2022 FIFA World Cup
The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting rights in 2010[2]. It was the first World Cup to be held in the Arab world and Muslim world, and the second held entirely in Asia after the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan.[A]
| كأس العالم لكرة القدم 2022 Kaʾs al-ʿālam li-kurat al-qadam 2022 | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Qatar |
| Dates | 20 November – 18 December |
| Teams | 32 (from 5 confederations) |
| Venue(s) | 8 (in 5 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Argentina (3rd title) |
| Runners-up | France |
| Third place | Croatia |
| Fourth place | Morocco |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 64 |
| Goals scored | 172 (2.69 per match) |
| Attendance | 3,404,252 (53,191 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Kylian Mbappé (8 goals) |
| Best player(s) | Lionel Messi |
| Best young player | Enzo Fernández |
| Best goalkeeper | Emiliano Martínez |
| Fair play award | England |
← 2018 2026 → | |
This tournament was the last with 32 participating teams, with the number of teams being increased to 48 for the 2026 edition. To avoid the extremes of Qatar's hot climate,[B] the event was held in November and December instead of during the traditional months of May, June, or July.[C] It was held over a reduced time frame of 29 days with 64 matches played in eight venues across five cities. Qatar entered the event—their first World Cup—automatically as the host's national team, alongside 31 teams determined by the qualification process.
Argentina were crowned the champions after winning the final against the title holder France 4–2 on penalties following a 3–3 draw after extra time. It was Argentina's third title and their first since 1986, as well as being the first nation from outside of Europe to win the tournament since 2002. French player Kylian Mbappé became the first player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final since Geoff Hurst in the 1966 final and won the Golden Boot as he scored the most goals (eight) during the tournament. Mbappé also became the first player to score in two consecutive finals since Vava of Brazil did the same in 1958 and 1962. Argentine captain Lionel Messi was voted the tournament's best player, winning the Golden Ball. The tournament has been considered exceptionally poetic as the capstone of his career, for some commentators fulfilling a previously unmet criterion to be regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.[5] Teammates Emiliano Martínez and Enzo Fernández won the Golden Glove, awarded to the tournament's best goalkeeper; and the Young Player Award, awarded to the tournament's best young player, respectively. With 172 goals, the tournament set a record for the highest number of goals scored in the 32-team format, with every participating team scoring at least one goal. Morocco became the first African nation to top Group stages with 7 points.
The choice to host the World Cup in Qatar attracted significant criticism, with concerns raised over the country's treatment of migrant workers, women, and members of the LGBT community, as well as Qatar's climate, lack of a strong football culture, scheduling changes, and allegations of bribery for hosting rights and wider FIFA corruption.[D]
Format
The FIFA World Cup is a professional football tournament held between national football teams, organised by FIFA.[14][15] The tournament, held every four years, was first played in 1930 in Uruguay,[16] and has been contested by 32 teams since the 1998 event.[16] The tournament was contested with eight round-robin groups followed by a knockout round for 16 teams.[17] The defending champions were France, who defeated Croatia 4–2 in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Final.[18][19] The event was scheduled to take place under a reduced length,[20] from 20 November to 18 December in Qatar.[21][22][23] Being held in Qatar, it was the first World Cup tournament to be held in the Arab world.[24] Spectators were not required to follow most COVID-19 pandemic restrictions such as social distancing, wearing masks, and negative tests.[25]
Schedule
Unlike previous FIFA World Cups, which are typically played in June and July, because of Qatar's intense summer heat and often fairly high humidity,[3][22][26] the 2022 World Cup was played in November and December.[6][27] As a result, the World Cup was unusually staged in the middle of the seasons of many domestic association football leagues, which started in late July or August, including all of the major European leagues, which had been obliged to incorporate extended breaks into their domestic schedules to accommodate the World Cup. Major European competitions had scheduled their respective competitions group matches to be played before the World Cup, to avoid playing group matches the following year.[28]
The match schedule was confirmed by FIFA on 15 July 2020.[29] The group stage was set to begin on 21 November, with four matches every day. Later, the schedule was tweaked by moving the Qatar vs Ecuador game to 20 November, after Qatar lobbied FIFA to allow their team to open the tournament.[30][31][32] The final was played on 18 December 2022, National Day, at Lusail Stadium.[29][33] Unlike previous tournaments where the match venues and kick-off times for each fixture were set prior to the draw, the assignment of group fixtures for each matchday to a specific venue and kick-off time was only made after the final draw, with the teams of each specific fixture known. This was due to the close proximity of the venues, which allowed the organizers to optimize stadium allocation for spectators and kick-off times for television audiences.[29]
The matches for each group were allocated to the following stadiums:[33]
- Groups A, B, E, F: Al Bayt Stadium, Khalifa International Stadium, Al Thumama Stadium, Ahmad bin Ali Stadium
- Groups C, D, G, H: Lusail Stadium, Stadium 974, Education City Stadium, Al Janoub Stadium
FIFA confirmed the group stage venue and kick-off times on 1 April 2022, following the draw.[34][35]
Prize money
In April 2022, FIFA announced the prizes for all participating nations. Each qualified team received $1.5 million before the competition to cover preparation costs with each team receiving at least $9 million in prize money. This edition's total prize pool was $440 million, $40 million greater than the prize pool of the previous tournament.[36]
| Place | Teams | Amount (in millions) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per team | Total | ||
| Champions | 1 | $42 | $42 |
| Runners-up | 1 | $30 | $30 |
| Third place | 1 | $27 | $27 |
| Fourth place | 1 | $25 | $25 |
| 5th–8th place (quarter-finals) | 4 | $17 | $68 |
| 9th–16th place (round of 16) | 8 | $13 | $104 |
| 17th–32nd place (group stage) | 16 | $9 | $144 |
| Total | 32 | $440 | |
Rule changes
The tournament featured new substitution rules whereby teams could make up to five substitutions in normal time, and an additional substitution in extra time.[37][38][39] In addition, it was the first World Cup to feature concussion substitutions, whereby each team was permitted to use a maximum of one concussion substitute during a match. A concussion substitution did not count towards a team's quota of regular substitutions.[40] Iranian goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand suffered a concussion in his country's opening match against England and was replaced by Hossein Hosseini. This was the first use of a dedicated concussion substitute during a World Cup.[41]
Host selection
The bidding procedure to host the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups began in January 2009. National associations had until 2 February 2009 to register interest.[42] Initially, 11 bids were made for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, but Mexico withdrew from proceedings,[43][44] and Indonesia's bid was rejected by FIFA in February 2010 after the Indonesian Football Association failed to submit a letter of Indonesian government guarantee to support the bid.[45]
After UEFA were guaranteed to host the 2018 event, members of UEFA were no longer in contention to host in 2022.[46] There were five bids remaining for the 2022 FIFA World Cup: Australia, Japan, Qatar, South Korea, and the United States. The 22-member FIFA Executive Committee convened in Zürich, Switzerland, on 2 December 2010 to vote to select the hosts of both tournaments.[47] Two FIFA executive committee members were suspended before the vote in relation to allegations of corruption regarding their votes.[48] The decision to host the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which was graded as having "high operational risk",[49] generated criticism from media commentators.[50] It was criticised by many as being part of the FIFA corruption scandals,[51] which led to the 2015 FIFA corruption case.
The voting patterns were as follows:[52]
| Bidders | Votes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | |
| Qatar | 11 | 10 | 11 | 14 |
| United States | 3 | 5 | 6 | 8 |
| South Korea | 4 | 5 | 5 | Eliminated |
| Japan | 3 | 2 | Eliminated | |
| Australia | 1 | Eliminated | ||
Cost of hosting the tournament
At an estimated cost of over $220 billion,[53] it is the most expensive World Cup ever held to date; this figure is disputed by Qatari officials, including organising CEO Nasser Al Khater, who said the true cost was $8 billion, and other figures related to overall infrastructure development since the World Cup was awarded to Qatar in 2010.[54]
Venues
The first five proposed venues for the World Cup were unveiled at the beginning of March 2010. Qatar intended that the stadiums should reflect its history and culture, and for the designs to meet the following terms of reference: legacy, comfort, accessibility, and sustainability.[55] The stadiums were equipped with cooling systems that aim to reduce temperatures within the stadium by up to 20 °C (36 °F).[56][57]
Their marketing included statements describing the stadiums as zero waste, and the upper tiers of the stadiums will be disassembled after the World Cup and donated to countries with less developed sports infrastructure.[56][57] Qatar aspired to be compliant and certified by the Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS) for all the World Cup stadiums. All of the five stadium projects launched were designed by German architect Albert Speer & Partners.[58] The Al Bayt and Al Wakrah stadiums were the only indoor stadiums of the eight used.[59]
In an April 2013 report by Merrill Lynch, the organisers in Qatar requested that FIFA approve a smaller number of stadiums due to the growing costs.[60] Bloomberg said that Qatar wished to cut the number of venues to eight or nine from the twelve originally planned.[61] By April 2017, FIFA had yet to finalise the number of stadiums Qatar must have readied in five years' time. Qatar's Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC) said it expected there would be eight in and near Doha, with the exception of Al Khor.[62][63]
Eight stadiums in five Qatarian cities were built or renovated for the FIFA World Cup. Between 2010 (when Qatar were announced as hosts) and 2022, seven of the eight stadiums were built (some in place of older, outdated venues) and the Khalifa International Stadium was renovated for the tournament.
- Al Khor: Al Bayt Stadium (new). The first piles were driven into the ground in 2014. On 30 November 2021 it hosted its first match.
- Lusail: Lusail Stadium (new). The construction of the stadium was started on 11 April 2017. It was completed on 21 November 2021.
- Al Rayyan: Ahmad bin Ali Stadium (new). The stadium was built on the demolished former stadium site. It was commissioned on 18 December 2020.
- Al Rayyan: Education City Stadium (new). It was completed on 15 June 2020.
- Al Rayyan: Khalifa International Stadium (heavily renovated). The largest stadium in the country at the time, it was closed for renovation in 2013. It was commissioned in May 2017.
- Doha: Al Thumama Stadium (new). Construction was completed on 21 October 2021.
- Doha: Stadium 974 (temporary). Construction commenced in 2018. It was completed on 30 November 2021 and had hosted some of the matches in 2021 FIFA Arab Cup.
- Al Wakrah: Al Janoub Stadium (new). Construction officially started in 2014 and was completed on 16 May 2019.
