The competing teams are all known, the managers are contemplating their final squads, the promotions with things such as the betmgm bonus code are in place, the only thing left is for soccer fans around the world to decide where they are watching the games. It is a tournament that has caused more discussion than any other World Cup before a ball has been kicked, but Qatar 2022 is almost here. Our quick guide tells you everything you need to know about the world’s greatest sporting event.
When and where is it?
For the first time in the competition’s illustrious history, the World Cup takes place in the Northern Hemisphere’s winter, to attempt to counteract Qatar’s searing summer temperatures. The first game, between Senegal and the Netherlands, kicks off at 10.00 GMT on the 21st of November. There are four games every day until the round of sixteen starts on the 3rd of December, with two games a day until the 7th of December when the footballing world has its first day off. The quarter-finals take place on the 9th and 10th of December, the semis on the 13th and 14th, with the final kicking off on Sunday the 18th of December.
Unlike every previous World Cup, where the stadiums are spaced around a country, even a continent, all eight, purpose-built grounds are within close proximity, situated in or around the nation’s capital, Doha.
Which teams have qualified?
32 countries have qualified, for the last tournament before the numbers increase. Each group is made up of a team from pot 1 (as well as Qatar, as the host), pot 2, pot 3 and pot 4.
- Group A: Qatar, Senegal, Ecuador, the Netherlands
- Group B: England, USA, Iran, Wales
- Group C: Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Poland
- Group D: France, Australia, Denmark, Tunisia
- Group E: Spain, Costa Rica, Japan, Germany
- Group F: Belgium, Canada, Morocco, Croatia
- Group G: Brazil, Cameroon, Serbia, Switzerland
- Group H: Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay and finally South Korea
Who will win?
That of course is the million-dollar question. There are a handful of teams who will go into the tournament with a genuine chance of lifting the trophy on the 18th of December. These are Argentina, Brazil, England, France and Germany. Then there are a group of teams that if everything goes their way, the footballing gods are smiling on them, and they have the rub of the green, then they could cause an upset. Those teams are the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Croatia and Portugal. Everyone else – though they will never admit it – will be going to get as far as they possibly can, even if that is “only” out of the group stages.
