Qatar 2022: one year to go before the XXII World Cup (opening match on Monday 21/11/2022, 11:00 CET)

Qatar, designated as team "A1" as the host country, will face team "A2" (draw on 01/04/2022) at the Al-Bayt Stadium (60,000 capacity), in Al Khor (QAT) on Monday 21/11/2022, with kick-off at 13:00 local time (11:00 CET), in the opening match of the XXII World Cup, the first to be held in November-December in order to avoid the heat of the traditional period (June-July) in the Persian Gulf.

It has been almost 11 years (02/12/2010) since Qatar was awarded the World Cup by FIFA. On the same day, Russia was chosen to host the 2018 edition, won by France (France-Croatia, 4-2 in the final on 15/07/2018).

The 2022 World Cup will be the seventh and final 32-team edition (1998-2022), as FIFA has decided to increase the number of participants to 48 from the 2026 World Cup co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

With one year to go before the tournament, 13 of the 32 teams (40.6%) have already been decided:
⚽️ Qatar (host country).
⚽️ Brazil and Argentina (CONMEBOL zone).
⚽️ Denmark, Germany, France, Belgium, Croatia, Spain, Serbia, England, Switzerland and the Netherlands (UEFA zone)…