Of these eight stadiums, all but one have since been either dismantled, or have been moderately or heavily modified. The Stadium 974 is no longer in use and is slated for dismantled after the tournament—this stadium was the first temporary stadium ever used for a FIFA World Cup.[64] Lusail Stadium, Al Bayt Stadium, Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Education City Stadium, Al Thumama Stadium and Al Janoub Stadium will been moderately or heavily modified as reduce their capacity by half.[65] The Khalifa International Stadium is the only largely unmodified stadium that was used for this tournament.
Stadiums
| City | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Al Khor | Al Bayt Stadium | 68,895[66][67][E] |
| Lusail | Lusail Stadium | 88,966[68][69][F] |
| Al Rayyan | Ahmad bin Ali Stadium | 45,032[70][71][G] |
| Education City Stadium | 44,667[72][73][H] | |
| Khalifa International Stadium | 45,857[74][75][I] | |
| Doha | Al Thumama Stadium | 44,400[76][77][J] |
| Stadium 974 | 44,089[78][79][K] | |
| Al Wakrah | Al Janoub Stadium | 44,325[80][81][L] |
Team base camps
Base camps were used by the 32 national squads to stay and train before and during the World Cup tournament. In July 2022, FIFA announced the hotels and training sites for each participating team.[82][83] This World Cup was the most compact since the inaugural edition in 1930, with 24 of the 32 teams being within a 10 km radius of each other, and are concentrated within the Doha area. It was the first Cup since 1930 in which players did not need to take flights to matches and could remain at the same training base throughout the entire tournament.[84][85]
| Team | Hotel | Training site |
|---|---|---|
| Argentina | Qatar University Hostel 1 | Qatar University Training Site 3 |
| Australia | New Aspire Academy Athlete Accommodation | Aspire Zone Training Facilities 5 |
| Belgium | Hilton Salwa Beach Resort and Villas | Salwa Training Site |
| Brazil | The Westin Doha Hotel and Spa | Al Arabi SC Stadium |
| Cameroon | Banyan Tree Doha at La Cigale Mushaireb | Al Sailiya SC Stadium |
| Canada | Century Marina Hotel Lusail | Umm Salal SC Training Facilities |
| Costa Rica | dusitD2 Salwa Doha | Al Ahli SC Stadium |
| Croatia | Hilton Doha | Al Ersal Training Site 3 |
| Denmark | Retaj Salwa Resort & SPA | Al Sailiya SC 2 |
| Ecuador | Hyatt Regency Oryx Doha | Mesaimeer SC Training Facilities |
| England | Souq Al Wakra Hotel Qatar by Tivoli | Al Wakrah SC Stadium |
| France | Al Messila – A Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Doha | Al Sadd SC Stadium |
| Germany | Zulal Wellness Resort | Al Shamal SC Stadium |
| Ghana | DoubleTree by Hilton Doha – Al Sadd | Aspire Zone Training Facilities 1 |
| Iran | Al Rayyan Hotel Doha Curio Collection by Hilton | Al Rayyan SC Training Facilities 1 |
| Japan | Radisson Blu Hotel Doha | Al Sadd SC New Training Facilities 1 |
| Mexico | Simaisma, A Murwab Resort | Al Khor SC Stadium |
| Morocco | Wyndham Doha West Bay | Al Duhail SC Stadium |
| Netherlands | The St. Regis Doha | Qatar University Training Site 6 |
| Poland | Ezdan Palace Hotel | Al Kharaitiyat SC Training Facilities |
| Portugal | Al Samriya Autograph Collection Hotel | Al Shahaniya SC Training Facilities |
| Qatar | Al Aziziyah Boutique Hotel | Aspire Zone Training Facilities 3 |
| Saudi Arabia | Sealine Beach, a Murwab Resort | Sealine Training Site |
| Senegal | Duhail Handball Sports Hall | Al Duhail SC 2 |
| Serbia | Rixos Gulf Hotel Doha | Al Arabi SC Training Facilities |
| South Korea | Le Méridien City Center Doha | Al Egla Training Site 5 |
| Spain | Qatar University Hostel 2 | Qatar University Training Site 1 |
| Switzerland | Le Royal Méridien, Doha | University of Doha for Science and Technology Training Facilities |
| Tunisia | Wyndham Grand Doha West Bay Beach | Al Egla Training Sites 3 |
| United States | Marsa Malaz Kempinski, The Pearl – Doha | Al Gharafa SC Stadium |
| Uruguay | Pullman Doha West Bay | Al Ersal Training Site 1 |
| Wales | Delta Hotels City Center Doha | Al Sadd SC New Training Facilities 2 |
Security
The Qatari government employed about 50,000 security personnel including police departments and military forces from at least thirteen countries, including Poland, Germany, France, Kuwait, Jordan, Italy, Palestine, Spain, Pakistan, Turkey, USA, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom.[86] The Turkish government provided about 3,000 riot police personnel,[86] whilst Pakistan provided about 4,500 Army troops to Qatar for the event.[87]
Teams
Qualification
FIFA's six continental confederations organised their own qualifying competitions. All 211 FIFA member associations were eligible to enter qualification. The Qatari national team, as hosts, qualified automatically for the tournament. However, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) obliged Qatar to participate in the Asian qualifying stage as the first two rounds also act as qualification for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.[88] Since Qatar reached the final stage as winners in their group, Lebanon, the fifth-best second place team, advanced instead.[89] France, the reigning World Cup champions, qualified for the event through European qualification.[90]
Saint Lucia initially entered CONCACAF qualification but withdrew from it before their first match. North Korea withdrew from the AFC qualifying round due to safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Both American Samoa and Samoa withdrew before the OFC qualification draw due to travel restrictions following the pandemic.[91] Tonga withdrew after the 2022 Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai eruption and tsunami.[92] Due to COVID-19 outbreaks in their squads, Vanuatu and Cook Islands also withdrew because of the travel restrictions.[93][94]
Of the 32 nations qualified to play at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, 24 countries competed at the previous tournament in 2018.[95] Qatar were the only team making their debut in the FIFA World Cup, becoming the first hosts to make their tournament debut since Italy in 1934. The Netherlands, Ecuador, Ghana, Cameroon, and the United States returned to the tournament after missing the 2018 tournament. Canada returned after 36 years, their only prior appearance being in 1986.[96] Wales made their first appearance in 64 years—the longest-ever gap for any team, their only previous participation having been in 1958.[97]
Italy, four-time winners and reigning European champions, failed to qualify for a second successive World Cup for the first time in their history, losing in the qualification play-off semi-finals.[98] The Italians were the only former champions and the highest ranked team in the FIFA Men's World Rankings that failed to qualify. Italy were also the fourth team to have failed to qualify for the upcoming World Cup after having won the previous UEFA European Championship, following Czechoslovakia in 1978, Denmark in 1994, and Greece in 2006.[99] The previous World Cup hosts, Russia, were disqualified from competing due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[100]
Chile, the 2015 and 2016 Copa América winners, failed to qualify for the second consecutive time. Nigeria were defeated by Ghana on away goals in Confederation of African Football (CAF) final playoff round, having qualified for the previous three World Cups and six out of the last seven. Egypt, Panama, Colombia, Peru, Iceland, and Sweden, all of whom qualified for the 2018 World Cup, did not qualify for the 2022 tournament.[101] Ghana were the lowest ranked team to qualify, ranked 61st.[102]
The qualified teams, listed by region, with numbers in parentheses indicating final positions in the FIFA Men's World Ranking before the tournament were:[103]
| AFC (6)
CAF (5) | CONCACAF (4)
CONMEBOL (4) OFC (0)
| UEFA (13) | Team qualified Team failed to qualify Team withdrew or suspended Not a FIFA member
|
Squads
Before submitting their final squad for the tournament, teams named a provisional squad of up to 55 players. Teams were required to have their 55-player roster submitted to FIFA by 21 October.[104] Teams were required to name their final squads by 13 November.[105] In August 2022, FIFA increased the final squad size to 26 players from a total of 23 players at the 2018 edition.[106] All teams had a total of 26 players in their final squads except for France and Iran, who chose 25 players.[107][108]
Draw
The final draw was held at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center in Doha, Qatar,[109] on 1 April 2022,[110] 19:00 AST, prior to the completion of qualification. The two winners of the inter-confederation play-offs and the winner of the Path A of the UEFA play-offs were not known at the time of the draw.[111] The draw was attended by 2,000 guests and was led by Carli Lloyd, Jermaine Jenas and sports broadcaster Samantha Johnson, assisted by the likes of Cafu (Brazil), Lothar Matthäus (Germany), Adel Ahmed Malalla (Qatar), Ali Daei (Iran), Bora Milutinović (Serbia/Mexico), Jay-Jay Okocha (Nigeria), Rabah Madjer (Algeria), and Tim Cahill (Australia).[112][113]
For the draw, 32 teams were allocated into four pots based on the FIFA Men's World Rankings of 31 March 2022.[114] Pot 1 contained host Qatar (who were automatically assigned to position A1) and the best seven teams. Pot 2 contained the next best eight teams, with the next best eight teams into pot 3. Pot 4 contained the five lowest-ranked teams, along with the placeholders for the two inter-confederation play-off winners and the UEFA Path A play-off winner. Teams from the same confederation could not be drawn into the same group except for UEFA teams, for which there was at least one and no more than two per group.[115]
This principle also applied to the placeholder teams, with constraints applying based on the confederation of both potential winners of each play-off tie. The draw started with pot 1 and ended with pot 4, with each team selected then allocated into the first available group alphabetically. The position for the team within the group would then be drawn (for the purpose of the match schedule), with the pot 1 teams automatically drawn into position 1 of each group.[115] The pots for the draw are shown below.[116]
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qatar (51) (hosts) Brazil (1) Belgium (2) France (3) Argentina (4) England (5) Spain (7) Portugal (8) | Mexico (9) Netherlands (10) Denmark (11) Germany (12) Uruguay (13) Switzerland (14) United States (15) Croatia (16) | Senegal (20) Iran (21) Japan (23) Morocco (24) Serbia (25) Poland (26) South Korea (29) Tunisia (35) | Cameroon (37) Canada (38) Ecuador (46) Saudi Arabia (49) Ghana (61) Wales (18) [M] Costa Rica (31) [N] Australia (42) [O] |
Officiating
In May 2022, FIFA announced the list of 36 referees, 69 assistant referees, and 24 video assistant referees for the tournament. Of the 36 referees, FIFA included two each from Argentina, Brazil, England, and France.[118][119]
For the first time women referees officiated games at a major men's tournament.[120] France's Stéphanie Frappart, Salima Mukansanga from Rwanda, and Yoshimi Yamashita from Japan became the first female referees to be appointed to a men's World Cup.[121] Frappart previously oversaw the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup Final.[122] They were joined by three female assistant referees, Neuza Back, Kathryn Nesbitt, and Karen Díaz Medina. Frappart then officially became the first-ever female referee to officiate a World Cup match when she worked the Costa Rica vs Germany match in Group E on 1 December.[123]
Gambian referee Bakary Gassama and Argentine assistant referee Juan Pablo Belatti were among the officials to serve at their third World Cup. Belatti was an assistant referee in the 2018 final.[124][125][126] Other returning officials included referees César Arturo Ramos of Mexico and Janny Sikazwe of Zambia, and Iranian assistant referee Mohammadreza Mansouri.[127][128][129]
On 15 December 2022, FIFA announced that Polish referee Szymon Marciniak would adjudicate the final.[130]
Opening ceremony
The opening ceremony took place on Sunday, 20 November 2022 at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, prior to the opening match of the tournament between hosts Qatar and Ecuador.[131] It included appearances by Morgan Freeman and Ghanim Al-Muftah, along with performances by South Korean singer and BTS member Jungkook and Qatari singer Fahad Al Kubaisi.[132][133] It was the first time that the Qur'an had been recited as part of the opening ceremony.[134] During the ceremony, Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani declared the tournament open.[135]
Group stage
The group stage was played from 20 November to 2 December.[136] Competing countries were divided into eight groups of four teams (groups A to H). Teams in each group played one another in a round-robin, where the top two teams advanced to the knockout stage.
