No matter which country you’re rooting for, the FIFA World Cup needs to be broken down to really appreciate it.
Some people follow the games by picking their country and ignoring the rest. Others like to watch their neighboring country too, giving support to their friends in surrounding areas. And the bettors amongst you will be looking at the sports odds by comparing all of the matches in front of them.
No matter which way you watch the games, you need to know about these 4 aspects - The matchups, the kickoff times, the stadiums, and the country that’s hosting. Let’s dive in!
The State of Qatar is a Western Asian country, but it’s more commonly known as Qatar. It is the first-ever Arab country to host the FIFA World Cup, making waves for Muslim countries around the world.
Qatar has hosted major sporting events before, such as the 2006 Asian Games and the AFC Asian Cup. Their under-20 team even won the FIFA World Youth Championship in 1981.
With a history such as this, we know that Qatar can handle the monumental challenges of hosting the World Cup.
So far an additional 70,000 hotel rooms have been built in the country's capital (Doha) and the surrounding areas, and 40,000 rooms will be available through the two cruise ships ready to be used as temporary hosts.
The qualified countries will be split into 8 groups, labeled A through H. Each group has to play against other members of the same category to find a winner before facing the next group. The groupings were selected at random, and produced the following pairings:
Group A: Netherlands, Ecuador, Qatar, Senegal.
Group B: England, Wales, Iran, USA.
Group C: Mexico, Argentina, Poland, Saudi Arabia.
Group D: Australia, Tunisia, France, Denmark.
Group E: Japan, Spain, Costa Rica, Germany.
Group F: Canada, Croatia, Belgium, Morocco.
Group G: Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, Cameroon,.
Group H: South Korea, Ghana, Portugal, Uruguay.
From November 21st until December 2nd, there will be a game every day allowing each team to go head-to-head with another country in their group.
Between December 3rd and December 6th, the winners from each group face the runners-up from another. This gives the runners-up a chance to kick a winner out of the running.
Between December 9th and 10th, the quarter-finals will commence, and the current winners will play against each other until just 4 teams remain.
On the 13th and the 14th, these remaining teams will go head to head in the semi-finals. Those who lose kick off on Saturday the 17th of December to try and grab 3rd place, while the winners enter the final.
The final takes place on Sunday the 18th of December at 3 pm GMT in Lusail Stadium, and the winning team is named champion.
To try and prevent viewer fatigue, the Qatar games will be spread out, allowing 3 hours between kick-off times.
During the first round of matches, from November 21st until December 2nd, the games will start at either 10 am, 1 pm, 4 pm, or 7 pm GMT.
GMT stands for Greenwich Mean Time, which is the time zone for people in the UK. To make sure you're watching at the right time, you may need to convert the GMT to your own time zone.
In the knockout matches between December 3rd and December 6th, the times are reduced to 3 pm or 7 pm GMT.
The semi-finals will start at 7 pm, while the final and 3rd place games will begin at 3 pm.
Qatar will be using 8 stadiums during the World Cup, each as beautiful as the last. We will briefly describe where each is located and which games will be played in them.
Lusail stadium is located in Lusail, a city just north of Doha. It’s a planned city which means it is spacious, with man-made islands, and well-designed roads.
This stadium will host the final, the semi-final, one of the quarter-finals, and 6 of the other matches. It was chosen because of its beautiful scenery and large spaces for the massive crowds.
This building is also known as the National Stadium and will host the match for 3rd place, along with 6 other matches.
Around 35km away from Doha, this stadium is designed to be energy efficient. It will host a semi-final match, a quarter-final, and 6 other matches including the opening match.
Education City Stadium is located in Doha. It gets its name due to the proximity to multiple university campuses in the area. It will host one of the quarter-final games and 6 other matches.
This stadium is also in Doha and will host one of the quarter-final matches, along with 6 others.
Each of these stadiums will host 6 matches. They are Stadium 974 (previously known as Ras Abu Aboud Stadium), Al Rayyan Stadium, and Al Janoub Stadium.
And there you have it. This is all of the information you need to know before the Qatar World Cup 2022 games begin! Who will you be betting on this year?
