Football fans around the world have enjoyed EURO 2020 and attention will soon shift to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. We prepared for you all the information you need about the tournament. There are usually two years between a European Championship and a World Cup but with EURO 2020 postponed for a year due to the pandemic, the World Cup will be held in 2022.
QATAR WORLD CUP DATES
The 2022 FIFA World Cup will take place in Qatar from November 21 to December 18.
INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT QATAR WORLD CUP
- The 2022 World Cup is going to be 28 days long and it will be the shortest tournament since 1978.
- The 2022 World Cup will be the last World Cup tournament with 32 teams. In 2026 the number will increase to 48 teams.
- Usually, the World Cup takes place in June and July, but this time the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will be played in winter to avoid the country’s high summer temperatures.
- This is the first time the World Cup is played in the Middle East.
- All host stadiums are within 46 miles, which is especially convenient for fans to attend different matches.
QATAR WORLD CUP QUALIFYING
Qualifying games for next year’s World Cup are underway and will finish in November 2021. Each side will play the other teams in their groups at home and away. 10 teams who win their groups will qualify automatically, while the 10 runners-up will head into the play-offs. They will be joined by two more teams – the two best group winners from the UEFA Nations League 2020-21 who did not qualify directly and also failed to reach the play-offs in their qualifying group. The final play-offs will take place in March 2022.
QATAR WORLD CUP QUALIFYING GROUPS
- Group A: Portugal, Serbia, Republic of Ireland, Luxembourg, Azerbaijan, Qatar
- Group B: Spain, Sweden, Greece, Georgia, Kosovo
- Group C: Italy, Switzerland, Northern Ireland, Bulgaria, Lithuania
- Group D: France, Ukraine, Finland, Bosnia, Kazakhstan
- Group E: Belgium, Wales, Czech Republic, Belarus, Estonia
- Group F: Denmark, Austria, Scotland, Israel, Faroe Islands, Moldova
- Group G: Netherlands, Turkey, Norway, Montenegro, Latvia, Gibraltar
- Group H: Croatia, Slovakia, Russia, Slovenia, Cyprus, Malta
- Group I: England, Poland, Hungary, Albania, Andorra, San Marino
- Group J: Germany, Romania, Iceland, North Macedonia, Armenia, Liechtenstein