| Tie-breaking criteria for group play |
|---|
The ranking of teams in the group stage was determined as follows:[137]
|
Group A
The first match of the tournament was held between Qatar and Ecuador in Group A. Ecuador had a disallowed goal in the opening minutes,[138] but eventually won 2–0 with two goals from Enner Valencia.[139] Qatar became the first host nation to lose their opening match at a World Cup.[140][141][142] Many Qatar natives were seen leaving the game before the end, with ESPN reporting that two-thirds of the attendance had left.[143][144] The other starting match in group A was won by the Netherlands 2–0 over Senegal. Cody Gakpo scored the opening goal in the 84th minute and Davy Klaassen added a second in stoppage time.[145] Senegal faced Qatar in the third match of the group; Boulaye Dia capitalised on a slip by Boualem Khoukhi to put Senegal 1–0 ahead. Famara Diédhiou scored a second with a header, before Mohammed Muntari scored Qatar's first-ever goal at a World Cup to reduce the deficit back to one. Senegal eventually won the match 3–1 after an 84th-minute goal by Bamba Dieng. With this result, Qatar became the first team to be eliminated from the tournament, as well as becoming the first host nation to ever be knocked out of the tournament after two games.[146] Gakpo scored his second goal of the tournament as the Netherlands led Ecuador; however, Valencia scored an equaliser in the 49th minute.[147] The Netherlands won 2–0 against Qatar following goals by Gakpo and Frenkie de Jong to win the group, while Qatar attained the distinction of being the first home nation to lose all three group matches.[148] Senegal faced Ecuador to determine the second knockout round qualifier. At the end of the first half, Ismaïla Sarr scored a penalty kick to put Senegal ahead. In the 67th minute, Moisés Caicedo scored an equaliser, but shortly after, Kalidou Koulibaly gave Senegal the victory. The win was enough to qualify Senegal as the runners-up of Group A.[149]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Netherlands | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 7 | Advanced to knockout stage |
| 2 | Senegal | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 6 | |
| 3 | Ecuador | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 4 | |
| 4 | Qatar (H) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 7 | −6 | 0 |
(H) Hosts
| Senegal | 0–2 | Netherlands |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Netherlands | 1–1 | Ecuador |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Netherlands | 2–0 | Qatar |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Group B
England completed a 6–2 victory over Iran. Iranian keeper Alireza Beiranvand was removed from the game for a suspected concussion before England scored three first-half goals.[150] Mehdi Taremi scored in the second half after which England defender Harry Maguire was also removed for a concussion.[150] Timothy Weah, of the United States, scored a first-half goal against Wales; however, the match finished as a draw after a penalty kick was won and scored by Gareth Bale.[151] Iran defeated Wales 2–0 following a red card to Welsh goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey after he committed a foul outside of his penalty area. Substitute Rouzbeh Cheshmi scored the first goal eight minutes into stoppage time, followed by Ramin Rezaeian scoring three minutes later.[152] England and the United States played to a 0–0 draw, with only four shots on target between them, and one shot from Christian Pulisic hit the crossbar.[153] England won the group following a 3–0 win over Wales with a goal by Phil Foden and two by Marcus Rashford.[154] Christian Pulisic scored the winning goal as the United States defeated Iran 1–0 to qualify for the round of 16.[155]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | England | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 2 | +7 | 7 | Advanced to knockout stage |
| 2 | United States | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 5 | |
| 3 | Iran | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 3 | |
| 4 | Wales | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | −5 | 1 |
| England | 0–0 | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Iran | 0–1 | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
Group C
Argentina took an early lead against Saudi Arabia after Lionel Messi scored a penalty kick after ten minutes; however, second-half goals by Saleh Al-Shehri and Salem Al-Dawsari won the match 2–1 for Saudi Arabia,[156] a result the media considered one of the biggest upsets in the history of the event.[157][158] The match between Mexico and Poland ended as a goalless 0–0 draw after Guillermo Ochoa saved Robert Lewandowski's penalty kick attempt.[159] Lewandowski scored his first career World Cup goal in a 2–0 win over Saudi Arabia four days later.[160][161] Argentina defeated Mexico 2–0, with Messi scoring the opener and later assisting teammate Enzo Fernández who scored his first international goal.[162][163] Argentina won their last game against Poland with goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Julián Álvarez, which was enough to win the group;[164] Poland qualified for the knockout stage on goal difference, thanks to Saudi Arabia scoring an injury-time consolation goal against Mexico in a match already lost.[165]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Argentina | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 6 | Advanced to knockout stage |
| 2 | Poland | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | |
| 3 | Mexico | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 4 | |
| 4 | Saudi Arabia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 3 |
| Argentina | 1–2 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Poland | 2–0 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Poland | 0–2 | Argentina |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Saudi Arabia | 1–2 | Mexico |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Group D
The match between Denmark and Tunisia ended as a goalless draw; both teams had goals disallowed by offside calls.[166] Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen made his first major international appearance since suffering a cardiac arrest at the UEFA Euro 2020.[166] Defending champions France went a goal behind to Australia, after a Craig Goodwin goal within ten minutes. France, however, scored four goals, by Adrien Rabiot, Kylian Mbappé and two by Olivier Giroud to win 4–1.[167] The goals tied Giroud with Thierry Henry as France's all-time top goalscorer.[167] Mitchell Duke scored the only goal as Australia won against Tunisia. This was their first World Cup win since 2010.[168][169] Mbappé scored a brace as France defeated Denmark 2–1. This was enough for France to qualify for the knockout round—the first time since Brazil in 2006 that the defending champions progressed through the opening round.[168][170] Mathew Leckie scored the only goal as Australia defeated Denmark 1–0, qualifying for the knockout round as runners-up with the win.[171] Wahbi Khazri scored for Tunisia against France in the 58th minute. Although Antoine Griezmann equalised in stoppage time it was overturned for offside. Tunisia finished third in the group, as they required a draw in the Denmark and Australia game.[172]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | France | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 6 | Advanced to knockout stage |
| 2 | Australia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 6 | |
| 3 | Tunisia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | |
| 4 | Denmark | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 1 |
| France | 2–1 | Denmark |
|---|---|---|
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Group E
Group E began with Japan facing 2014 champions Germany. After an early penalty kick was converted by Germany's İlkay Gündoğan, Japan scored two second-half goals by Ritsu Dōan and Takuma Asano in a 2–1 win.[173] In the second group match, Spain defeated Costa Rica 7–0. First-half goals by Dani Olmo, Marco Asensio, and Ferran Torres were followed by goals by Gavi, Carlos Soler, Alvaro Morata, and a second by Torres.[174][175] This was the largest defeat in a World Cup since Portugal's victory over North Korea in the 2010 event by the same scoreline.[176] Costa Rica defeated Japan 1–0, with Keysher Fuller scoring with Costa Rica's first shot on target of the tournament.[177] Germany and Spain drew 1–1, with Álvaro Morata scoring for Spain and Niclas Füllkrug scoring for Germany.[178][179][180] Morata scored the opening goal for Spain against Japan as they controlled the first half of the match.[181] Japan equalised on Ritsu Doan before a second goal by Ao Tanaka was heavily investigated by VAR for the ball potentially being out of play. The goal was awarded, and Japan won the group following a 2–1 win.[181] Serge Gnabry scored on ten minutes for Germany against Costa Rica and they led until half-time. Germany required a win, and for Japan to not win their match, or for both teams to win their matches by a combined goal difference of at least 9 goals, to qualify. In the second half, goals by Yeltsin Tejeda and Juan Vargas gave Costa Rica a 2–1 lead, which would have qualified them into the knockout stages ahead of Spain. Germany scored three further goals—two by Kai Havertz and a goal by Niclas Fullkrug, ending in a 4–2 win for Germany—which was not enough to qualify them for the final stages. This was the second time in a row that the four-time champions failed to progress past the group stages.[182] Japan won the group ahead of Spain.[183]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 6 | Advanced to knockout stage |
| 2 | Spain | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 4 | |
| 3 | Germany | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 4 | |
| 4 | Costa Rica | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 11 | −8 | 3 |
| Spain | 7–0 | Costa Rica |
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| Japan | 0–1 | Costa Rica |
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Group F
