FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar – Everything You Need to Know

Excitement is mounting in football fans across the globe with the 2022 World Cup in Qatar now just over a month away.

The tournament will provide punters with a wealth of betting opportunities and odds are already available on most online sportsbooks.

The latest Coral online bet outright market lists Brazil as favourites to win the World Cup, but plenty of other teams have a genuine chance of lifting the trophy.

Read on as we take a closer look at the upcoming World Cup before offering our thoughts on who will add their name to the roll of honour.

World Cup Schedule

Here are the key dates for the 2022 World Cup:

• November 20 – World Cup starts.
• December 2 – Final group stage fixtures.
• December 3-6 – Round of 16.
• December 9-10 – Quarter-finals.
• December 13-14 – Semi-finals.
• December 17 – Third place play-off.
• December 18 – Final.

World Cup Group Stage

There are 32 teams in eight groups of four in the opening phase of the World Cup. These are as follows:

• Group A: Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands.
• Group B: England, Iran, USA, Wales.
• Group C: Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland.
• Group D: France, Australia, Denmark, Tunisia.
• Group E: Spain, Costa Rica, Germany, Japan.
• Group F: Belgium, Canada, Morocco, Croatia.
• Group G: Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, Cameroon.
• Group H: Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, South Korea.

The top two teams in each section progress to the round of 16. The World Cup is then played as a straight knockout competition through to the final.

World Cup 2022 Host Cities

Five cities have been chosen to host the 2022 World Cup – Lusail, Doha, Al Khor, Al Wakrah and Al Rayyan.

World Cup 2022 Stadiums

Eight stadiums located within a 21-mile radius of Doha will stage the World Cup. The final will be played at the 80,000-capacity Lusail Iconic Stadium.

Al Bayt Stadium, Education City Stadium, Stadium 974, Khalifa International Stadium. Ahmed bin Ali Stadium. Al Thumama Stadium and Al Janoub Stadium are the other venues.

World Cup 2022 Preview

Brazil have had a long-standing love affair with the World Cup and head into the latest tournament as the bookies’ favourites to lift the trophy for the sixth time.

The Samba Kings were hugely impressive during qualifying and could be tough to beat if they continue in the same vein at the tournament proper.

However, their defeat in the final of the 2021 Copa America highlighted that fellow South American side Argentina may be more likely World Cup winners.

Argentina are currently riding a 35-game unbeaten streak and will fancy their chances of winning the tournament for the first time since 1986.

Superstar forward Lionel Messi has indicated this will be his last World Cup and there would be no better way to go out than by winning it for the first time in his career.

Reigning champions France are also strongly fancied, although no team has retained the title since Brazil achieved the feat 60 years ago.

Germany, Spain and Belgium should also be competitive, while it would be foolish to write off England if they can rediscover their best form.