The 2022 Qatar World Cup is quickly approaching with the tournament set to kick off on November 20.
The last World Cup in 2018 saw a summer of hope for England as the Three Lions nearly brought it home before losing out to Croatia in a dramatic semi-final loss.
But this year the World Cup is set to look very different. For the first time ever the tournament is being held in a country in the Middle East and is being played outside the traditional summer window.
The Qatar World Cup has also already become one of the most controversial World Cup tournaments to date and has been condemned by human rights organisations and high-profile pundits.
As we get closer to the opening ceremony, here's everything you need to know about the FIFA 2022 World Cup, including the full schedule, why it's so controversial and whether fans will be able to get a beer.
What are the 2022 World Cup dates?
The 2022 World Cup will kick off on November 20 at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Qatar.
The first match of the tournament will see hosts Qatar taking on Ecuador in Group A.
England will feature for the first time on day two of the tournament in their Group B match against Iran. Wales' first game will also take place on November 21 before they play England in a Group B match on November 29.
During the group stage of the tournament, which last for 12 days, four games a day will be played.
The round of 16 will then start on December 3, with winners and runners-up from the group stage going through.
The quarter finals will be played on December 9 and 10 before the semi-finals take place on December 13 and 14.
On December 15 there will also be a third place play off.
The tournament will last for a total of four weeks, with the final taking place at the Lusail Stadium in Doha just a week before Christmas on December 18.
What teams are going to the World Cup 2022?
A total of 32 teams have qualified for the 2022 World Cup, which have been split into eight groups of four.
The teams heading to the Qatar world cup include the following:
- 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
2022 World Cup fixtures in full
The full four week schedule for the 2022 World Cup, including the group stages, round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final is as follows.
Group stages
Sunday November 20
- Group A: Qatar vs Ecuador (Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor; kick-off 7pm)
Monday November 21
- Group B: England vs Iran (Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 1pm)
- Group A: Senegal vs Netherlands (Al Thumama Stadium, Al Khor; kick-off 4pm)
- Group B: USA vs Wales (Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 7pm)
Tuesday November 22
- Group C: Argentina vs Saudi Arabia (Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail; kick-off 10am)
- Group D: Denmark vs Tunisia (Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 1pm)
- Group C: Mexico vs Poland (Stadium 974, Doha; kick-off 4pm)
- Group D: France vs Australia (Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah; kick-off 7pm)
Wednesday November 23
- Group F: Morocco vs Croatia (Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor; kick-off 10am)
- Group E: Germany vs Japan (Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 1pm)
- Group E: Spain vs Costa Rica (Al Thumama Stadium, Al Khor; kick-off 4pm)
- Group F: Belgium vs Canada (Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 7pm)
Thursday November 24
- Group G: Switzerland vs Cameroon (Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah; kick-off 10am)
- Group H: Uruguay vs South Korea (Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 1pm)
- Group H: Portugal vs Ghana (Stadium 974, Doha; kick-off 4pm)
- Group G: Brazil vs Serbia (Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail; kick-off 7pm)
Friday November 25
- Group B: Wales vs Iran (Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 10am)
- Group A: Qatar vs Senegal (Al Thumama Stadium, Al Khor; kick-off 1pm)
- Group A: Netherlands vs Ecuador (Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 4pm)
- Group B: England vs USA (Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor; kick-off 7pm)
Saturday November 26
- Group C: Tunisia vs Australia (Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah; kick-off 10am)
- Group C: Poland vs Saudi Arabia (Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 1pm)
- Group D: France vs Denmark (Stadium 974, Doha; kick-off 4pm)
- Group C: Argentina vs Mexico (Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail; kick-off 7pm)
Sunday November 27
- Group E: Japan vs Costa Rica (Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 10am)