Group F's first match was a goalless draw between Morocco and Croatia.[184] Canada had a penalty kick in the first half of their match against Belgium which was saved by Thibaut Courtois. Belgium won the match by a single goal by Michy Batshuayi.[185][186] Belgium lost 2–0 to Morocco, despite Morocco having a long-range direct free kick goal by Hakim Ziyech overturned for an offside on another player in the lead up to the goal. Two second-half goals from Zakaria Aboukhlal and Romain Saïss helped the Morocco win their first World Cup match since 1998.[187][188] The match sparked riots in Belgium, with fires and fireworks being set off by residents.[189] Alphonso Davies scored Canada's first World Cup goal to give Canada the lead over Croatia. Goals by Marko Livaja, Lovro Majer, and two by Andrej Kramarić for Croatia completed a 4–1 victory.[190] Morocco scored two early goals through Hakim Ziyech and Youssef En-Nesyri in their game against Canada and qualified following a 2–1 victory. Canada's only goal was an own goal by Nayef Aguerd.[191] Croatia and Belgium played a goalless draw which eliminated Belgium, whose team was ranked second in the world, from the tournament.[192]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Morocco | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 7 | Advanced to knockout stage |
| 2 | Croatia | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 5 | |
| 3 | Belgium | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 4 | |
| 4 | Canada | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 0 |
Group G
Breel Embolo scored the only goal in Switzerland's 1–0 defeat of Cameroon.[193] Richarlison scored two goals as Brazil won against Serbia, with star player Neymar receiving an ankle injury.[194] Cameroon's Jean-Charles Castelletto scored the opening goal against Serbia, but they were quickly behind as Serbia scored three goals by Strahinja Pavlović, Sergej Milinković-Savić, and Aleksandar Mitrović either side of half time. Cameroon, however, scored goals through Vincent Aboubakar and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, completing a 3–3 draw.[195] An 83rd-minute winner by Casemiro for Brazil over Switzerland was enough for them to qualify for the knockout stage.[196] Having already qualified, Brazil were unable to win their final group game, as they were defeated by Cameroon 1–0 following a goal by Vincent Aboubakar. Already having a yellow card, he was later sent off for removing his shirt in celebrating the goal.[197] Cameroon, however, did not qualify, as Switzerland defeated Serbia 3–2.[198]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brazil | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 6 | Advanced to knockout stage |
| 2 | Switzerland | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 6 | |
| 3 | Cameroon | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | |
| 4 | Serbia | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 1 |
| Switzerland | 1–0 | Cameroon |
|---|---|---|
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| Brazil | 2–0 | Serbia |
|---|---|---|
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| Cameroon | 3–3 | Serbia |
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| Brazil | 1–0 | Switzerland |
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| Report |
| Serbia | 2–3 | Switzerland |
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Group H
Uruguay and South Korea played to a goalless draw.[199] A goalless first half between Portugal and Ghana preceded a penalty converted by Cristiano Ronaldo to give Portugal the lead. In scoring the goal, Ronaldo became the first man to score in five World Cups. Ghana responded with a goal by André Ayew before goals by João Félix, and Rafael Leão by Portugal put them 3–1 ahead. Osman Bukari scored in the 89th minute to trail by a single goal, while Iñaki Williams had a chance to equalise for Ghana ten minutes into stoppage time, but slipped before shooting. The match finished 3–2 to Portugal.[200] Ghanaian Mohammed Salisu opened the scoring against South Korea, with Mohammed Kudus following it up. In the second half, Cho Gue-sung scored a brace for South Korea, levelling the score. Mohammed Kudus scored again in the 68th minute, winning the match 3–2 for Ghana.[201] Portugal defeated Uruguay 2–0 with two goals from Bruno Fernandes, advancing them to the knockout stage.[202] A controversial penalty decision was called late in the game, with a suspected handball from José María Giménez.[203][204] Portugal led South Korea through Ricardo Horta after 10 minutes. However, goals by Kim Young-gwon and Hwang Hee-chan won the match 2–1 for South Korea.[205] Giorgian de Arrascaeta scored two goals as Uruguay defeated Ghana 2–0.[206] However, with South Korea winning, Uruguay required another goal to progress as they finished third on goals scored.[207] Several Uruguay players left the pitch after the game surrounding the referees and followed them off the pitch.[208][209][210]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portugal | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 6 | Advanced to knockout stage |
| 2 | South Korea | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | |
| 3 | Uruguay | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | |
| 4 | 2022, fifa, world, 2022, world, redirects, here, other, competitions, that, name, 2022, world, disambiguation, fifa, 2022, redirects, here, video, game, fifa, qatar, 2022, redirects, here, events, 2022, qatar, 2022, qatar, 22nd, fifa, world, world, championshi. 2022 World Cup redirects here For other competitions of that name see 2022 World Cup disambiguation FIFA 2022 redirects here For the video game see FIFA 22 Qatar 2022 redirects here For the events in 2022 in Qatar see 2022 in Qatar The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup the world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022 after the country was awarded the hosting rights in 2010 2 It was the first World Cup to be held in the Arab world and Muslim world and the second held entirely in Asia after the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan A 2022 FIFA World Cupكأس العالم لكرة القدم 2022 Kaʾs al ʿalam li kurat al qadam 2022الآن هو كل شيء Al ʾana huwa kullu sayʾ Now Is All 1 Tournament detailsHost countryQatarDates20 November 18 DecemberTeams32 from 5 confederations Venue s 8 in 5 host cities Final positionsChampions Argentina 3rd title Runners up FranceThird place CroatiaFourth place MoroccoTournament statisticsMatches played64Goals scored172 2 69 per match Attendance3 404 252 53 191 per match Top scorer s Kylian Mbappe 8 goals Best player s Lionel MessiBest young playerEnzo FernandezBest goalkeeperEmiliano MartinezFair play award England 20182026 This tournament was the last with 32 participating teams with the number of teams being increased to 48 for the 2026 edition To avoid the extremes of Qatar s hot climate B the event was held in November and December instead of during the traditional months of May June or July C It was held over a reduced time frame of 29 days with 64 matches played in eight venues across five cities Qatar entered the event their first World Cup automatically as the host s national team alongside 31 teams determined by the qualification process Argentina were crowned the champions after winning the final against the title holder France 4 2 on penalties following a 3 3 draw after extra time It was Argentina s third title and their first since 1986 as well as being the first nation from outside of Europe to win the tournament since 2002 French player Kylian Mbappe became the first player to score a hat trick in a World Cup final since Geoff Hurst in the 1966 final and won the Golden Boot as he scored the most goals eight during the tournament Mbappe also became the first player to score in two consecutive finals since Vava of Brazil did the same in 1958 and 1962 Argentine captain Lionel Messi was voted the tournament s best player winning the Golden Ball The tournament has been considered exceptionally poetic as the capstone of his career for some commentators fulfilling a previously unmet criterion to be regarded as one of the greatest players of all time 5 Teammates Emiliano Martinez and Enzo Fernandez won the Golden Glove awarded to the tournament s best goalkeeper and the Young Player Award awarded to the tournament s best young player respectively With 172 goals the tournament set a record for the highest number of goals scored in the 32 team format with every participating team scoring at least one goal Morocco became the first African nation to top Group stages with 7 points The choice to host the World Cup in Qatar attracted significant criticism with concerns raised over the country s treatment of migrant workers women and members of the LGBT community as well as Qatar s climate lack of a strong football culture scheduling changes and allegations of bribery for hosting rights and wider FIFA corruption D Contents 1 Format 1 1 Schedule 1 2 Prize money 1 3 Rule changes 2 Host selection 2 1 Cost of hosting the tournament 3 Venues 3 1 Stadiums 3 2 Security 4 Teams 4 1 Qualification 4 2 Squads 4 3 Draw 5 Officiating 6 Opening ceremony 7 Group stage 7 1 Group A 7 2 Group B 7 3 Group C 7 4 Group D 7 5 Group E 7 6 Group F 7 7 Group G 7 8 Group H 8 Knockout stage 8 1 Bracket 8 2 Round of 16 8 3 Quarter finals 8 4 Semi finals 8 5 Third place play off 8 6 Final 9 Statistics 9 1 Goalscorers 9 2 Discipline 10 Awards 11 Marketing 11 1 Branding 11 2 Merchandise 11 3 Broadcasting rights 11 4 Sponsorship 12 Symbols 12 1 Mascot 12 2 Match ball 12 3 Music 13 Controversies 13 1 Host selection criticism 13 2 Migrant workers 13 3 Move to November and December 13 4 Bidding corruption allegations 2014 13 5 Russian participation 13 6 LGBT and women s rights 13 7 Influence of Iran 13 8 Treatment of Jewish and Israeli visitors 13 9 Accommodation 14 See also 15 Notes 16 References 17 External linksFormatThe FIFA World Cup is a professional football tournament held between national football teams organised by FIFA 14 15 The tournament held every four years was first played in 1930 in Uruguay 16 and has been contested by 32 teams since the 1998 event 16 The tournament was contested with eight round robin groups followed by a knockout round for 16 teams 17 The defending champions were France who defeated Croatia 4 2 in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Final 18 19 The event was scheduled to take place under a reduced length 20 from 20 November to 18 December in Qatar 21 22 23 Being held in Qatar it was the first World Cup tournament to be held in the Arab world 24 Spectators were not required to follow most COVID 19 pandemic restrictions such as social distancing wearing masks and negative tests 25 Schedule Unlike previous FIFA World Cups which are typically played in June and July because of Qatar s intense summer heat and often fairly high humidity 3 22 26 the 2022 World Cup was played in November and December 6 27 As a result the World Cup was unusually staged in the middle of the seasons of many domestic association football leagues which started in late July or August including all of the major European leagues which had been obliged to incorporate extended breaks into their domestic schedules to accommodate the World Cup Major European competitions had scheduled their respective competitions group matches