Countdown until the last World Cup to feature 32 teams

By Elume Raymond^™@elumeraymond

We are officially 32 days away from the greatest show on earth.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup kicks off in Qatar on November 20th at the Al Bayt stadium, Al-Khor, where a sold-out crowd of 60,000 are expected to attend the opening ceremony and opening match between host and World Cup debutants Qatar and South American representatives Ecuador. A historical moment for the tournament, as it is the first one held in the winter.

The 22nd edition of the FIFA World Cup will see 32 teams vie for the coveted golden trophy and the honour of being the best football country on the planet, a privilege that has only been earned by eight countries; Brazil, Italy, Germany, Argentina, Uruguay, Spain, France and England.

When and where is the 2022 World Cup?

The 2022 World Cup in Qatar kicks off on Sunday November 20 at the Al Bayt Stadium when the hosts take on Ecuador in Group A.

The tournament was originally set to begin a day later with Senegal’s game against the Netherlands at Al Thumama Stadium but Qatar’s match was moved forward in August to allow them to open their home tournament.

Cameroon will now feature on the fifth day with their Group G match against Switzerland scheduled to take place just eight days after the Elite 1 shuts down on Thursday November 24 with an 11am GMT+1 kick-off. After qualifying via the play-offs against Algeria, Cameroon’s second game will be on Monday November 28. The Indomitable Lions will then play Brazil on Friday December 02 in Group G.

The final will be played at the Lusail Stadium in Doha a week before Christmas on Sunday December 18. All Cameroon matches will be broadcast live on national television, CRTV, as well as a host of other matches. Relive the Qatar experience on CRTV Sports and Entertainment as if you were in Qatar.

What is the World Cup group draw?

The 2022 men’s World Cup in Qatar will feature 32 teams before the field expands to 48 teams for the 2026 World Cup. The FIFA men’s World Cup has featured 32 teams for the last six editions, since France 1998.

The 32 teams have been broken down into eight groups with the top two from each group qualifying for the knockouts.

The groups are determined by a complex FIFA process. A ranking system assigns the host nation and the seven strongest teams to different groups. To guarantee a geographical spread, FIFA defines six qualifying zones: Africa, Asia, Europe, North and Central America, and the Caribbean, Oceania and South America.

No two teams from the same zone – except Europe – can be in the same group, while no more than two European teams can be in the same group.

The 2022 World Cup will begin with 32 teams in eight groups of four:

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

What is the World Cup format and schedule?

Four matches will be played each day during the group stage, which will run over a 12-day period and see winners and runners-up progress to the round of 16.

There will be a third-place play-off game on December 17.

All times are GMT.

When will the matches kick off?

The first two rounds of matches will kick off at 1pm, 4pm, 7pm and 10pm local time (11am, 2pm, 5pm and 8pm in Cameroon).

Kick-off times for the final round of group games and knockout-round matches will be 6pm and 10pm local time (4pm and 8pm Cameroon time).

The final is scheduled to kick off at 6pm local time (4pm Cameroon time)

The World Cup final will also be held on a Sunday, as per tradition. The trophy will be hoisted by the winner on Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022.

What are the venues?

The group games will take place across eight stadia: Al Bayt Stadium, Khalifa International Stadium, Al Thumama Stadium, Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, Lusail Stadium, Ras Abu Aboud Stadium, Education City Stadium, Al Janoub Stadium.

What will happen with the Cameroon Elite 1 Championship?

The Elite 1 season has been adjusted to accommodate a World Cup that takes place in the middle of the domestic calendar.

The season started on October 15 2022, with 07 match days taking place up to the weekend of November 15/16, before the tournament kicks off on November 20.

The Elite 1 will resume on the 19/20 December following the World Cup final, which takes place on December 18.

The final match round of the 2022/23 season will be played on April 23 2023.

Key information about team squads and how they qualified

These are the key dates for World Cup squads:

Friday, Oct. 21: Preliminary squad list (35-55 players) to be submitted

Monday, Nov. 14: Final list of 23-26 players to be submitted

Tuesday, Nov. 15: FIFA to officially announce all 32 squads

The table below features the full 32-team field for the 2022 World Cup, including the date each nation clinched a berth and how they did it.

Elume Raymond

Host on the YouTube Channel: The Warmup Show