The 2022 World Cup will have four games every day in a 12-day group stage and matches later in the tournament that go into extra time will extend past midnight in Qatar.
FIFA
released the schedule for the first World Cup to be played in November and
December on Wednesday, with kickoff times at 1 p.m. (1000 GMT), 4 p.m. (1300
GMT), 7 p.m. (1600 GMT) and 10 p.m. (1900 GMT).
“Once
the pairings are known, the possibility will be discussed of providing a more
beneficial kickoff time for audiences at home, or indeed for fans in Qatar with
regard to the stadium allocation,” FIFA said in a statement.
Host
Qatar will open the Middle East’s first World Cup in the 60,000-capacity Al
Bayt Stadium at 1 p.m. on Nov. 21. The final start at 6 p.m. on Dec. 18 at the
80,000-capacity Lusail Stadium.
Eight venues in close
proximity to Doha will be used at the tournament, which will be played in 28
days rather than the 32 days used at the last World Cup in Russia to minimize
the disruption to the European season. Teams and fans will not need to fly
around Qatar because stadiums are within a 30-mile radius.
Both semifinals — like some games in the
previous rounds — will kick off at 10 p.m. and will spill over into the next
day if there is extra time, or even just long injury and VAR delays in regular
time.
There is no space for a gap without games between the group stage and round of 16.
Most
teams will get three days of rest between games, which FIFA said was “optimum
for sporting performance.” But teams in two last-16 matches will only have two
days of rest. For the third-place playoff, one losing semifinalist will have
two recovery days while the other has three.
FIFA is looking to stage the draw for the tournament in late March or early April 2022, when 30 of the 32 finalists will be known.
It
is the last World Cup with 32 teams before the expansion to 48 nations at the
2026 tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
🚨 2022 #WORLDCUP MATCH SCHEDULE 🚨— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) July 15, 2020
🏆 It all starts in Qatar on Monday 21 November 2022 🌏
🗓️👉 https://t.co/tIvYvRoy5j pic.twitter.com/yQvgGczszK
No comments