to be played before the World Cup to avoid playing group matches the following year 28 The match schedule was confirmed by FIFA on 15 July 2020 29 The group stage was set to begin on 21 November with four matches every day Later the schedule was tweaked by moving the Qatar vs Ecuador game to 20 November after Qatar lobbied FIFA to allow their team to open the tournament 30 31 32 The final was played on 18 December 2022 National Day at Lusail Stadium 29 33 Unlike previous tournaments where the match venues and kick off times for each fixture were set prior to the draw the assignment of group fixtures for each matchday to a specific venue and kick off time was only made after the final draw with the teams of each specific fixture known This was due to the close proximity of the venues which allowed the organizers to optimize stadium allocation for spectators and kick off times for television audiences 29 The matches for each group were allocated to the following stadiums 33 Groups A B E F Al Bayt Stadium Khalifa International Stadium Al Thumama Stadium Ahmad bin Ali Stadium Groups C D G H Lusail Stadium Stadium 974 Education City Stadium Al Janoub Stadium FIFA confirmed the group stage venue and kick off times on 1 April 2022 following the draw 34 35 Prize money In April 2022 FIFA announced the prizes for all participating nations Each qualified team received 1 5 million before the competition to cover preparation costs with each team receiving at least 9 million in prize money This edition s total prize pool was 440 million 40 million greater than the prize pool of the previous tournament 36 Place Teams Amount in millions Per team Total Champions 1 42 42 Runners up 1 30 30 Third place 1 27 27 Fourth place 1 25 25 5th 8th place quarter finals 4 17 68 9th 16th place round of 16 8 13 104 17th 32nd place group stage 16 9 144 Total 32 440 Rule changes The tournament featured new substitution rules whereby teams could make up to five substitutions in normal time and an additional substitution in extra time 37 38 39 In addition it was the first World Cup to feature concussion substitutions whereby each team was permitted to use a maximum of one concussion substitute during a match A concussion substitution did not count towards a team s quota of regular substitutions 40 Iranian goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand suffered a concussion in his country s opening match against England and was replaced by Hossein Hosseini This was the first use of a dedicated concussion substitute during a World Cup 41 Host selectionMain articles 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids and Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup bid The bidding procedure to host the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups began in January 2009 National associations had until 2 February 2009 to register interest 42 Initially 11 bids were made for the 2018 FIFA World Cup but Mexico withdrew from proceedings 43 44 and Indonesia s bid was rejected by FIFA in February 2010 after the Indonesian Football Association failed to submit a letter of Indonesian government guarantee to support the bid 45 After UEFA were guaranteed to host the 2018 event members of UEFA were no longer in contention to host in 2022 46 There were five bids remaining for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Australia Japan Qatar South Korea and the United States The 22 member FIFA Executive Committee convened in Zurich Switzerland on 2 December 2010 to vote to select the hosts of both tournaments 47 Two FIFA executive committee members were suspended before the vote in relation to allegations of corruption regarding their votes 48 The decision to host the 2022 World Cup in Qatar which was graded as having high operational risk 49 generated criticism from media commentators 50 It was criticised by many as being part of the FIFA corruption scandals 51 which led to the 2015 FIFA corruption case The voting patterns were as follows 52 2022 FIFA bidding majority 12 votes Bidders Votes Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Qatar 11 10 11 14 United States 3 5 6 8 South Korea 4 5 5 Eliminated Japan 3 2 Eliminated Australia 1 Eliminated Cost of hosting the tournament At an estimated cost of over 220 billion 53 it is the most expensive World Cup ever held to date this figure is disputed by Qatari officials including organising CEO Nasser Al Khater who said the true cost was 8 billion and other figures related to overall infrastructure development since the World Cup was awarded to Qatar in 2010 54 VenuesFurther information List of football stadiums in Qatar nbsp Seven of the eight venues such as the venue for the final Lusail Stadium were new stadiums built specifically for the 2022 FIFA World Cup The eight was heavily renovated The first five proposed venues for the World Cup were unveiled at the beginning of March 2010 Qatar intended that the stadiums should reflect its history and culture and for the designs to meet the following terms of reference legacy comfort accessibility and sustainability 55 The stadiums were equipped with cooling systems that aim to reduce temperatures within the stadium by up to 20 C 36 F 56 57 Their marketing included statements describing the stadiums as zero waste and the upper tiers of the stadiums will be disassembled after the World Cup and donated to countries with less developed sports infrastructure 56 57 Qatar aspired to be compliant and certified by the Global Sustainability Assessment System GSAS for all the World Cup stadiums All of the five stadium projects launched were designed by German architect Albert Speer amp Partners 58 The Al Bayt and Al Wakrah stadiums were the only indoor stadiums of the eight used 59 nbsp Some venues such as the 68 000 seat Al Bayt Stadium had its upper tier of seating removed to reduce capacity after the tournament In an April 2013 report by Merrill Lynch the organisers in Qatar requested that FIFA approve a smaller number of stadiums due to the growing costs 60 Bloomberg said that Qatar wished to cut the number of venues to eight or nine from the twelve originally planned 61 By April 2017 FIFA had yet to finalise the number of stadiums Qatar must have readied in five years time Qatar s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy SC said it expected there would be eight in and near Doha with the exception of Al Khor 62 63 Eight stadiums in five Qatarian cities were built or renovated for the FIFA World Cup Between 2010 when Qatar were announced as hosts and 2022 seven of the eight stadiums were built some in place of older outdated venues and the Khalifa International Stadium was renovated for the tournament Al Khor Al Bayt Stadium new The first piles were driven into the ground in 2014 On 30 November 2021 it hosted its first match Lusail Lusail Stadium new The construction of the stadium was started on 11 April 2017 It was completed on 21 November 2021 Al Rayyan Ahmad bin Ali Stadium new The stadium was built on the demolished former stadium site It was commissioned on 18 December 2020 Al Rayyan Education City Stadium new It was completed on 15 June 2020 Al Rayyan Khalifa International Stadium heavily renovated The largest stadium in the country at the time it was closed for renovation in 2013 It was commissioned in May 2017 Doha Al Thumama Stadium new Construction was completed on 21 October 2021 Doha Stadium 974 temporary Construction commenced in 2018 It was completed on 30 November 2021 and had hosted some of the matches in 2021 FIFA Arab Cup Al Wakrah Al Janoub Stadium new Construction officially started in 2014 and was completed on 16 May 2019 Of these eight stadiums all but one have since been either dismantled or have been moderately or heavily modified The Stadium 974 is no longer in use and is slated for dismantled after the tournament this stadium was the first temporary stadium ever used for a FIFA World Cup 64 Lusail Stadium Al Bayt Stadium Ahmad bin Ali Stadium Education City Stadium Al Thumama Stadium and Al Janoub Stadium will been moderately or heavily modified as reduce their capacity by half 65 The Khalifa International Stadium is the only largely unmodified stadium that was used for this tournament Stadiums nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 15km10miles nbsp 8 nbsp 7 nbsp 6 nbsp 5 nbsp 4 nbsp 3 nbsp 2 nbsp 1 nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Venues of the 2022 FIFA World Cup1 Al Bayt Stadium2 Lusail Stadium3 Ahmad bin Ali Stadium4 Education City Stadium5 Khalifa International Stadium6 Al Thumama Stadium7 Stadium 9748 Al Janoub Stadium City Stadium Capacity Al Khor Al Bayt Stadium 68 895 66 67 E Lusail Lusail Stadium 88 966 68 69 F Al Rayyan Ahmad bin Ali Stadium 45 032 70 71 G Education City Stadium 44 667 72 73 H Khalifa International Stadium 45 857 74 75 I Doha Al Thumama Stadium 44 400 76 77 J Stadium 974 44 089 78 79 K Al Wakrah Al Janoub Stadium 44 325 80 81 L Team base campsBase camps were used by the 32 national squads to stay and train before and during the World Cup tournament In July 2022 FIFA announced the hotels and training sites for each participating team 82 83 This World Cup was the most compact since the inaugural edition in 1930 with 24 of the 32 teams being within a 10 km radius of each other and are concentrated within the Doha area It was the first Cup since 1930 in which players did not need to take flights to matches and could remain at the same training base throughout the entire tournament 84 85 Team base camps 84 85 Team Hotel Training site nbsp Argentina Qatar University Hostel 1 Qatar University Training Site 3 nbsp Australia New Aspire Academy Athlete Accommodation Aspire Zone Training Facilities 5 nbsp Belgium Hilton Salwa Beach Resort and Villas Salwa Training Site nbsp Brazil The Westin Doha Hotel and Spa Al Arabi SC Stadium nbsp Cameroon Banyan Tree Doha at La Cigale Mushaireb Al Sailiya SC Stadium nbsp Canada Century Marina Hotel Lusail Umm Salal SC Training Facilities nbsp Costa Rica dusitD2 Salwa Doha Al Ahli SC Stadium nbsp Croatia Hilton Doha Al Ersal Training Site 3 nbsp Denmark Retaj Salwa Resort amp SPA Al Sailiya SC 2 nbsp Ecuador Hyatt Regency Oryx Doha Mesaimeer SC Training Facilities nbsp England Souq Al Wakra Hotel Qatar by Tivoli Al Wakrah SC Stadium nbsp France Al Messila A Luxury Collection Resort amp Spa Doha Al Sadd SC Stadium nbsp Germany Zulal Wellness Resort Al Shamal SC Stadium nbsp Ghana DoubleTree by Hilton Doha Al Sadd Aspire Zone Training Facilities 1 nbsp Iran Al Rayyan Hotel Doha Curio Collection by Hilton Al Rayyan SC Training Facilities 1 nbsp Japan Radisson Blu Hotel Doha Al Sadd SC New Training Facilities 1 nbsp Mexico Simaisma A Murwab Resort Al Khor SC Stadium nbsp Morocco Wyndham Doha West Bay Al Duhail SC Stadium nbsp Netherlands