FIFA 2022 World Cup Schedule: Date & Timing Explained

FIFA World Cup schedule is ready to go and final the countdown has started. If you are planning to prepare your World Cup 2022 betting schedule you would need to know about the 32 teams, get the right betting tips and predictions. Here we shall cover all that you must know about the World cup betting schedule.

December 18

Argentina vs France

20:30, Lusail Stadium

Bet on Both Teams to Score

As you draw your betting strategy and work on your World Cup betting schedule it is important to choose the top bookmakers. From the number of markets to update of odds and live streaming features, there are several factors you should consider when choosing a bookmaker for this mega tournament. Here is our recommended list of bookmakers for betting on the World Cup.

The Group stage of the event would see up to four games being played in a day and this would require you to work on your betting strategy. This is also a great opportunity to earn a princely payout using the accumulator betting market.

The final rounds of Qualifier games are being played and they are open to betting. You can visit the top bookmakers to bet on these games. Even if no matches are being played in you can bet on the top goal scorer and the outright winner market for each of the six Qualifiers that are being currently played.

Most Popular Markets

As a punter, you have your favorite markets and betting strategies for them. But in a Mega event such as the World Cup, you should also explore other markets. Here are the five most popular betting markets that people like to wager on –

1. 1/X/2 – The most popular football betting market or all. You bet for Team 1, Team 2, or a draw.
2. Double Chance – This is a less risky option where you bet on two of the three outcomes in a game Team A or Team B, Team A or Draw and Team B or Draw.
3. Accumulators – This is risky but potential rewards for your modest stake are The idea here is to bet on the outcome of more than one and roll your winnings from one game into a stake for the others.
4. Final/Correct Score – Here you wager on the final score of the game. You must consider the playing styles of the teams before wagering in this market
5. Goal Scorer – Technically all players (including goalkeepers) have chances of scoring a goal. You bet on the likely goal scorer (s) during the game.

As a punter, you need to make informed bets during the event. Since the event is witnessing a shorter schedule your betting strategies have to take this into account.

• Keep an eye on the form of the sides and availability of players in the run-up to the event to place outright bets
• Read match predictions on BettingTop10. We shall cover the event right from the start and bring you the most detailed match analysis including betting tips
• Temperatures would be high and games are scheduled close to one another so injured players would have less time to recover. This may affect playing compositions and the strengths of the sides.
• Be careful while betting for individual goal scorers during the game. Teams would be allowed five substitutions during the game from the earlier three. Teams would use this to deploy fresh legs and hence individual strikers are likely to spend less time on the pitch.
• There are dark horses that emerge in every event and it is important to follow sides that are causing maximum surprises.
• Since the schedules might have an impact on the performance of different sides explore in-game and live betting options. Watch the action for a few minutes before you wager in the live markets.

Like previous editions of the tournament 31 participating teams (apart from the hosts) would have to qualify for the event from their respective confederations. Here is the structure of the event.

Qualifier

The tournament would follow the usual structure where 207 teams have been taking part in the Qualifiers from the 6 confederations. Union of European Football Associations or UEFA has the maximum number of slots (13) in the tournament while Oceania Football Confederation or OFC has the least with 0.5 slots. Here are the number of slots per confederation excluding the host nation –

• CAF (Confederation of African Football) – 5 Slots
• AFC (Asian Football Confederation) -5 Slots
• UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) – 13 Slots
• CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) – 3.5 Slots
• OFC (Oceania Football Confederation) – 0.5 Slots
• CONMEBOL (South American Football Confederation) – 4.5 Slots

The qualifiers which started in June 2019 ended on 14^th June 2022. The Qualifiers would see 799 matches being played for the 32 slots in the tournament (including hosts Qatar)

Finals

The Finals in Qatar would see 32 teams divided into 8 groups (four teams each) who would be playing in a round-robin league format. The league stage would see a maximum of four games being played in a day. All together 48 games would be played during the league stage across the 8 groups.

Two teams from each of the groups would proceed to the knockout stages. The Round of 16 would see the introduction of extra time and a penalty shootout to decide the winners in the event of the teams being tied at the end of 90 minutes. Eight teams would qualify for the quarterfinals which would be followed by the semifinals, third-place game, and the final.

The FIFA 2022 World Cup Qualifiers, which began in June 2019 with the Asian Football Confederation’s opening match, concluded in June 2022 with the final play-off matches, securing the last three spots in Qatar. Here is how it breaks down among the FIFA associations since all 32 have already booked their tickets for the event.

Host Nation

Qatar was the first team to qualify for the event being the host nation. They qualified back in 2010 when they won the bid to host the tournament. This would be the first appearance for the side in this mega tournament.

UEFA: 13 Slots

There are 13 slots for UEFA. 10 teams have qualified for the tournament as group winners, while three more teams have qualified through the play-offs. The qualified teams are:

1. Germany – UEFA Group J winners
2. Denmark – UEFA Group F winners
3. France – UEFA Group D winners
4. Belgium – UEFA Group E winners
5. Croatia – UEFA Group H winners
6. Spain – UEFA Group B winners
7. Serbia – UEFA Group A winners
8. England – UEFA Group I winners
9. Switzerland – UEFA Group C winners
10. Netherlands – UEFA Group G winners
11. Poland – UEFA play-offs path B winners
12. Portugal – UEFA play-offs path C winners
13. Wales – UEFA play-offs path A winners

The next three slots shall be filled by the result of the second-round playoffs where Portugal, Scotland, and Italy are currently the top contenders to qualify for the tournament.

