World Cup 2022 Schedule
With the biggest international football competitions about to kick off, the hype just keeps getting bigger and the excitement better. The FIFA World Cup is one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world today, with countries from over the world competing in a knockout setting to win the trophy and claim the title “World Champions”.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup is only months away, as it is expected to kick off on Monday, November 21, 2022, in the tournament’s host country, Qatar, and would be wrapped up in a grand ceremony set for Sunday, December 18, 2022.
The tournament has been all set up and schedules dropped, following the draw at Doha, Qatar on April 1st, setting all countries into 8 groups for the group stage round-up which would kick off the tournament with African Champions Senegal taking on the Netherlands at the AL Thumama Stadium.
This is set to be one of the craziest FFA world cup tournaments in history, as it would be the first time the tournament is hosted by a country in the Middle east.
The 2022 World Cup would also be the first since the world was on total lockdown in 2020 which changed the entire football calendar, pushing the usual summer tournament to the end of the year in November and December.
There is uncertainty about which would take home the trophy as there are a lot of big guns starting from defending Champions France, who might just be the first to break the winner’s curse (for the past 3 World cups, defending Champions did not make it past group stage), then there are the returning countries like Canada who haven’t qualified for the past 37 years looking to surprise a group full of big names, and not to mention this might be the last FIFA World Cup the legendary duo Messi and Ronaldo might play in.
Which Teams Qualified For the FIFA World Cup?
With the qualifying round concluded, and all 32 countries to participate planned in 8 groups (from Group A – H, which would be the last time since it started in France, 1998, before it is expanded to 48 teams in 2026 following FIFA new qualification rule) the 2022 FIFA World Cup tournament is set to kick off. The tournament, like usual, involves teams of countries from across the world, with all continents represented.
Each continent had a slot in the tournament, with some countries qualifying directly and some through playoffs. A slot was reserved for an Oceania country to qualify through playoffs, but they didn’t make it, as New Zealand lost 0 – 1 to Costa Rica.
Europe has the most slots of 13 representative countries. South America would be represented by 5 countries, with Costa Rica qualifying through playoffs, and 3 countries from North America. There are also 5 countries from Africa and 6 from Asia, which includes Qatar, who took up a slot by automatic qualification as per host nation, and Australia who left Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) to join Asia. Here is a complete list of all teams expected to compete in the tournament.
Europe (UEFA)
● Germany
● Denmark
● Belgium
● France
● Croatia
● Spain
● Serbia
● England
● Switzerland
● Netherlands
● Portugal
● Poland
● Wales
Africa (CAF)
● Ghana
● Senegal
● Tunisia
● Cameroon
● Morocco
Asia (AFC)
● Qatar
● Iran
● South Korea
● Japan
● Saudi Arabia
● Australia
South America(CONMEBOL)
● Brasil
● Argentina
● Ecuador
● Uruguay
● Costa Rica
North/ Central America And Caribbean (CONCACAF)
● Canada
● Mexico
● United States
FIFA World Cup 2022 Schedule Format
The 2022 World Cup would be played across 8 groups in a single match group stage match up, with each group made up of 4 teams to face each other once, where the top 2 teams would qualify for the knockout rounds (round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals).
The matches would be played across different times during the day except for the final group stage matches which would be played at the same time, and this is solely for competitive integrity.
