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Football London

Sport

Will Freeman & Kieran Horn

World Cup 2022 ultimate guide: Fixtures, schedule, kick off-times and Qatar stadiums

World Cup Al Rayyan (Geopolitical Entity) Qatar Al Khor World Cup 2022 Al Bayt Stadium Doha Khalifa International Stadium Lusail Lusail Iconic Stadium

The Qatar World Cup has already seen some exciting action, with England taking the plaudits on day two of the tournament as they beat Iran 6-2. This was followed by Gareth Bale's dramatic equalising penalty to secure a draw for Wales against the USA in their own Group B fixture.

Louis van Gaal's Netherlands side also got their tournament underway on Monday, with a late flurry of action securing a 2-0 win against a strong Senegal side. This means that they share the lead at the top of group with Ecuador who impressed in their opening Group A fixture against host nation Qatar.

Day three sees Lionel Messi take the world football's greatest stage, with the Argentina side captaining his side against Saudi Arabia before Christian Eriksen and Robert Lewandowski get their campaigns underway for Denmark and Poland respectively. This comes before the final match of the day, which sees world champions France begin their tournament against Australia

Here is your ultimate guide to the World Cup:

Fixtures to watch out for

World Cup holders France begin their attempt to retain the trophy on Tuesday, November 22 when they face Australia, while runners-up Croatia open their campaign the following day against Morocco.

England's second fixture against the USA will take place on Friday, November 25 and the following day France will be out for revenge against Denmark who beat them 2-0 in the Nations League last month.

Arguably the most enticing group fixture comes on Saturday, November 26 when Spain take on Germany before an intriguing Group H double header the following day when Brazil face Switzerland and Portugal take on Uruguay.

The Three Lions' final group game against Wales is set to be played on Tuesday, November 29 and the following day sees Robert Lewandowski's Poland battle with Lionel Messi's Argentina.

Stadiums that will host the World Cup 2022

Lusali Iconic Stadium has the largest capacity at 80,000 and will play host to ten matches at the tournament, including six group fixtures, a match for every knockout round and the final.

Al Bayt Stadium, in the city of Al Khor, is the second largest venue at the tournament with a capacity of 60,000 and will be hosting the opening game of the competition between Qatar and Ecuador.

Al Janoub stadium, in the city of Al Wakrah, with a capacity of 40,000 will host six group games including France against Australia and Ghana against Uruguay.

Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, Khalifa International Stadium and Education City Stadium are all located in Al Rayyan with a capacity of 40,000. The Khalifa International Stadium has been in use since 1976 and is the only venue that hasn't been built specifically for the World Cup.

Stadium 974, uniquely named because it's made from 974 recycled shipping containers, and Al Thumama Stadium also have a capacity of 40,000 but are located in Qatar's capital city, Doha.

World Cup 2022 full fixture schedule

Sunday, November 20

Group A: Qatar 0-2 Ecuador (Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor; kick-off 4pm)

Monday, November 21

Group B: England 6-2 Iran (Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 1pm)
Group A: Senegal 0-2 Netherlands (Al Thumama Stadium, Al Khor; kick-off 4pm)
Group B: USA 1-1 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

49 - Winners of Group A vs Runners-up of Group B (Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 3pm)
50 - Winners of Group C vs Runners-up of Group D (Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 7pm)

Sunday, December 4

52 - Winners of Group D vs Runners-up of Group C (Al Thumama Stadium, Doha; kick-off 3pm)
51 - Winners of Group B vs Runners-up of Group A (Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor; kick-off 7pm)

Monday, December 5

53 - Winners of Group E vs Runners-up of Group F (Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah; kick-off 3pm)
54 - Winners of Group G vs Runners-up of Group H (Stadium 974, Doha; kick-off 7pm)

Tuesday, December 6

55 - Winners of Group F vs Runners-up of Group E (Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 3pm)
56 - Winners of Group H vs Runners-up of Group G (Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail; kick-off 7pm)

Quarter-finals

Friday, December 9

58 - Winners of 53 vs Winners of 54 (Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 3pm)
57 - Winners of 49 vs Winners of 50 (Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail; 7pm)

Saturday, December 10