The St Regis Doha Qatar University Training Site 6 nbsp Poland Ezdan Palace Hotel Al Kharaitiyat SC Training Facilities nbsp Portugal Al Samriya Autograph Collection Hotel Al Shahaniya SC Training Facilities nbsp Qatar Al Aziziyah Boutique Hotel Aspire Zone Training Facilities 3 nbsp Saudi Arabia Sealine Beach a Murwab Resort Sealine Training Site nbsp Senegal Duhail Handball Sports Hall Al Duhail SC 2 nbsp Serbia Rixos Gulf Hotel Doha Al Arabi SC Training Facilities nbsp South Korea Le Meridien City Center Doha Al Egla Training Site 5 nbsp Spain Qatar University Hostel 2 Qatar University Training Site 1 nbsp Switzerland Le Royal Meridien Doha University of Doha for Science and Technology Training Facilities nbsp Tunisia Wyndham Grand Doha West Bay Beach Al Egla Training Sites 3 nbsp United States Marsa Malaz Kempinski The Pearl Doha Al Gharafa SC Stadium nbsp Uruguay Pullman Doha West Bay Al Ersal Training Site 1 nbsp Wales Delta Hotels City Center Doha Al Sadd SC New Training Facilities 2 Security The Qatari government employed about 50 000 security personnel including police departments and military forces from at least thirteen countries including Poland Germany France Kuwait Jordan Italy Palestine Spain Pakistan Turkey USA Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom 86 The Turkish government provided about 3 000 riot police personnel 86 whilst Pakistan provided about 4 500 Army troops to Qatar for the event 87 TeamsQualification Main article 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification FIFA s six continental confederations organised their own qualifying competitions All 211 FIFA member associations were eligible to enter qualification The Qatari national team as hosts qualified automatically for the tournament However the Asian Football Confederation AFC obliged Qatar to participate in the Asian qualifying stage as the first two rounds also act as qualification for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup 88 Since Qatar reached the final stage as winners in their group Lebanon the fifth best second place team advanced instead 89 France the reigning World Cup champions qualified for the event through European qualification 90 Saint Lucia initially entered CONCACAF qualification but withdrew from it before their first match North Korea withdrew from the AFC qualifying round due to safety concerns related to the COVID 19 pandemic Both American Samoa and Samoa withdrew before the OFC qualification draw due to travel restrictions following the pandemic 91 Tonga withdrew after the 2022 Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha apai eruption and tsunami 92 Due to COVID 19 outbreaks in their squads Vanuatu and Cook Islands also withdrew because of the travel restrictions 93 94 Of the 32 nations qualified to play at the 2022 FIFA World Cup 24 countries competed at the previous tournament in 2018 95 Qatar were the only team making their debut in the FIFA World Cup becoming the first hosts to make their tournament debut since Italy in 1934 The Netherlands Ecuador Ghana Cameroon and the United States returned to the tournament after missing the 2018 tournament Canada returned after 36 years their only prior appearance being in 1986 96 Wales made their first appearance in 64 years the longest ever gap for any team their only previous participation having been in 1958 97 Italy four time winners and reigning European champions failed to qualify for a second successive World Cup for the first time in their history losing in the qualification play off semi finals 98 The Italians were the only former champions and the highest ranked team in the FIFA Men s World Rankings that failed to qualify Italy were also the fourth team to have failed to qualify for the upcoming World Cup after having won the previous UEFA European Championship following Czechoslovakia in 1978 Denmark in 1994 and Greece in 2006 99 The previous World Cup hosts Russia were disqualified from competing due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine 100 Chile the 2015 and 2016 Copa America winners failed to qualify for the second consecutive time Nigeria were defeated by Ghana on away goals in Confederation of African Football CAF final playoff round having qualified for the previous three World Cups and six out of the last seven Egypt Panama Colombia Peru Iceland and Sweden all of whom qualified for the 2018 World Cup did not qualify for the 2022 tournament 101 Ghana were the lowest ranked team to qualify ranked 61st 102 The qualified teams listed by region with numbers in parentheses indicating final positions in the FIFA Men s World Ranking before the tournament were 103 AFC 6 nbsp Australia 38 nbsp Iran 20 nbsp Japan 24 nbsp Qatar 50 hosts nbsp Saudi Arabia 51 nbsp South Korea 28 CAF 5 nbsp Cameroon 43 nbsp Ghana 61 nbsp Morocco 22 nbsp Senegal 18 nbsp Tunisia 30 CONCACAF 4 nbsp Canada 41 nbsp Costa Rica 31 nbsp Mexico 13 nbsp United States 16 CONMEBOL 4 nbsp Argentina 3 nbsp Brazil 1 nbsp Ecuador 44 nbsp Uruguay 14 OFC 0 None qualified UEFA 13 nbsp Belgium 2 nbsp Croatia 12 nbsp Denmark 10 nbsp England 5 nbsp France 4 nbsp Germany 11 nbsp Netherlands 8 nbsp Poland 26 nbsp Portugal 9 nbsp Serbia 21 nbsp Spain 7 nbsp Switzerland 15 nbsp Wales 19 nbsp Team qualified Team failed to qualify Team withdrew or suspended Not a FIFA member Squads Main article 2022 FIFA World Cup squads Before submitting their final squad for the tournament teams named a provisional squad of up to 55 players Teams were required to have their 55 player roster submitted to FIFA by 21 October 104 Teams were required to name their final squads by 13 November 105 In August 2022 FIFA increased the final squad size to 26 players from a total of 23 players at the 2018 edition 106 All teams had a total of 26 players in their final squads except for France and Iran who chose 25 players 107 108 Draw Main article 2022 FIFA World Cup seeding The final draw was held at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center in Doha Qatar 109 on 1 April 2022 110 19 00 AST prior to the completion of qualification The two winners of the inter confederation play offs and the winner of the Path A of the UEFA play offs were not known at the time of the draw 111 The draw was attended by 2 000 guests and was led by Carli Lloyd Jermaine Jenas and sports broadcaster Samantha Johnson assisted by the likes of Cafu Brazil Lothar Matthaus Germany Adel Ahmed Malalla Qatar Ali Daei Iran Bora Milutinovic Serbia Mexico Jay Jay Okocha Nigeria Rabah Madjer Algeria and Tim Cahill Australia 112 113 For the draw 32 teams were allocated into four pots based on the FIFA Men s World Rankings of 31 March 2022 114 Pot 1 contained host Qatar who were automatically assigned to position A1 and the best seven teams Pot 2 contained the next best eight teams with the next best eight teams into pot 3 Pot 4 contained the five lowest ranked teams along with the placeholders for the two inter confederation play off winners and the UEFA Path A play off winner Teams from the same confederation could not be drawn into the same group except for UEFA teams for which there was at least one and no more than two per group 115 This principle also applied to the placeholder teams with constraints applying based on the confederation of both potential winners of each play off tie The draw started with pot 1 and ended with pot 4 with each team selected then allocated into the first available group alphabetically The position for the team within the group would then be drawn for the purpose of the match schedule with the pot 1 teams automatically drawn into position 1 of each group 115 The pots for the draw are shown below 116 Draw 117 Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4 nbsp Qatar 51 hosts nbsp Brazil 1 nbsp Belgium 2 nbsp France 3 nbsp Argentina 4 nbsp England 5 nbsp Spain 7 nbsp Portugal 8 nbsp Mexico 9 nbsp Netherlands 10 nbsp Denmark 11 nbsp Germany 12 nbsp Uruguay 13 nbsp Switzerland 14 nbsp United States 15 nbsp Croatia 16 nbsp Senegal 20 nbsp Iran 21 nbsp Japan 23 nbsp Morocco 24 nbsp Serbia 25 nbsp Poland 26 nbsp South Korea 29 nbsp Tunisia 35 nbsp Cameroon 37 nbsp Canada 38 nbsp Ecuador 46 nbsp Saudi Arabia 49 nbsp Ghana 61 nbsp Wales 18 M nbsp Costa Rica 31 N nbsp Australia 42 O OfficiatingMain article 2022 FIFA World Cup officials In May 2022 FIFA announced the list of 36 referees 69 assistant referees and 24 video assistant referees for the tournament Of the 36 referees FIFA included two each from Argentina Brazil England and France 118 119 For the first time women referees officiated games at a major men s tournament 120 France s Stephanie Frappart Salima Mukansanga from Rwanda and Yoshimi Yamashita from Japan became the first female referees to be appointed to a men s World Cup 121 Frappart previously oversaw the 2019 FIFA Women s World Cup Final 122 They were joined by three female assistant referees Neuza Back Kathryn Nesbitt and Karen Diaz Medina Frappart then officially became the first ever female referee to officiate a World Cup match when she worked the Costa Rica vs Germany match in Group E on 1 December 123 Gambian referee Bakary Gassama and Argentine assistant referee Juan Pablo Belatti were among the officials to serve at their third World Cup Belatti was an assistant referee in the 2018 final 124 125 126 Other returning officials included referees Cesar Arturo Ramos of Mexico and Janny Sikazwe of Zambia and Iranian assistant referee Mohammadreza Mansouri 127 128 129 On 15 December 2022 FIFA announced that Polish referee Szymon Marciniak would adjudicate the final 130 Opening ceremonyMain article 2022 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony The opening ceremony took place on Sunday 20 November 2022 at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor prior to the opening match of the tournament between hosts Qatar and Ecuador 131 It included appearances by Morgan Freeman and Ghanim Al Muftah along with performances by South Korean singer and BTS member Jungkook and Qatari singer Fahad Al Kubaisi 132 133 It was the first time that the Qur an had been recited as part of the opening ceremony 134 During the ceremony Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani declared the tournament open 135 Group stageAll times are local AST UTC 3 The group stage was played from 20 November to 2 December 136 Competing countries were divided into eight groups of four teams groups A to H Teams in each group played one another in a round robin where the top two teams advanced to the knockout stage Tie breaking criteria for group play The ranking of teams in the group stage was determined as follows 137 Points obtained in all group matches Goal difference in all group matches Number of goals scored in all group matches Points obtained in the matches played