Every time zone in the world would get an opportunity to watch matches at a decent time in the day, as the matches are scattered across the day starting the first game each day by 1pm, then 4pm, 6pm, 7pm and finally 10pm local time, which would be available across network providers around the world. The Group Matches are scheduled as followed
Group A: Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, Netherland
Group A Match schedule
| Date | Match | Time (in Arabian Standard Time) | Stadium |
| Mon 21st Nov 2022 | Senegal Vs Netherland | 1 pm AST | Al Thumama stadium |
| Mon 21st Nov 2022 | Qatar Vs Ecuador | 7 pm AST | Al Bayt Stadium |
| Fri 25th Nov 2022 | Qatar Vs Senegal | 4 pm AST | Al ThumamaStadium |
| Fri 25th Nov 2022 | Netherland Vs Ecuador | 7 pm AST | Khalifa International Stadium |
| Tues 29th Nov 2022 | Netherland Vs Qatar | 6 pm AST | Al Bayt Stadium |
| Tues 29th Nov 2022 | Ecuador Vs Senegal | 6 pm AST | Khalifa International Stadium |
Group B: England, Iran, USA, Wales
Group B Match Schedule
| Date | Match | Time (in Arabian Standard Time) | Stadium |
| Mon 21st Nov 2022 | England Vs Iran | 4 pm AST | Khalifa International Stadium |
| Mon 21st Nov 2022 | United States Vs Wales | 10 pm AST | Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium |
| Fri 25th Nov 2022 | Wales Vs Iran | 1 pm AST | Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium |
| Fri 25th Nov 2022 | England Vs United States | 10 pm AST | Al Bayt Stadium |
| Tues 29th Nov 2022 | Wales Vs England | 10 pm AST | Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium |
| Tues 29th Nov 2022 | Iran Vs United States | 10 pm AST | Al Thumama Stadium |
Group C: Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland
Group C Match Schedule
| Date | Match | Time (in Arabian Standard Time) | Stadium |
| Tues 22nd Nov 2022 | Argentina Vs Saudi Arabia | 1 pm AST | Lusail Stadium |
| Tues 22nd Nov 2022 | Mexico Vs Poland | 7 pm AST | Stadium 974 |
| Sat 26th Nov 2022 | Poland Vs Saudi Arabia | 4 pm AST | Education City Stadium |
| Sat 26th Nov 2022 | Argentina Vs Mexico | 10 pm AST | Lusail Stadium |
| Wed 30th Nov 2022 | Poland Vs Argentina | 10 pm AST | Stadium 974 |
| Wed 30th Nov 2022 | Saudi Arabia Vs Mexico | 10 pm AST | Lusail Stadium |
Group D: France, Australia, Denmark, Tunisia
Group D Match Schedule
| Date | Match | Time (In Arabian Standard Time) | Stadium |
| Tues 22nd Nov 2022 | Denmark Vs Tunisia | 4 pm AST | Education City Stadium |
| Tues 22nd Nov 2022 | France Vs Australia | 10 pm AST | Al Janoub Stadium |
| Sat 26th Nov 2022 | Tunisia Vs Australia | 1 pm AST | Al Janoub Stadium |
| Sat 26th Nov 2022 | France Vs Denmark | 7 pm AST | Stadium 974 |
| Wed 30th Nov 2022 | Tunisia Vs France | 6 pm AST | Education City Stadium |
| Wed 30th Nov 2022 | Australia Vs Denmark | 6 pm AST | Al Janoub Stadium |
Group E: Spain, Costa Rica, Germany, Japan
Group E Match Schedule
| Date | Match | Time (In Arabian Standard Time) | Stadium |
| Wed 23rd Nov 2022 | Germany Vs Japan | 4 pm AST | Khalifa International Stadium |
| Wed 23rd Nov 2022 | Spain Vs Costa Rica | 7 pm AST | Al Thumama Stadium |
| Sun 27th Nov 2022 | Japan Vs Costa Rica | 1 pm AST | Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium |
| Sun 27th Nov 2022 | Spain Vs Germany | 10 pm AST | Al Bayt Stadium |
| Thurs 1st Dec 2022 | Japan Vs Germany | 10 pm AST | Khalifa International Stadium |
| Thurs 1st Dec 2022 | Costa Rica Vs Spain | 10 pm AST | Al Bayt Stadium |
Group F: Belgium, Canada, Morocco, Croatia
Group F Match schedule
