FIFA have confirmed the start date for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar as well as some key details of the match schedule.
Start Date Confirmed for 2022 World Cup
When Will the Tournament Begin?
As this is a winter World Cup for many of the teams taking part, the tournament will begin on Monday, November 21. Qatar, the host nation, will kick off the tournament, as is usual with the World Cup. This game will take place at the 60,000-capacity Al Bayt Stadium.
Unusually, though, it will not be the only game on that day. The group stages will see four matches played each day to allow teams the maximum amount of rest time between matches. The local kick-off times have been selected at 13:00, 16:00, 19:00 and 22:00.
The Khalifa International Stadium will be used to host the third-place play-off and the final will take place at the Lusail Stadium, which can hold up to 80,000 spectators.
The group stages will last 12 days and, in keeping with the compact nature of the tournament, no air travel will be needed between the venues, which will allow organisers to deck out venues to specific demands from teams, fans and media.
This could even give fans the opportunity to attend more than one group stage match in the same day, depending on the locations of the games.
🚨 2022 #WORLDCUP MATCH SCHEDULE 🚨
🏆 It all starts in Qatar on Monday 21 November 2022 🌏
🗓️👉 https://t.co/tIvYvRoy5j pic.twitter.com/yQvgGczszK
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) July 15, 2020
When is the Draw for the Qatar World Cup?
We already know one of the teams that will be taking part as Qatar, the host nation, automatically qualify.
Qualifying matches have been delayed due to the Coronavirus pandemic, but once each confederation has completed their respective qualifying tournaments, the draw to decide who enters which group will be held after the March 2022 international break.
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