between the teams in question Goal difference in the matches played between the teams in question Number of goals scored in the matches played between the teams in question Fair play points in all group matches only one deduction could be applied to a player in a single match Yellow card 1 points Indirect red card second yellow card 3 points Direct red card 4 points Yellow card and direct red card 5 points Drawing of lots nbsp Result of countries participating in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Group A Main article 2022 FIFA World Cup Group A The first match of the tournament was held between Qatar and Ecuador in Group A Ecuador had a disallowed goal in the opening minutes 138 but eventually won 2 0 with two goals from Enner Valencia 139 Qatar became the first host nation to lose their opening match at a World Cup 140 141 142 Many Qatar natives were seen leaving the game before the end with ESPN reporting that two thirds of the attendance had left 143 144 The other starting match in group A was won by the Netherlands 2 0 over Senegal Cody Gakpo scored the opening goal in the 84th minute and Davy Klaassen added a second in stoppage time 145 Senegal faced Qatar in the third match of the group Boulaye Dia capitalised on a slip by Boualem Khoukhi to put Senegal 1 0 ahead Famara Diedhiou scored a second with a header before Mohammed Muntari scored Qatar s first ever goal at a World Cup to reduce the deficit back to one Senegal eventually won the match 3 1 after an 84th minute goal by Bamba Dieng With this result Qatar became the first team to be eliminated from the tournament as well as becoming the first host nation to ever be knocked out of the tournament after two games 146 Gakpo scored his second goal of the tournament as the Netherlands led Ecuador however Valencia scored an equaliser in the 49th minute 147 The Netherlands won 2 0 against Qatar following goals by Gakpo and Frenkie de Jong to win the group while Qatar attained the distinction of being the first home nation to lose all three group matches 148 Senegal faced Ecuador to determine the second knockout round qualifier At the end of the first half Ismaila Sarr scored a penalty kick to put Senegal ahead In the 67th minute Moises Caicedo scored an equaliser but shortly after Kalidou Koulibaly gave Senegal the victory The win was enough to qualify Senegal as the runners up of Group A 149 Pos Teamvte Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification 1 nbsp Netherlands 3 2 1 0 5 1 4 7 Advanced to knockout stage 2 nbsp Senegal 3 2 0 1 5 4 1 6 3 nbsp Ecuador 3 1 1 1 4 3 1 4 4 nbsp Qatar H 3 0 0 3 1 7 6 0Source FIFA H Hosts 20 November 2022 2022 11 20 19 00Qatar nbsp 0 2 nbsp EcuadorReport Valencia nbsp 16 pen 31 Al Bayt Stadium Al KhorAttendance 67 372Referee Daniele Orsato Italy 21 November 2022 2022 11 21 19 00Senegal nbsp 0 2 nbsp NetherlandsReport Gakpo nbsp 84 Klaassen nbsp 90 9 Al Thumama Stadium DohaAttendance 41 721Referee Wilton Sampaio Brazil 25 November 2022 2022 11 25 16 00Qatar nbsp 1 3 nbsp SenegalMuntari nbsp 78 Report Dia nbsp 41 Diedhiou nbsp 48 B Dieng nbsp 84 Al Thumama Stadium DohaAttendance 41 797Referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz Spain 25 November 2022 2022 11 25 19 00Netherlands nbsp 1 1 nbsp EcuadorGakpo nbsp 6 Report Valencia nbsp 49 Khalifa International Stadium Al RayyanAttendance 44 833Referee Mustapha Ghorbal Algeria 29 November 2022 2022 11 29 18 00Ecuador nbsp 1 2 nbsp SenegalCaicedo nbsp 67 Report I Sarr nbsp 44 pen Koulibaly nbsp 70 Khalifa International Stadium Al RayyanAttendance 44 569Referee Clement Turpin France 29 November 2022 2022 11 29 18 00Netherlands nbsp 2 0 nbsp QatarGakpo nbsp 26 F de Jong nbsp 49 ReportAl Bayt Stadium Al KhorAttendance 66 784Referee Bakary Gassama Gambia Group B Main article 2022 FIFA World Cup Group B England completed a 6 2 victory over Iran Iranian keeper Alireza Beiranvand was removed from the game for a suspected concussion before England scored three first half goals 150 Mehdi Taremi scored in the second half after which England defender Harry Maguire was also removed for a concussion 150 Timothy Weah of the United States scored a first half goal against Wales however the match finished as a draw after a penalty kick was won and scored by Gareth Bale 151 Iran defeated Wales 2 0 following a red card to Welsh goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey after he committed a foul outside of his penalty area Substitute Rouzbeh Cheshmi scored the first goal eight minutes into stoppage time followed by Ramin Rezaeian scoring three minutes later 152 England and the United States played to a 0 0 draw with only four shots on target between them and one shot from Christian Pulisic hit the crossbar 153 England won the group following a 3 0 win over Wales with a goal by Phil Foden and two by Marcus Rashford 154 Christian Pulisic scored the winning goal as the United States defeated Iran 1 0 to qualify for the round of 16 155 Pos Teamvte Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification 1 nbsp England 3 2 1 0 9 2 7 7 Advanced to knockout stage 2 nbsp United States 3 1 2 0 2 1 1 5 3 nbsp Iran 3 1 0 2 4 7 3 3 4 nbsp Wales 3 0 1 2 1 6 5 1Source FIFA 21 November 2022 2022 11 21 16 00England nbsp 6 2 nbsp IranBellingham nbsp 35 Saka nbsp 43 62 Sterling nbsp 45 1 Rashford nbsp 71 Grealish nbsp 90 Report Taremi nbsp 65 90 13 pen Khalifa International Stadium Al RayyanAttendance 45 334Referee Raphael Claus Brazil 21 November 2022 2022 11 21 22 00United States nbsp 1 1 nbsp WalesWeah nbsp 36 Report Bale nbsp 82 pen Ahmad bin Ali Stadium Al RayyanAttendance 43 418Referee Abdulrahman Al Jassim Qatar 25 November 2022 2022 11 25 13 00Wales nbsp 0 2 nbsp IranReport Cheshmi nbsp 90 8 Rezaeian nbsp 90 11 Ahmad bin Ali Stadium Al RayyanAttendance 40 875Referee Mario Escobar Guatemala 25 November 2022 2022 11 25 22 00England nbsp 0 0 nbsp United StatesReportAl Bayt Stadium Al KhorAttendance 68 463Referee Jesus Valenzuela Venezuela 29 November 2022 2022 11 29 22 00Wales nbsp 0 3 nbsp EnglandReport Rashford nbsp 50 68 Foden nbsp 51 Ahmad bin Ali Stadium Al RayyanAttendance 44 297Referee Slavko Vincic Slovenia 29 November 2022 2022 11 29 22 00Iran nbsp 0 1 nbsp United StatesReport Pulisic nbsp 38 Al Thumama Stadium DohaAttendance 42 127Referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz Spain Group C Main article 2022 FIFA World Cup Group C Argentina took an early lead against Saudi Arabia after Lionel Messi scored a penalty kick after ten minutes however second half goals by Saleh Al Shehri and Salem Al Dawsari won the match 2 1 for Saudi Arabia 156 a result the media considered one of the biggest upsets in the history of the event 157 158 The match between Mexico and Poland ended as a goalless 0 0 draw after Guillermo Ochoa saved Robert Lewandowski s penalty kick attempt 159 Lewandowski scored his first career World Cup goal in a 2 0 win over Saudi Arabia four days later 160 161 Argentina defeated Mexico 2 0 with Messi scoring the opener and later assisting teammate Enzo Fernandez who scored his first international goal 162 163 Argentina won their last game against Poland with goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Julian Alvarez which was enough to win the group 164 Poland qualified for the knockout stage on goal difference thanks to Saudi Arabia scoring an injury time consolation goal against Mexico in a match already lost 165 Pos Teamvte Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification 1 nbsp Argentina 3 2 0 1 5 2 3 6 Advanced to knockout stage 2 nbsp Poland 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 4 3 nbsp Mexico 3 1 1 1 2 3 1 4 4 nbsp Saudi Arabia 3 1 0 2 3 5 2 3Source FIFA 22 November 2022 2022 11 22 13 00Argentina nbsp 1 2 nbsp Saudi ArabiaMessi nbsp 10 pen Report Al Shehri nbsp 48 S Al Dawsari nbsp 53 Lusail Stadium LusailAttendance 88 012Referee Slavko Vincic Slovenia 22 November 2022 2022 11 22 19 00Mexico nbsp 0 0 nbsp PolandReportStadium 974 DohaAttendance 39 369Referee Chris Beath Australia 26 November 2022 2022 11 26 16 00Poland nbsp 2 0 nbsp Saudi ArabiaZielinski nbsp 39 Lewandowski nbsp 82 ReportEducation City Stadium Al RayyanAttendance 44 259Referee Wilton Sampaio Brazil 26 November 2022 2022 11 26 22 00Argentina nbsp 2 0 nbsp MexicoMessi nbsp 64 Fernandez nbsp 87 ReportLusail Stadium LusailAttendance 88 966Referee Daniele Orsato Italy 30 November 2022 2022 11 30 22 00Poland nbsp 0 2 nbsp ArgentinaReport Mac Allister nbsp 46 Alvarez nbsp 67 Stadium 974 DohaAttendance 44 089Referee Danny Makkelie Netherlands 30 November 2022 2022 11 30 22 00Saudi Arabia nbsp 1 2 nbsp MexicoS Al Dawsari nbsp 90 5 Report Martin nbsp 47 Chavez nbsp 52 Lusail Stadium LusailAttendance 84 985Referee Michael Oliver England Group D Main article 2022 FIFA World Cup Group D The match between Denmark and Tunisia ended as a goalless draw both teams had goals disallowed by offside calls 166 Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen made his first major international appearance since suffering a cardiac arrest at the UEFA Euro 2020 166 Defending champions France went a goal behind to Australia after a Craig Goodwin goal within ten minutes France however scored four goals by Adrien Rabiot Kylian Mbappe and two by Olivier Giroud to win 4 1 167 The goals tied Giroud with Thierry Henry as France s all time top goalscorer 167 Mitchell Duke scored the only goal as Australia won against Tunisia This was their first World Cup win since 2010 168 169 Mbappe scored a brace as France defeated Denmark 2 1 This was enough for France to qualify for the knockout round the first time since Brazil in 2006 that the defending champions progressed through the opening round 168 170 Mathew Leckie scored the only goal as Australia defeated Denmark 1 0 qualifying for the knockout round as runners up with the win 171 Wahbi Khazri scored for Tunisia against France in the 58th minute Although Antoine Griezmann equalised in stoppage time it was overturned for offside Tunisia finished third in the group as they required a draw in the Denmark and Australia game 172 Pos Teamvte Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification 1 nbsp France 3 2 0 1 6 3 3 6 Advanced to knockout stage 2 nbsp Australia 3 2 0 1 3 4 1 6 3 nbsp Tunisia 3 1 1 1 1 1 0 4 4 nbsp Denmark 3 0 1 2 1 3 2 1Source FIFA 22 November 2022 2022 11 22 16 00Denmark nbsp 0 0 nbsp TunisiaReportEducation City Stadium Al RayyanAttendance 42 925Referee Cesar Arturo Ramos Mexico 22 November 2022 2022 11 22 22 00France nbsp 4 1 nbsp AustraliaRabiot nbsp 27 Giroud nbsp 32 71 Mbappe nbsp 68 Report Goodwin nbsp 9 Al Janoub Stadium Al WakrahAttendance 40 875Referee Victor Gomes South Africa 26 November 2022 2022 11 26 13 00Tunisia nbsp 0 1 nbsp AustraliaReport Duke nbsp 23 Al Janoub Stadium Al