World Cup 2022: England and Wales fixtures, UK kick-off times, stadiums and knockout schedule for tournament in Qatar

The 2022 Qatar World Cup is nearly upon us with the showpiece tournament set to finally get underway this weekend.

England will come up against USA, Iran and Wales in the group stage, while Spain and Germany will face off with a number of mouthwatering ties awaiting.

The domestic season is all wrapped up and all the players are in Qatar. Now for the action to begin on Sunday [November 20].

It is the first World Cup during winter during the Northern Hemisphere, with just a week’s break from the European season and the tournament beginning.

Qatar is only the size of Yorkshire and has a population of 2.8m. There are eight stadiums hosting the tournament, which is the fewest ever, and are in a 35mile radius of Doha.

Out of the 32 countries taking part, only eight have previously won the World Cup. Brazil have won it the most times [5], while reigning champions France will be hoping to defence their crown.

As is tradition, the tournament will kick off with the host country in action, who face Ecuador.

England v Iran will be the second game of the tournament on Monday, November 21 before AFCON champions Senegal take on Netherlands and USA face Wales.

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The group stage will run until Friday, December 2 with four games being held each day after the opening two days.

The first of the knockout games will then start the following day on Saturday, December 3.

The final will be held at the 80,000-seater Lusail Iconic Stadium on Sunday, December 18.

• November 20: World Cup starts
• December 3/6: Round of 16
• December 9/10: Quarter-finals
• December 13/14: Semi-finals
• December 18: World Cup final

Senegal v Netherlands was set to be the opening clash but FIFA changed it to Qatar v Ecuador in mid-August.

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England will face a first-ever ‘Battle of Britain’ at a World Cup finals.

The Three Lions will be up against Wales in the group stage after they beat Ukraine in their play-off.

Gareth Southgate’s men will kick off Group B against Iran, a side they have never faced in a senior competitive international.

They will also face the United States, who they have met twice in the World Cup finals – in 1950 and 2010 – but never beaten.

If they get through their group, England would face one of hosts Qatar, Netherlands, Ecuador or Senegal in the last 16.

Elsewhere, Group E pitted former world champions Spain and Germany against each other.

Belgium take on fellow 2018 World Cup semi-finalists Croatia in Group F, while reigning champions France take on Denmark, Tunisia and Australia.

• Group A: Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands
• Group B: England, Iran, USA, Wales
• Group C: Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland
• Group D: France, Australia, Denmark, Tunisia
• Group E: Spain, Costa Rica, Germany, Japan
• Group F: Belgium, Canada, Morocco, Croatia
• Group G: Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, Cameroon
• Group H: Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, South Korea

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The time in Qatar is three hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time.

The first two rounds of matches will kick off at 1pm, 4pm, 7pm and 10pm local time (10am, 1pm, 4pm and 7pm in the UK).

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).

And the final is scheduled to kick off at 6pm local time (3pm UK time).

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England and Wales fixtures

Here are the confirmed dates and times of England’s group games and potential knockout stage fixtures…

Group Stages

England v Iran – 4pm local/1pm UK – Mon 22/11

Wales vs USA – 10pm local/7pm UK – Mon 22/11

England v USA – 10pm local/7pm UK – Fri 25/11

Wales vs Iran – 1pm local/10am UK – Fri 25/11

Wales v England – 10pm local/7pm UK – Tue 29/11

If England or Wales finish 1st

Round of 16 – 10pm local/7pm UK – Sun 4/12 (potentially Ecuador or Senegal)

Quarter final – 10pm local/7pm UK – Sat 10/12 (potentially France or Argentina)

Semi final – 10pm local/7pm UK – Wed 14/12 (potentially Belgium, Germany, Portugal or Spain)

If England or Wales finish 2nd

Round of 16 – 6pm local/3pm UK – Sat 3/12 (potentially Netherlands)

Quarter final – 10pm local/7pm UK – Fri 9/12 (potentially Argentina or Denmark)

Semi final – 10pm local/7pm UK – Tue 13/12 (potentially Spain or Croatia)

Final

3rd place play off – 6pm local/3pm UK – Sat 17/12

Final – 6pm local/3pm UK – Sun 18/12

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World Cup 2022: The weather

The weather has been a hot topic ever since the World Cup was awarded to the Gulf nation of Qatar.