CAF (Confederation of African Football) – 5 Slots

Ten CAF teams competed for a place in Qatar, but only five qualified for the 2022 World Cup: Tunisia, Ghana, Senegal, Morocco, and Cameroon.

AFC (Asian Football Confederation) – 5 Slots

There are 5 slots for AFC excluding the hosts.

1. Iran – 3^rd Round Group A Winners
2. South Korea – 3^rd Round Group A runners-up
3. Saudi Arabia – 3^rd Round Group B Winners
4. Japan – 3^rd Round Group B runners-up
5. Australia – AFC v CONMEBOL play-off winners

CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) – 4 Slots

1. Canada – 3^rd Round winners
2. Mexico – 3^rd Round runners-up
3. USA – 3^rd Round third place
4. Costa Rica – OFC v CONCACAF play-off winners

CONMEBOL (South American Football Confederation) – 4 Slots

There are 4 slots for the South American nations after a tough contest in the Qualifiers.

1. Brazil – CONMEBOL Qualifier winners
2. Argentina – CONMEBOL Qualifier runners-up
3. Uruguay – CONMEBOL Qualifier third place
4. Ecuador – CONMEBOL Qualifier fourth place

As a bettor, you may have already started your countdown for the tournament. It is time to work on your World Cup 2022 betting schedule and save the important dates. There are several important dates that you have to keep in mind, and we shall cover them all here in this section.

World Cup Schedule

• World Cup Draw – 1^st April 2022
• Confederation Qualifiers Final Date
• AFC Qualifier – 29^th March 2022
• CAF Qualifier – 27^th March 2022
• CONCACAF Qualifier – 30^th March 2022
• CONMEBOL Qualifier – 29^th March 2022
• OFC Qualifier – 30^th March 2022
• UEFA Qualifier – 29^th March 2022
• Inter-confederation play-offs – 13/14^th June 2022
• Group Stage – 20th November – 2nd December 2022
• Round of 16 – 3rd – 6th December 2022 Q
• Quarterfinals – 9th and 10th December 2022
• Semifinals – 13th and 14th December 2022
• Third-Place Game – 17th December 2022
• Final – 18th December 2022

World Cup Schedule Match Kick-off Times

FIFA along with the hosts has confirmed the time for all the games during the tournament. The match kick-off times for the different stages of the tournament are as follows:

• Group Stage Games: 3:30 PM, 6:30 PM, 9:30 PM, 00:30 AM (All times in IST)
• Round of 16: 8:30 PM, 00:30 AM (All times in IST)
• Quarter-Finals: 8:30 PM, 00:30 AM (All times in IST)
• Semi-Finals: 00:30 AM IST
• Third Place and Final: 08:30 PM IST

World Cup Draw

The World Cup Draw is scheduled to be held in Doha, Qatar on 1st April 2022. Interestingly the draw would take place before the inter-confederation playoffs scheduled to be held in June. Hence, the names of the final 32 sides participating in the tournament wouldn’t be known during the draw.

In this draw names of the 32 teams (including two playoff-qualifier) would be in four pots which would be emptied in front of officials and live-streamed. Eight teams would be pulled out one by one and they placed in groups of four teams (Groups A to H). As is customary hosts Qatar will be automatically placed in the top position in Group A. The remaining seven teams would be placed in the top spots in Groups B to H. The same process would be repeated four times to decide the eight groups.

As is the norm no teams from the same confederation can be placed in the same group at the draw. However, this rule doesn’t apply to teams from UEFA as there are 13 teams from the confederation which is more than the number of groups in the tournament.

There has been a major change in the World Cup schedule for 2022. The event has usually been organized in the summer (June-July) in the Northern Hemisphere in the past. However, this edition of the tournament would be held in winters to avoid the blistering summer heat in the Middle East. The schedule change has come as a major problem for European leagues that have usually been played in the August-May window.

There would be significant changes in the fixtures for the 2022-23 seasons of the various major leagues, national associations, and continental confederations. We are likely to see a six-week suspension in league football to allow the top players to represent their national teams in the tournament.

The next season of the Premier League is expected to start on August 6, 2022 as usual, and halt for a 6-week break on November 12/13. The tournament would resume on Boxing Day offering players enough time for the players to join and train with their national sides. We expect to see similar changes in the football calendar throughout the world.

Interesting Facts About Qatar 2022 World Cup Schedule

• FIFA 2022 World Cup would be the shortest tournament in recent memory. From the group kick-off to the final the tournament would be completed in 29 days. This is the shortest since the 1978 edition in Argentina
• This is expected to be the last edition of the tournament featuring 32 teams with the next edition in 2026 in the United States, Canada, and Mexico likely to feature 48 teams
• This is the first time a tournament in the Northern Hemisphere has been scheduled in the winter months to avoid the unbearable temperatures in the Middle East during the summer
• The eight stadiums in Doha are within a 35-mile radius and this would make it the first event to be held in such proximity which would be convenient for players, fans, and officials
• This would be the first tournament since the inaugural event in 1930 in Uruguay that all the games would be held in one city and its suburbs
• This event would also see the least number of venues (eight) since the 1978 edition. The last edition was played in 12 venues in Russia.
• Seven out of the eight venues in the event have been newly constructed after Qatar won the bid to host the event.

The shorter duration of the event is also likely to affect the World Cup betting schedule for the punters as more games would be played on match days. Hence, we are likely to see more strategic betting from punters.

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Group E

Group F

Group G

Group H