WakrahAttendance 41 823Referee Daniel Siebert Germany 26 November 2022 2022 11 26 19 00France nbsp 2 1 nbsp DenmarkMbappe nbsp 61 86 Report A Christensen nbsp 68 Stadium 974 DohaAttendance 42 860Referee Szymon Marciniak Poland 30 November 2022 2022 11 30 18 00Australia nbsp 1 0 nbsp DenmarkLeckie nbsp 60 ReportAl Janoub Stadium Al WakrahAttendance 41 232Referee Mustapha Ghorbal Algeria 30 November 2022 2022 11 30 18 00Tunisia nbsp 1 0 nbsp FranceKhazri nbsp 58 ReportEducation City Stadium Al RayyanAttendance 43 627Referee Matthew Conger New Zealand Group E Main article 2022 FIFA World Cup Group E Group E began with Japan facing 2014 champions Germany After an early penalty kick was converted by Germany s Ilkay Gundogan Japan scored two second half goals by Ritsu Dōan and Takuma Asano in a 2 1 win 173 In the second group match Spain defeated Costa Rica 7 0 First half goals by Dani Olmo Marco Asensio and Ferran Torres were followed by goals by Gavi Carlos Soler Alvaro Morata and a second by Torres 174 175 This was the largest defeat in a World Cup since Portugal s victory over North Korea in the 2010 event by the same scoreline 176 Costa Rica defeated Japan 1 0 with Keysher Fuller scoring with Costa Rica s first shot on target of the tournament 177 Germany and Spain drew 1 1 with Alvaro Morata scoring for Spain and Niclas Fullkrug scoring for Germany 178 179 180 Morata scored the opening goal for Spain against Japan as they controlled the first half of the match 181 Japan equalised on Ritsu Doan before a second goal by Ao Tanaka was heavily investigated by VAR for the ball potentially being out of play The goal was awarded and Japan won the group following a 2 1 win 181 Serge Gnabry scored on ten minutes for Germany against Costa Rica and they led until half time Germany required a win and for Japan to not win their match or for both teams to win their matches by a combined goal difference of at least 9 goals to qualify In the second half goals by Yeltsin Tejeda and Juan Vargas gave Costa Rica a 2 1 lead which would have qualified them into the knockout stages ahead of Spain Germany scored three further goals two by Kai Havertz and a goal by Niclas Fullkrug ending in a 4 2 win for Germany which was not enough to qualify them for the final stages This was the second time in a row that the four time champions failed to progress past the group stages 182 Japan won the group ahead of Spain 183 Pos Teamvte Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification 1 nbsp Japan 3 2 0 1 4 3 1 6 Advanced to knockout stage 2 nbsp Spain 3 1 1 1 9 3 6 4 3 nbsp Germany 3 1 1 1 6 5 1 4 4 nbsp Costa Rica 3 1 0 2 3 11 8 3Source FIFA 23 November 2022 2022 11 23 16 00Germany nbsp 1 2 nbsp JapanGundogan nbsp 33 pen Report Dōan nbsp 75 Asano nbsp 83 Khalifa International Stadium Al RayyanAttendance 42 608Referee Ivan Barton El Salvador 23 November 2022 2022 11 23 19 00Spain nbsp 7 0 nbsp Costa RicaOlmo nbsp 11 Asensio nbsp 21 F Torres nbsp 31 pen 54 Gavi nbsp 74 Soler nbsp 90 Morata nbsp 90 2 ReportAl Thumama Stadium DohaAttendance 40 013Referee Mohammed Abdulla Hassan Mohamed United Arab Emirates 27 November 2022 2022 11 27 13 00Japan nbsp 0 1 nbsp Costa RicaReport Fuller nbsp 81 Ahmad bin Ali Stadium Al RayyanAttendance 41 479Referee Michael Oliver England 27 November 2022 2022 11 27 22 00Spain nbsp 1 1 nbsp GermanyMorata nbsp 62 Report Fullkrug nbsp 83 Al Bayt Stadium Al KhorAttendance 68 895Referee Danny Makkelie Netherlands 1 December 2022 2022 12 01 22 00Japan nbsp 2 1 nbsp SpainDōan nbsp 48 Tanaka nbsp 51 Report Morata nbsp 11 Khalifa International Stadium Al RayyanAttendance 44 851Referee Victor Gomes South Africa 1 December 2022 2022 12 01 22 00Costa Rica nbsp 2 4 nbsp GermanyTejeda nbsp 58 Vargas nbsp 70 Report Gnabry nbsp 10 Havertz nbsp 73 85 Fullkrug nbsp 89 Al Bayt Stadium Al KhorAttendance 67 054Referee Stephanie Frappart France Group F Main article 2022 FIFA World Cup Group F Group F s first match was a goalless draw between Morocco and Croatia 184 Canada had a penalty kick in the first half of their match against Belgium which was saved by Thibaut Courtois Belgium won the match by a single goal by Michy Batshuayi 185 186 Belgium lost 2 0 to Morocco despite Morocco having a long range direct free kick goal by Hakim Ziyech overturned for an offside on another player in the lead up to the goal Two second half goals from Zakaria Aboukhlal and Romain Saiss helped the Morocco win their first World Cup match since 1998 187 188 The match sparked riots in Belgium with fires and fireworks being set off by residents 189 Alphonso Davies scored Canada s first World Cup goal to give Canada the lead over Croatia Goals by Marko Livaja Lovro Majer and two by Andrej Kramaric for Croatia completed a 4 1 victory 190 Morocco scored two early goals through Hakim Ziyech and Youssef En Nesyri in their game against Canada and qualified following a 2 1 victory Canada s only goal was an own goal by Nayef Aguerd 191 Croatia and Belgium played a goalless draw which eliminated Belgium whose team was ranked second in the world from the tournament 192 Pos Teamvte Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification 1 nbsp Morocco 3 2 1 0 4 1 3 7 Advanced to knockout stage 2 nbsp Croatia 3 1 2 0 4 1 3 5 3 nbsp Belgium 3 1 1 1 1 2 1 4 4 nbsp Canada 3 0 0 3 2 7 5 0Source FIFA 23 November 2022 2022 11 23 13 00Morocco nbsp 0 0 nbsp CroatiaReportAl Bayt Stadium Al KhorAttendance 59 407Referee Fernando Rapallini Argentina 23 November 2022 2022 11 23 22 00Belgium nbsp 1 0 nbsp CanadaBatshuayi nbsp 44 ReportAhmad bin Ali Stadium Al RayyanAttendance 40 432Referee Janny Sikazwe Zambia 27 November 2022 2022 11 27 16 00Belgium nbsp 0 2 nbsp MoroccoReport Saiss nbsp 73 Aboukhlal nbsp 90 2 Al Thumama Stadium DohaAttendance 43 738Referee Cesar Arturo Ramos Mexico 27 November 2022 2022 11 27 19 00Croatia nbsp 4 1 nbsp CanadaKramaric nbsp 36 70 Livaja nbsp 44 Majer nbsp 90 4 Report Davies nbsp 2 Khalifa International Stadium Al RayyanAttendance 44 374Referee Andres Matonte Uruguay 1 December 2022 2022 12 01 18 00Croatia nbsp 0 0 nbsp BelgiumReportAhmad bin Ali Stadium Al RayyanAttendance 43 984Referee Anthony Taylor England 1 December 2022 2022 12 01 18 00Canada nbsp 1 2 nbsp MoroccoAguerd nbsp 40 o g Report Ziyech nbsp 4 En Nesyri nbsp 23 Al Thumama Stadium DohaAttendance 43 102Referee Raphael Claus Brazil Group G Main article 2022 FIFA World Cup Group G Breel Embolo scored the only goal in Switzerland s 1 0 defeat of Cameroon 193 Richarlison scored two goals as Brazil won against Serbia with star player Neymar receiving an ankle injury 194 Cameroon s Jean Charles Castelletto scored the opening goal against Serbia but they were quickly behind as Serbia scored three goals by Strahinja Pavlovic Sergej Milinkovic Savic and Aleksandar Mitrovic either side of half time Cameroon however scored goals through Vincent Aboubakar and Eric Maxim Choupo Moting completing a 3 3 draw 195 An 83rd minute winner by Casemiro for Brazil over Switzerland was enough for them to qualify for the knockout stage 196 Having already qualified Brazil were unable to win their final group game as they were defeated by Cameroon 1 0 following a goal by Vincent Aboubakar Already having a yellow card he was later sent off for removing his shirt in celebrating the goal 197 Cameroon however did not qualify as Switzerland defeated Serbia 3 2 198 Pos Teamvte Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification 1 nbsp Brazil 3 2 0 1 3 1 2 6 Advanced to knockout stage 2 nbsp Switzerland 3 2 0 1 4 3 1 6 3 nbsp Cameroon 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 4 4 nbsp Serbia 3 0 1 2 5 8 3 1Source FIFA 24 November 2022 2022 11 24 13 00Switzerland nbsp 1 0 nbsp CameroonEmbolo nbsp 48 ReportAl Janoub Stadium Al WakrahAttendance 39 089Referee Facundo Tello Argentina 24 November 2022 2022 11 24 22 00Brazil nbsp 2 0 nbsp SerbiaRicharlison nbsp 62 73 ReportLusail Stadium LusailAttendance 88 103Referee Alireza Faghani Iran 28 November 2022 2022 11 28 13 00Cameroon nbsp 3 3 nbsp SerbiaCastelletto nbsp 29 Aboubakar nbsp 63 Choupo Moting nbsp 66 Report Pavlovic nbsp 45 1 S Milinkovic Savic nbsp 45 3 A Mitrovic nbsp 53 Al Janoub Stadium Al WakrahAttendance 39 789Referee Mohammed Abdulla Hassan Mohamed United Arab Emirates 28 November 2022 2022 11 28 19 00Brazil nbsp 1 0 nbsp SwitzerlandCasemiro nbsp 83 ReportStadium 974 DohaAttendance 43 649Referee Ivan Barton El Salvador 2 December 2022 2022 12 02 22 00Serbia nbsp 2 3 nbsp SwitzerlandA Mitrovic nbsp 26 Vlahovic nbsp 35 Report Shaqiri nbsp 20 Embolo nbsp 44 Freuler nbsp 48 Stadium 974 DohaAttendance 41 378Referee Fernando Rapallini Argentina 2 December 2022 2022 12 02 22 00Cameroon nbsp 1 0 nbsp BrazilAboubakar nbsp 90 2 ReportLusail Stadium LusailAttendance 85 986Referee Ismail Elfath United States Group H Main article 2022 FIFA World Cup Group H Uruguay and South Korea played to a goalless draw 199 A goalless first half between Portugal and Ghana preceded a penalty converted by Cristiano Ronaldo to give Portugal the lead In scoring the goal Ronaldo became the first man to score in five World Cups Ghana responded with a goal by Andre Ayew before goals by Joao Felix and Rafael Leao by Portugal put them 3 1 ahead Osman Bukari scored in the 89th minute to trail by a single goal while Inaki Williams had a chance to equalise for Ghana ten minutes into stoppage time but slipped before shooting The match finished 3 2 to Portugal 200 Ghanaian Mohammed Salisu opened the scoring against South Korea with Mohammed Kudus following it up In the second half Cho Gue sung scored a brace for South Korea levelling the score Mohammed Kudus scored again in the 68th minute winning the match 3 2 for Ghana 201 Portugal defeated Uruguay 2 0 with two goals from Bruno Fernandes advancing them to the knockout stage 202 A controversial penalty decision was called late in the game with a suspected handball from Jose Maria Gimenez 203 204 Portugal led South Korea through Ricardo Horta after 10 minutes However goals by Kim Young gwon and Hwang Hee chan won the match 2 1 for South Korea 205 Giorgian de Arrascaeta scored two goals as Uruguay defeated Ghana 2 0 206 However with South Korea winning Uruguay required another goal to progress as they finished third on goals scored 207 Several Uruguay players left the pitch after the game surrounding the referees and followed them off the pitch 208 209 210 Pos Teamvte Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification 1 nbsp Portugal 3 2 0 1 6 4 2 6 Advanced to knockout stage 2 nbsp South Korea 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 4 3 nbsp Uruguay 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 4 4 nos, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library, article, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games. |