The 2022 World Cup is finally upon us with the showpiece tournament ready to get underway in Qatar today!
England and Wales will come up against USA, Iran and each other in the group stage, while Spain and Germany will face off with a number of mouth-watering ties awaiting this winter.
It is the first World Cup held during winter in the Northern Hemisphere, and there has been just a week’s break from the European season stopping short and the tournament beginning.
Qatar, in the Middle East, is about the size of Yorkshire and has a population of 2.8million. It is three hours ahead of the UK.
There are eight stadiums hosting the tournament, which is the fewest ever, and all are in a 35-mile radius of the capital city, Doha.
Out of the 32 countries taking part, only eight have previously won the World Cup. Brazil have won it the most times [5], while reigning champions France will be hoping to defend their crown.
As is tradition, the tournament will kick off with the host country in action and Ecuador will be the opponents for Qatar.
For the first time at a World Cup, semi-automated, state-of-the-art technology will be used to speed up the time taken to reach offside decisions.
World Cup 2022: The groups
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Senegal v Netherlands was set to be the opening clash of the 2022 World Cup but FIFA changed it to Qatar v Ecuador in mid-August after a request from the host nation.
Qatar v Ecuador will now be the only game taking place on the opening day of Sunday, November 20 at 7pm local time (4pm in the UK) as they kick off Group A, which also contains the Netherlands and Senegal.
England and Wales are in Group B along with USA and Iran and they will all be in action on day two, Monday, November 21.
England v Iran will be the second game of the tournament before AFCON champions Senegal take on the Netherlands and USA face Wales.
England will then face USA before a first-ever ‘Battle of Britain’ with Wales at a World Cup finals.
If they get through their group, England and Wales would face one of hosts Qatar, Netherlands, Ecuador or Senegal in the last 16.
Elsewhere, Lionel Messi’s Argentina are in Group C with Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Poland. Reigning champions France take on Denmark, Tunisia and Australia in Group D. Group E has pitted former world champions Spain and Germany against each other.
Canada, managed by Englishman John Herdman, have qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 36 years and are in Group F, alongside Belgium and 2018 World Cup finalists Croatia.
Ghana and Uruguay meet in Group H in what could be the biggest grudge game of the tournament – after the famous Luis Suarez handball incident in the 2010 quarter-finals.
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The group stage will run until Friday, December 2 with four games being held each day after the opening two days.
The first of the knockout games will then start the following day on Saturday, December 3.
The final will be held at the 80,000-seater Lusail Iconic Stadium on Sunday, December 18.
Qatar is a peninsular Arab country which is located in the Persian Gulf. It borders Saudi Arabia and is near neighbours to Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
In the summer months between May and August, the average temperature is around 37C, which is why FIFA decided to move the World Cup to winter.
However, it is still pretty hot in the winter months. In November, the average temperature is between 22C and 30C while in December it is between 17C and 25C.
There will be 32 countries competing in the World Cup including holders Qatar who will be making their debut in the showpiece tournament.
Unlike at Euro 2020, the group stage will only see the top two teams progress from the eight groups.
The group winners and runners-up will enter the round of 16 and the tournament will progress through the knockout stage before a champion is crowned in the final.
There will be a third-place play-off match which will be held at the Khalifa International Stadium in Al Rayyan on Saturday, December 17.
Only eight stadiums are being used — the lowest number of stadiums used for a World Cup since Argentina in 1978.
The four stadia in the Doha area include the Ras Abu Aboud Stadium, the Al Thumama Stadium, the Education City Stadium and the Khalifa International Stadium.
Four more venues will be used at the tournament with the Lusail Iconic Stadium in Lusail and the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor being the largest.
The Ahmed bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan and the Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah will also be used.
The grounds will not be far apart from one another with the longest distance being around 65km from the Al Bayt Stadium to the Al Janoub Stadium.
World Cup 2022: The squads
All 32 participating nations had to submit their final 26-man squads to FIFA on Monday, November 14 by 7pm Qatar time (4pm in the UK).