- Group F: Belgium vs Morocco (Al Thumama Stadium, Al Khor; kick-off 1pm)
- Group F: Croatia vs Canada (Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 4pm)
- Group E: Spain vs Germany (Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor; kick-off 7pm)
Monday November 28
- Group G: Cameroon vs Serbia (Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah; kick-off 10am)
- Group G: South Korea vs Ghana (Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 1pm)
- Group H: Brazil vs Switzerland (Stadium 974, Doha; kick-off 4pm)
- Group H: Portugal vs Uruguay (Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail; kick-off 7pm)
Tuesday November 29
- Group A: Netherlands vs Qatar (Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor; kick-off 3pm)
- Group A: Ecuador vs Senegal (Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 3pm)
- Group B: Wales vs England (Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 7pm)
- Group B: Iran vs USA (Al Thumama Stadium, Al Khor; kick-off 7pm)
Wednesday November 30
- Group D: Australia vs Denmark (Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah; kick-off 3pm)
- Group D: Tunisia vs France (Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 3pm)
- Group C: Poland vs Argentina (Stadium 974, Doha; kick-off 7pm)
- Group C: Saudi Arabia vs Mexico (Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail; kick-off 7pm)
Thursday December 1
- Group F: Croatia vs Belgium (Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 3pm)
- Group F: Canada vs Morocco (Al Thumama Stadium, Al Khor; kick-off 3pm)
- Group E: Costa Rica vs Germany (Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor; kick-off 7pm)
- Group E: Japan vs Spain (Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 7pm)
Friday, December 2
- Group G: South Korea vs Portugal (Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 3pm)
- Group G: Ghana vs Uruguay (Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah; kick-off 3pm)
- Group H: Serbia vs Switzerland (Stadium 974, Doha; kick-off 7pm)
- Group H: Cameroon vs Brazil (Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail; kick-off 7pm)
Round of 16
Saturday December 3
- R16 1 - Winners of Group A vs. Runners-up of Group B (Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 3pm)
- R16 2 - Winners of Group C vs. Runners-up of Group D (Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 7pm)
Sunday December 4
- R16 3 - Winners of Group D vs. Runners-up of Group C (Al Thumama Stadium, Doha; kick-off 3pm)
- R16 4 - Winners of Group B vs. Runners-up of Group A (Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor; kick-off 7pm)
Monday December 5
- R16 5 - Winners of Group E vs. Runners-up of Group F (Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah; kick-off 3pm)
- R16 6 - Winners of Group G vs. Runners-up of Group H (Stadium 974, Doha; kick-off 7pm)
Tuesday December 6
- R16 7 - Winners of Group F vs. Runners-up of Group E (Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 3pm)
- R16 8 - Winners of Group H vs. Runners-up of Group G (Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail; kick-off 7pm)
Quarter-finals
Friday December 9
- QF1 - Winners of R16 5 vs. Winners of R16 6 (Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 3pm)
- QF2 - Winners of R16 1 vs. Winners of R16 2 (Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail; kick-off 7pm)
Saturday December 10
- QF 3 - Winners of R16 7 vs. Winners of R16 8 (Al Thumama Stadium, Doha; kick-off 3pm)
- QF 4 - Winners of R16 3 vs. Winners of R16 4 (Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor; kick-off 7pm)
Semi-finals
Tuesday December 13
- SF1 - Winners of QF 1 vs. Winners of QF 2 (Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail; kick-off 7pm)
Wednesday December 14
- SF2 - Winners of QF 3 vs. Winners of QF 4 (Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor; kick-off 7pm)
Saturday December 17
- Third place play-off (Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 3pm)
Final
- Sunday December 18 World Cup final (Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail; kick-off 3pm)
Why is the World Cup in November?
This year will mark the first time that the World Cup is played outside of the traditional summer window.
The 2022 World Cup is starting in November because of Qatar's intense summer heat, which would prove difficult for footballers to play in.
During the peak of summer, temperatures in the country can regularly reach over 40 degrees Celsius.
Although the weather won't be quite as searing in November and December, temperatures can still reach a hot 30 degrees.
