The 2022 FIFA World draw has finally been held with some interesting pairings as defending champions France find themselves in Group D alongside Denmark, Tunisia and the winner of the first intercontinental playoff.
Hosts Qatar are in Group A alongside Ecuador, African champions Senegal and the Netherlands. Qatar will open the tournament with a game against Ecuador.
The Black Stars of Ghana have been placed in Group H against Portugal, Uruguay and South Korea.
Lionel Messi’s Argentina are in Group C and will play Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Poland.
The tournament kicks off on Monday, November 21 at the Al Bayt stadium in Al Khor with a match that will feature the host country, Qatar and Ecuador.
- What is the World Cup format and schedule?
The 2022 World Cup will feature 32 teams in eight groups of four.
Four matches will be played each day during the group stage, which will run over a 12-day period and see winners and runners-up progress to the round of 16.
Matches will only be assigned to particular venues after the final draw, so organisers can choose optimal kick-off times to suit television audiences in different countries, as well as supporters out of Qatar.
Unlike at Euro 2020, there will be a third-place play-off game on December 17.
Group stage: November 21- December 2
Round of 16: December 3-6
Quarter-finals: December 9/10
Semi-finals: December 13/14
Final: December 18
- What are the groups?
Group A: Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands
Group B: England, Iran, USA, EURO playoff
Group C: Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland
Group D: France, ICP 1, Denmark Tunisia
Group E: Spain, ICP 2, Germany, Japan
Group F: Belgium, Canada, Morocco, Croatia
Group G: Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, Cameroon
Group H: Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, South Korea
- When will the matches kick-off?
FIFA has confirmed the first two rounds of matches will kick off at 1pm, 4pm, 7pm and 10pm local time.
Kick-off times in the final round of group games and knock-out round matches will be at 6pm and 10pm local time (3pm and 7pm UK time).
The final is scheduled to kick off at 6pm local time.
- What are the venues?
The group games will take place across eight stadia: Al Bayt Stadium, Khalifa International Stadium, Al Thumama Stadium, Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, Lusail Stadium, Ras Abu Aboud Stadium, Education City Stadium, Al Janoub Stadium.