All you need to know about the Cup
The 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar finally kicks off on Monday, when the hosts take on Ecuador at Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor.
Here’s everything you need to know about the quadrennial tournament.
The tournament begins on November 21 and runs through to the final on December 19.
The group stage featuring eight pools of four concludes on December 3, with the round of 16 beginning on the next day. The quarterfinals take place on December 10-11 and the semifinals on December 14-15 (NZ time).
The World Cup was controversially moved from its traditional June-July window to avoid Qatar’s intense summer temperatures (which can reach up to 45C), disrupting the European season.
That is despite the Qataris winning hosting rights in 2010 on the understanding that they would stage the event in the northern summer and build enclosed, airconditioned stadiums to cope with the heat.
From the moment Qatar was surprisingly awarded hosting rights in December 2010, the tiny Gulf nation has been dogged by controversy.
First, there was scrutiny over how the oil-rich Qataris won the vote, amid claims of corruption and Fifa delegates being bribed.
Then there was anger in Europe when Qatar was permitted by Fifa to move the tournament to the winter, despite winning with a bid that promised to hold it during the summer once Europe’s lucrative domestic leagues had concluded.
But most of the criticism of Qatar has focused on the conservative Muslim country’s appalling human rights record, whether that be its anti-LGBT laws (being homosexual is a crime punishable by three years in prison or even death), women’s rights or its treatment of migrant workers.
An estimated 6500 migrant workers in Qatar from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have died in the last decade working on stadiums and infrastructure for the tournament.
Qatar disputes this, claiming only 38 deaths have been workrelated, but the government has faced intense criticism from human rights groups, including Amnesty International, for its exploitation of migrant labour.
To add fuel to the fire, a Qatari World Cup ambassador recently called homosexuality a ‘‘disease of the mind’’ during an interview with German TV, sparking concerns over the treatment of LBGT fans attending the tournament.
There will also be strict controls on the sale of alcohol and a crackdown on drunken behaviour, adding to the worries of travelling supporters used to letting their hair down during World Cups. ($201), Ghana ($201), Japan ($201), Morocco ($201), South Korea ($201), Australia ($501), Costa Rica ($501), Iran ($501), Qatar ($501), Saudi Arabia ($501), Tunisia ($501).
Since the inaugural tournament hosted and won by Uruguay in 1930, the World Cup has been played every four years – with two exceptions.
The 1942 and 1946 editions had to be cancelled due to World War II and its aftermath. The competition would resume in Brazil in 1950, and has run without interruption ever since.
Each country has to play the three other teams in their group once, earning three points for a win, one for a draw and zero for a loss. The top two teams in each pool advance to the round of 16, followed by the quarterfinals, semifinals and the final. There is also a third-place playoff between the two losing semifinalists.
The full schedule of all 64 World Cup games can be found on page 20.
In August, the start of this year’s World Cup was officially moved up a day to maintain the tradition of the host nation playing the opening match of the tournament.
The competition will now open with Qatar’s Group A clash with Ecuador, rather than Senegal against the Netherlands, which was pushed to the evening of November 22.
The group matches will be played in eight stadiums across Qatar: Al Bayt Stadium, Khalifa International Stadium, Al Thumama Stadium, Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, Lusail Stadium, Ras Abu Aboud Stadium, Education City Stadium and Al Janoub Stadium.
World No 1 Brazil have won five World Cup titles (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002) – the most of any men’s team.
Italy – who failed to qualify for a second successive World Cup – and Germany are next best with four each, while France, Argentina and Uruguay have two each.
England (1966) and Spain (2010) complete the eight-team list of champions.