The 2022 World Cup is scheduled to run from Nov. 20 to Dec. 18. Many have been wondering why the soccer tournament is being held in the winter and not in the summer as has been the tradition. For the first time ever, the World Cup is being held in Qatar, the first time to be played in the Arab World. Due to Qatar’s intense heat during summer months, this year’s championship will be held in November. This will be the first time that the World Cup will not be held in May, June or July. This year, the competition will be played during a reduced time frame of 29 days.

The 2022 tournament will start with 32 teams in sever groups of four national teams.
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

Four matches will be played each day during the group stage, which will last about 12 days. The initial round will determine the winners and runner-ups for the round of 16. The complete match schedule has been finalized, and fans all over the world will be glued to their TVs for the next four weeks.

Many of the world’s top soccer players like Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo are playing for their respective countries. Although Messi has announced that the 2022 World Cup will be his last, he is not retiring–he just won’t be playing for Argentina anymore. Ronaldo also said that this will be his last time participating in the World Cup. Messi is currently playing for Paris Saint-Germain and Ronaldo is playing for Manchester United.