STARTS AT
16:00 GMT+0100
04/12/2022
France
Poland
STARTS AT
16:00 GMT+0100
04/12/2022
England
Senegal
STARTS AT
20:00 GMT+0100
04/12/2022
England
Senegal
STARTS AT
20:00 GMT+0100
05/12/2022
Japan
Croatia
STARTS AT
16:00 GMT+0100
05/12/2022
Japan
Croatia
STARTS AT
16:00 GMT+0100
05/12/2022
Brazil
Korea Republic
STARTS AT
20:00 GMT+0100
05/12/2022
Brazil
Korea Republic
STARTS AT
20:00 GMT+0100
06/12/2022
Morocco
Spain
STARTS AT
16:00 GMT+0100
06/12/2022
Morocco
Spain
STARTS AT
16:00 GMT+0100
06/12/2022
Portugal
Switzerland
STARTS AT
20:00 GMT+0100
06/12/2022
Portugal
Switzerland
STARTS AT
20:00 GMT+0100
09/12/2022
Croatia
Brazil
STARTS AT
16:00 GMT+0100
09/12/2022
Croatia
Brazil
STARTS AT
16:00 GMT+0100
09/12/2022
Netherlands
Argentina
STARTS AT
20:00 GMT+0100
09/12/2022
Netherlands
Argentina
STARTS AT
20:00 GMT+0100
10/12/2022
Morocco
Portugal
STARTS AT
16:00 GMT+0100
10/12/2022
Morocco
Portugal
STARTS AT
16:00 GMT+0100
10/12/2022
England
France
STARTS AT
20:00 GMT+0100
10/12/2022
England
France
STARTS AT
20:00 GMT+0100
13/12/2022
Argentina
Croatia
STARTS AT
20:00 GMT+0100
13/12/2022
Argentina
Croatia
STARTS AT
20:00 GMT+0100
14/12/2022
France
Morocco
STARTS AT
20:00 GMT+0100
14/12/2022
France
Morocco
STARTS AT
20:00 GMT+0100
17/12/2022
Croatia
Morocco
STARTS AT
16:00 GMT+0100
18/12/2022
Argentina
France
STARTS AT
16:00 GMT+0100
Qatar World Cup fixtures
The Qatar World Cup kicks off in an unusual fashion on 21 November this year, as for the first time ever, the host country is not playing in the very first fixture of the tournament. Qatar has switched up the tradition because of its plans for the opening ceremony – which is set to take place after the first match.
This means the first kick of a ball in the 2022 World Cup will take place between Senegal and The Netherlands, with England facing Iran in the second game before the hosts take on Ecuador in the third match on the opening day.
This World Cup is slightly different in another way, too, as each individual match in the first group stage matches will take place on its own, meaning there will be 4 matches played each day at the beginning of the tournament.
Check out the opening fixtures for every group of the World Cup below (kickoff times are local times in Qatar).
Group A Matchday 1 – 21 November
Senegal vs The Netherlands 1:00 pm
Qatar vs Ecuador 7:00 pm
Group B Matchday 1 – 21 November
England vs Iran 4:00 pm
USA vs Wales 10:00 pm
Group C Matchday 1 – 22 November
Argentina vs Saudi Arabia 1:00 pm
Mexico vs Poland 7:00 pm
Group D Matchday 1 – 22 November
Denmark vs Tunisia 4:00 pm
France vs Australia 10:00 pm
Group E Matchday 1 – 23 November
Germany vs Japan 4:00 pm
Spain vs Costa Rica 7:00 pm
Group F Matchday 1 – 23 November
Morocco vs Croatia 1:00 pm
Belgium vs Canada 10:00 pm
Group G Matchday 1 – 24 November
Switzerland vs Cameroon 1:00 pm
Brazil vs Serbia 10:00 pm
Group H Matchday 1 – 24 November
Uruguay vs South Korea 4:00 pm
Portugal vs Ghana 7:00 pm
| Club | MP | W | D | L | GD | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Ecuador |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
|
Netherlands |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
|
Senegal |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
|
Qatar |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -4 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Club | MP | W | D | L | GD | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
England |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 2 |
|
Iran |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 3 | 4 | 6 |
|
USA |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
Wales |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Club | MP | W | D | L | GD | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Argentina |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
Mexico |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
Poland |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
Saudi Arabia |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Club | MP | W | D | L | GD | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
France |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
|
Tunisia |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
|
Denmark |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
|
Australia |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Club | MP | W | D | L | GD | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Japan |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 3 |
|
Costa Rica |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
|
Germany |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
|
Spain |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Club | MP | W | D | L | GD | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Belgium |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
|
Croatia |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
|
Morocco |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
|
Canada |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Club | MP | W | D | L | GD | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Cameroon |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
|
Brazil |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
|
Switzerland |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
|
Serbia |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -2 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| Club | MP | W | D | L | GD | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Portugal |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 2 |
|
Ghana |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 5 |
|
Korea Republic |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|
Uruguay |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -2 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
FAQs
The Qatar World Cup Final will take place at the 80,000-seater Lusail Stadium on 18 December 2022, just one week before Christmas. The stadium was purpose-built for the final of the World Cup this year and is set in the centre of the newly built metropolis of Lusail – a true city of the future.
While any one of the 32 teams competing is in with a shot of lifting the famous gold trophy, only 8 nations in history have won the tournament. The all-time leading World Cup winners Brazil are favourites to lift the trophy, along with 2018 winners France, England and Germany – but never count out Lionel Messi and Argentina.
Yes – Australia qualified for the World Cup finals for the fifth time in a row when they defeated Peru on penalties in the inter-continental playoff, after the regular match finished 0-0 after extra time.