In November, the average temperature in Qatar is between 22C and 30C while in December is it between 17C and 25C.

In the summer months between May and August, the average temperature is around 37C.

Qatar is a peninsular Arab country which is location in the Persian Gulf. It borders Saudi Arabia and is near neighbours to Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

World Cup 2022: How the tournament works

There will be 32 countries competing in the World Cup including holders Qatar who will be making their debut in the showpiece tournament.

Unlike at Euro 2020, the group stage will only see the top two teams progress from the eight groups.

The group winners and runners-up will enter the round of 16 and the tournament will progress through the knockout stage before a champion is crowned in the final.

There will be a third-place play-off match which will be held at the Khalifa International Stadium in Al Rayyan on Saturday, December 17.

World Cup 2022: The venues

The tournament will be held solely in Qatar with the majority of games being played in the capital city of Doha.

The four stadia in the Doha area include the Ras Abu Aboud Stadium, the Al Thumama Stadium, the Education City Stadium and the Khalifa International Stadium.

Four more venues will be used at the tournament with the Lusail Iconic Stadium in Lusail and the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor being the largest.

The Ahmed bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan and the Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah will also be used.

The grounds will not be far apart from one another with the longest distance being around 65km from the Al Bayt Stadium to the Al Janoub Stadium.

World Cup 2022: The squads

All 32 participating nations have now confirmed their squads for the tournament. A full rundown of every team is here.

The final 26-man squads had to be submitted to FIFA on Monday, November 14 by 7pm Qatar time (4pm in the UK).

However, Southgate named his final England squad on Thursday, November 10 – before the final round of Premier League fixtures.

James Maddison’s fine form at Leicester has earned him a spot, while Newcastle striker Callum Wilson, Arsenal defender Ben White and Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford are all in.

World Cup 2022: How it will affect the 2022/23 Premier League season

The new Premier League season got underway on August 6 and will hold its final day of May 28, 2023.

The Premier League halted after the weekend of November 12/13 and will resume fixtures again on Boxing Day.

Players will have a week of preparations with their national teams before heading out to the tournament in the Middle East.

They will then have only eight days to recover in time for the league’s resumption should they reach the final on December 18.

There is set to be only six weekends without Premier League games.

Will the EFL also take a break for the World Cup?

The Championship will be paused for almost a month like the Premier League but games in League One and League Two will continue.

The Championship will run until matchday 21 on Saturday, November 12 and be restarted on Saturday, December 10 with a full round of fixtures.

Despite the different winter schedules, all three divisions are set to conclude on May 6, 2023, with the full play-off dates not yet confirmed.

And what about the beer?

Alcohol isn’t illegal in Qatar, but there is zero tolerance for drinking in public and being drunk in public is a crime.

To avoid this becoming a problem, Qatar are set to introduce ‘sober zones’ for heavily intoxicated supporters.

However, there has been a relaxation in the rules with fans able to buy beer at the Arcadia Festival for up to 19 hours a day, as well as the official FIFA fan festival.

For a full explainer on rules for beer, then click here.

