(Reuters) – Here’s what you need to know about the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which is being held in Qatar:
WHEN DID WORLD CUP 2022 START?
* This year’s World Cup began on Nov. 20 and will run through to Dec. 18.
* The tournament began with a Group A match between hosts Qatar and Ecuador on Nov. 20, which Ecuador won 2-0.
* The World Cup started a day earlier than originally scheduled to ensure hosts Qatar played the opening match.
*The group stage ended on Dec. 2 and was hailed by FIFA President Gianni Infantino as the “best ever” due to the number of upsets and geographic breadth of the teams progressing.
WHAT IS THE SCHEDULE?
* The group stages featured a round-robin format with the 32 teams playing three matches each. Teams got three points for a win and one for a draw.
* The top two teams in each group advanced to the last 16. The knockout rounds began on Dec. 3. They feature one-off matches that can go to extra time and then penalties to decide the winner.
WHICH TEAMS ARE IN THE QUARTER-FINALS
* The quarter-finals will start from Dec. 9. Below are the teams that will meet.
Croatia v Brazil
Netherlands v Argentina
Morocco v Portugal
England v France
WHEN ARE THE SEMI-FINALS?
* The semi-finals will take place on Dec. 13 and 14 at the Lusail Iconic Stadium and Al Bayt Stadium.
WHEN IS THE FINAL?
* The final takes place on Sunday Dec. 18 at the Lusail Iconic Stadium.
WHAT ARE THE VENUES?
* Games are being staged at eight stadiums – Al Bayt Stadium, Khalifa International Stadium, Al Thumama Stadium, Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Lusail Iconic Stadium, Stadium 974, Education City Stadium and Al Janoub Stadium.
* With 80,000 seats, Lusail Iconic Stadium is the largest of Qatar’s eight World Cup stadiums.
* All the stadiums are located within 40 km of central Doha.
FULL LIST OF TEAMS THAT TOOK PART
The World Cup began with 32 teams that were divided into eight groups of four.
* Group A: Qatar (hosts), Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands
* Group B: England, Iran, United States, 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
(Compiled by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge/Peter Rutherford/Ken Ferris)