Why is the Qatar World Cup so controversial?
The 2022 World Cup in Qatar has been met with criticism across the globe for a number of reasons.
Firstly, the dangers of players having to play in a country that is so hot. There is also the disruption to the European league caused by having the tournament in winter, the lack of infrastructure that the country had to cope with an event the size of the World Cup, and accusations of corruption when the country won the bid.
However the main reason that the 2022 World Cup is seen as such a controversial one is Qatar's questionable stance on human rights issues.
Homosexuality is illegal in the country, punishable by up to seven years in prison, and human rights organisations have been questioning the safety of LGBT fans and players as well as pointing out that Qatar's stance is in direct contradiction to FIFA's own governing statutes, which ban LGBT discrimination.
Another key issue that human rights organisations have criticised widely is Qatar's history of longstanding abuse of its migrant workers.
To build the infrastructure required for the World Cup, which includes a new airport, seven stadiums, a new metro system, a series of new roads and around 100 hotels, Qatar has hired tens of thousands of migrant workers and in the decade that the country has spent preparing for the World Cup the exploitation of these workers has been rampant.
Qatar manages migrant residency and employment under a system called Kafala, which Migrant-Rights.org claims leaves workers vulnerable to exploitation.
A 2021 report from Human Rights Watch found that across Qatar employers, including those who operate labor supply companies, "frequently delay, withhold, or arbitrarily deduct workers’ wages".
As well as unpaid wages, there's also been reports of migrant workers building World Cup infrastructure being forced to work in dangerous conditions, including extreme heat.
Last year The Guardian revealed that by 2020 over 6,5000 migrant workers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have died in Qatar since it won the right to host the World Cup in 2010.
The total death toll is also likely to be much higher as the figures didn't include deaths from other countries that send large numbers of workers to Qatar, including Kenya and the Philippines.
However the Qatari government disputed this, saying that not all of the deaths were people working on World Cup-related projects.
Their figures show that between 2014 and 2020 there was a total of 37 deaths of labourers at construction sites for World Cup stadiums, but they claimed that only three of these deaths were "word-related".
The International Labour Organisation said that in 2021 alone 50 foreign labourers died and 500 were seriously injured in Qatar. They also said that the government had underestimated the deaths because they don't count heart attacks and respiratory failure, both common symptoms of heatstroke, as work-related.
Amnesty International has also criticised the Qatari authorities for failing to carry out proper investigations into the deaths of thousands of workers.
Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International’s Head of Economic and Social Justice, said: “When relatively young and healthy men die suddenly after working long hours in extreme heat, it raises serious questions about the safety of working conditions in Qatar.
"In failing to investigate the underlying causes of migrant workers’ deaths, the Qatari authorities are ignoring warning signs which could, if addressed, save lives. This is a violation of the right to life."
Can you drink beer in Qatar?
Another concern for football fans attending the World Cup in Qatar is the availability of beer and other alcoholic drinks.
2022 marks the first time that the World Cup is being hosted in a Muslim country in the Middle East and Qatar has strict laws when it comes to the consumption of alcohol.
While alcohol itself is not illegal, drinking it in public is strictly prohibited and booze is only usually available to purchase from licensed hotel bars and restaurants, however the rules have been relaxed for the World Cup.
A 40,000-capacity fan zone has been established in the capital Doha where fans will be able to purchase alcoholic drinks, but the drinks at the FIFA fan festival in Doha's Al Bidda Park will only be available after 6.30pm local time.
Alcohol will also be served in select areas of stadiums, however only non-alcoholic beer and soft drinks will be available to buy inside the stadium bowl.
Organisers are yet to reveal their full alcohol policy for the tournament but Qatar 2022 CEO Nasser Al Khater told the BBC that it "will be communicated in due course", adding: "While alcohol will be available to those who want a drink in designated areas, it will not be openly available on the streets."