World Cup 2022: Full schedule list

All times are GMT

Group stage

Sunday, November 20:

Group A – Qatar v Ecuador, 4pm

Monday, November 21:

Group B – England v Iran, 1pm

Group A – Senegal v Netherlands, 4pm

Group B – USA v Wales, 7pm

Tuesday, November 22:

Group C – Argentina v Saudi Arabia, 10am

Group D – Denmark v Tunisia, 1pm

Group C – Mexico v Poland, 4pm

Group D – France v Australia, 7pm

Wednesday, November 23:

Group F – Morocco v Croatia, 10am

Group E – Germany v Japan, 1pm

Group E – Spain v Costa Rica, 4pm

Group F – Belgium v Canada, 7pm

Thursday, November 24:

Group G – Switzerland v Cameroon, 10am

Group H – Uruguay v South Korea, 1pm

Group H – Portugal v Ghana, 4pm

Group G – Brazil v Serbia, 7pm

Friday, November 25:

Group B – Iran v Wales, 10am

Group A – Qatar v Senegal, 1pm

Group A – Netherlands v Ecuador, 4pm

Group B – England v USA, 7pm

Saturday, November 26:

Group D – Tunisia v Australia, 10am

Group C – Poland v Saudi Arabia, 1pm

Group D – France v Denmark, 4pm

Group C – Argentina v Mexico, 7pm

Sunday, November 27:

Group E – Japan v Costa Rica, 10am

Group F – Belgium v Morocco, 1pm

Group F – Croatia v Canada, 4pm

Group E – Spain v Germany, 7pm

Monday, November 28:

Group G – Cameroon v Serbia, 10am

Group H – South Korea v Ghana, 1pm

Group G – Brazil v Switzerland, 4pm

Group H – Portugal v Uruguay, 7pm

Tuesday, November 29:

Group A – Netherlands v Qatar, 3pm

Group A – Ecuador v Senegal, 3pm

Group B – Wales v England, 7pm

Group B – Iran v USA, 7pm

Wednesday, November 30:

Group D – Tunisia v France, 3pm

Group D – Australia v Denmark, 3pm

Group C – Poland v Argentina, 7pm

Group C – Saudi Arabia v Mexico, 7pm

Thursday, December 1

Group F – Croatia v Belgium, 3pm

Group F – Canada v Morocco, 3pm

Group E – Japan v Spain, 7pm

Group E – Costa Rica v Germany, 7pm

Friday, December 2:

Group H – South Korea v Portugal, 3pm

Group H – Ghana v Uruguay, 3pm

Group G – Cameroon v Brazil, 7pm

Group G – Serbia v Switzerland, 7pm

Round-of-16

Saturday, December 3:

Match 49 – 1A v 2B – Khalifa International Stadium, 3pm

Match 50 – 1C v 2D – Al Rayyan Stadium, 7pm

Sunday, December 4:

Match 52 – 1D v 2C – Al Thumama Stadium, 3pm

Match 51 – 1B v 2A – Al Bayt Stadium, 7pm

Monday, December 5:

Match 53 – 1E v 2F – Al Janoub Stadium, 3pm

Match 54 – 1G v 2H – Ras Abu Aboud Stadium, 7pm

Tuesday, December 6:

Match 55 – 1F v 2E – Education City Stadium, 3pm

Match 56 – 1H v 2G – Lusail Stadium, 7pm

Quarter-finals

Friday, December 9:

Match 57 – Winner of Match 49 v Winner Match 50 – Lusail Stadium, 7pm

Match 58 – Winner of Match 53 v Winner Match 54 – Education City Stadium, 3pm

Saturday, December 10:

Match 59 – Winner Match 51 v Winner Match 52 – Al Bayt Stadium, 7pm

Match 60 – Winner Match 55 v Winner Match 56 – Al Thumama Stadium, 3pm

Semi-finals

Tuesday, December 13:

Match 61 – Winner Match 57 v Winner Match 58 – Lusail Stadium, 7pm

Wednesday, December 14:

Match 62 – Winner Match 59 v Winner Match 60 – Al Bayt Stadium, 7pm

Third-place play-off:

Saturday, December 17:

Match 63 – Khalifa International Stadium, 3pm

Final

Sunday, December 18:

Match 64 – Lusail Stadium, 3pm