Everything you need to know about the World Cup

The 2022 FIFA World Cup will be held in Qatar between 21 November and 18 December. The championship is played in 5 different cities, all within a couple of miles of each other, with the capital Doha as the central location for the tournament. This will be the first championship to be played in the Middle East and, due to the warm climate, also the first to be played in winter.

The World Cup usually takes place in the summer, but due to the high temperatures in the area, they chose to postpone the tournament. The World Cup is one of the biggest events in the world of sport, and the eyes of the whole world are on the host nation in connection with the matches that are played. With the increased interest, the design of the tournament has had to be adapted in various ways to accommodate more participating nations. The world cup odds are a popular part of the cup, where you may bet on the best team.

How is the tournament played?

Today’s Football World Cup has room for 32 teams from around the world, all of whom have qualified for the tournament through their regional qualifying matches. Qualification for the championship starts already in 2019 and is completed a couple of months before the WC starts. The 32 national teams participating in the football World Cup in 2022 are drawn into eight groups of four teams, where they all meet once in the first part of the tournament.

The top two teams from each group then advance to the playoffs, with the quarterfinals beginning the play-offs towards the grand finale. The winners here then go to the quarterfinals, where the winners reach the semi-finals and finally the battle for the medals. The major World Cup final will be played at Lusail Stadium on Sunday 18 December 2022.

For the very first time, the World Cup is being held in winter, but otherwise the tournament structure looks the same as before. However, as the arenas to be used are relatively close to each other, there will be a more intensive game plan with fewer rest days for the teams. For example, four group games will be played per day instead of three, and the round of 16 starts already the day after the last group games are completed.