This year’s World Cup in Qatar will start on November 21 with a match from Qatar, the organizing country. The final is on December 18. A total of 32 countries compete in 64 matches for the most coveted title in football: that of world champions.
The World Cup is always in summer, right?
Certainly! The previous World Cups were always played in the summer months, almost always in June and July. This year, however, everything is different. That has to do with the location: Qatar. Qatar is the first Middle Eastern country to host a World Cup. This World Cup is after 2002 (Japan and South Korea) a World Cup on Asian soil for the second time.
Because Qatar consists largely of desert, it is so hot in summer that playing football becomes impossible under normal circumstances. It can easily reach 40 degrees on an average summer day. FIFA has therefore decided, in consultation with the main Qatari organizers, to postpone the World Cup to the Qatari winter. Make no mistake, it will still be between 19 and 25 degrees in the emirate.
What is an emirate?
Qatar is called an emirate because the country is headed by an emir, an Arab monarch. Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani is the current Emir of Qatar. Just like in the Netherlands, in an emirate the title of king (or emir) remains within the family.
Why is this World Cup so controversial?
There has been a lot of controversy surrounding this World Cup since it was awarded in 2010. In the allocation, Qatar would have paid one and a half dollars to various African countries in order to get their vote. Jack Warner, the pivot in an FBI investigation into corruption in African football, is also said to have received about two million euros from Qatar. The allegations have never been proven, but the FBI is still investigating.
From the allocation, stadiums are being built in Qatar to prepare the country for the World Cup. That too does not go unnoticed to say the least. Migrant workers are said to help construction in appalling conditions and according to human rights organization Amnesty International, Qatar cannot explain up to 70% of the deaths among migrant workers. It is estimated that 6,500 people have now died in work carried out for the World Cup. Today FIFA meets with Amnesty to discuss the situation.
As for football, which countries have already qualified?
Despite all the problems, there is ‘just’ a world championship on the schedule in November and December of this year. There are 32 teams active at the World Cup. Twenty countries have already qualified: Qatar is the home country of the party.
The following countries have also qualified in various qualifying groups: Germany, Denmark, Brazil, France, Belgium, Croatia, Spain, Serbia, England, Switzerland, NetherlandsArgentina, Iran, South Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Ecuador, Uruguay and Canada.
The other twelve spots are still open. Of these, three more go to a European country, five to an African country, two or (three) to an Asian country, one (or none) to an Oceania country, two or three to a North or Central American country. country and possibly one to a country from South America.
Which countries are on pole position to get a ticket?
In Europe, the remaining tickets are given away by play-offs. Wales will play against Austria on March 24. In June, Ukraine will play in and against Scotland. The winners of those duels meet for one World Cup ticket. Ukraine’s duel has been moved because the country is currently at war with Russia.
The Russians are excluded from the play-offs because of that war. As a result, Poland will face the winner of the Sweden v Czech Republic match at home on March 29, which will be played in Sweden five days earlier.
The last European World Cup ticket probably goes to Portugal. Ronaldo and co must first deal with North Macedonia, which surprisingly won against Italy. The final of the play-offs is on March 29.
When is the draw?
Tickets will also be awarded on the other continents at the end of March, so that the draw for the World Cup can take place on April 1. In the draw there are four pots from eight countries. In the first pot, Qatar sits together with the seven best ranked countries in the FIFA world rankings. The Netherlands is in tenth place and will therefore most likely end up in pot 2.
During the draw, eight groups of four countries are made: one country from each pot. The Netherlands will therefore end up with one higher ranked country and two countries lower in the world ranking. Each pool may only contain one country per continent, with the exception of Europe: from our continent, a maximum of two countries may be in one pool.
What are the playing dates, cities and stadiums?
The World Cup lasts almost a month, from November 21 to December 18. The opening game will be played at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al-Khor, a city north of the capital Doha. The matches in the group stage will be played until December 2. The matches start at 11 am, 2 pm, 5 pm and 8 pm (Dutch time). In Qatar it is two hours later than in the Netherlands.
The last round of group matches and the matches in the knockout phase start at 4 pm and 8 pm. The eighth finals will be played between December 3 and 6, the quarter-finals are scheduled for December 9 and 10 and the semi-finals will take place on December 13 and 14. The consolation final will be played on December 17 and the final will be a day later, where kick-off will take place at 4 p.m., just like in the battle for third place.
In addition to the Al Bayt Stadium in Al-Khor, there are seven other stadiums, four of which are in Doha: Al Thumama, Education City, Khalifa International and Ras Abo Aboud are all located in the capital of Qatar. The other stadiums are the Lusail Iconic Stadium (where the final will be played) in Lusail, the Al-Rayyan Stadium in Al-Rayyan and the Al Jaboub Staion in Al-Wakrah. All major facilities are located within a 60-kilometre radius.
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