| Date | Match | Time (In Arabian Standard Time) | Stadium |
| Wed 23rd Nov 2022 | Morocco Vs Croatia | 1 pm AST | Al Bayt Stadium |
| Wed 23rd Nov 2022 | Belgium Vs Canada | 10 pm AST | Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium |
| Sun 27th Nov 2022 | Belgium Vs Morocco | 4 pm AST | Al Thumama Stadium |
| Sun 27th Nov 2022 | Croatia Vs Canada | 7 pm AST | Khalifa International Stadium |
| Thurs 1st Dec 2022 | Croatia Vs Belgium | 6 pm AST | Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium |
| Thurs 1st Dec 2022 | Canada Vs Morocco | 6 pm AST | Al Thumama Stadium |
Group G: Brasil, Serbia, Switzerland, Cameroon
Group G Match Schedule
| Date | Match | Time (In Arabian Standard Time) | Stadium |
| Thurs 24th Nov, 2022 | Switzerland Vs Cameroon | 1 pm AST | Al Janoub Stadium |
| Thurs 24th Nov, 2022 | Brazil Vs Serbia | 10 pm AST | Lusail Stadium |
| Mon 28th Nov, 2022 | Cameroon Vs Serbia | 1 pm AST | Al Janoub Stadium |
| Mon 28th Nov, 2022 | Brazil Vs Switzerland | 7 pm AST | Stadium 974 |
| Fri 2nd Nov, 2022 | Cameroon Vs Brazil | 10 pm AST | Lusail Stadium |
| Fri 2nd Nov, 2022 | Serbia Vs Switzerland | 10 pm AST | Stadium 974 |
Group H: Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, South Korea
Group H Match Schedule
| Date | Match | Time (In Arabian Standard Time) | Stadium |
| Thurs 24th Nov, 2022 | Uruguay Vs South Korea | 4 pm AST | Education City Stadium |
| Thurs 24th Nov, 2022 | Portugal Vs Ghana | 7 pm AST | Stadium 974 |
| Mon 28th Nov, 2022 | South Korea Vs Ghana | 4 pm AST | Education City Stadium |
| Mon 28th Nov, 2022 | Portugal Vs Uruguay | 10 pm AST | Lusail Stadium |
| Fri 2nd Nov, 2022 | South Korea Vs Portugal | 6 pm AST | Education City Stadium |
| Fri 2nd Nov, 2022 | Ghana Vs Uruguay | 6 pm AST | Al Janoub Stadium |
After the Group Stages, the top two teams from each group would then qualify for the knockout stages, which have been predetermined following this format:
Round of 16 Match schedule
| Date | Match | Time (In Arabian Standard Time) | Stadium |
| Sat 3rd Dec, 2022 | 1A vs 2B | 6 pm AST | Khalifa International Stadium |
| Sat 3rd Dec, 2022 | 1C vs 2D | 10 pm AST | Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium |
| Sun 4th Dec, 2022 | 1D vs 2C | 6 pm AST | Al Thumama Stadium |
| Sun 4th Dec, 2022 | 1B vs 2A | 10 pm AST | AL Bayt Stadium |
| Mon 5th Dec, 2022 | 1E vs 2F | 6 pm AST | Al Janoub Stadium |
| Mon 5th Dec 2022 | 1G vs 2H | 10 pm AST | Stadium 974 |
| Tues 6th Dec, 2022 | 1F vs 2E | 6 pm AST | Education City Stadium |
| Tues 6th Dec, 2022 | 1H vs 2G | 10 pm AST | Lusail Stadium |
World Cup Quarter Final Match Schedule
| Date | Match | Time (in Arabian Standard Time) | Stadium |
| Fri 9th Dec, 2022 | QF1: 1E/2F vs 1G/2H | 6 pm AST | Education City Stadium |
| Fri 9th Dec, 2022 | QF2: 1A/2B vs 1C/2D | 10 pm AST | Lusail Stadium |
| Sat 10th Dec, 2022 | QF3: 1F/2E vs 1H/2G | 6 pm AST | Al Thumama Stadium |
| Sat 10th Dec, 2022 | QF4: 1B/2A vs 1D/2C | 10 pm AST | Al Bayt Stadium |
World Cup Semi-Final Match Schedule
| Date | Match | Time (In Arabian Standard Time) | Stadium |
| Tues 13th Dec, 2022 | QF2 vs QF1 | 10 pm AST | Lusail Stadium |
| Wed 14th Dec, 2022 | QF4 vs QF3 | 10 pm AST | Al Bayt Stadium |
World Cup Third Place Match Schedule
| Date | Match | Time (In Arabian Standard Time) | Stadium |
| Sat 17th Dec, 2022 | Semifinal Losers | 10 pm AST | Khalifa International Stadium |
World Cup Finals Match Schedule
| Date | Match | Time (In Arabian Standard Time) | Stadium |
| Sun 18th Dec, 2022 | Semifinals Winner | 10 pm AST | Lusail Stadium |