World Cup 2022 stadiums (Qatar)

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Tournament nameDesignConstructionCityCountryTournament capacity
Lusail Stadium See Lusail City 88 966
Al Bayt Stadium See See Al Khor 68 895
Khalifa International Stadium See See Doha 45 857
Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium See See Al-Rayyan 45 032
Education City Stadium See Doha 44 667
Al Thumama Stadium See Doha 44 400
Al Janoub Stadium See See Al-Wakrah 44 325
Stadium 974 See Doha 44 089

Description

2022 World Cup

2022 World Cup 

The most controversial decision in World Cup history?

From the very beginning, Qatar was the favorite to host the 2022 World Cup. Five candidates (including the USA, South Korea, Japan and Australia) had submitted their bids by February 2, 2009, and it was these countries that were competing in the final stage against the Middle Eastern magnate. Initially, as many as 11 candidates were considered, but Mexico and Indonesia, among others, dropped out during the initial selection phase. On December 2, 2010, the FIFA Executive Committee decided in Zurich to award Qatar the right to host the 2022 World Cup. The small Asian country received respectively 11,10,11 and 14 points in the vote, thus securely overtaking the United States' bid.

There has been much controversy surrounding the decision of the world football federation's governing body. In 2013, France Football published an investigative report that uncovered the backstory behind Qatar's World Cup award. The public perception was that the sheikhs had 'bought' the rights to host the 2022 World Cup in return for investment, albeit in French club Paris-Saint Germain. It has also been established that the president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, is a resident of Qatar, which has only inflamed the mood around the tournament and undermined the credibility and status of the organization.

First World Cup to be held in autumn

Although the World Cup has been organized during an astronomical winter in the past, this will be the first time that the event will take place during the calendar autumn (November/December). The choice of these months to host the most important football tournament in the world has aroused extreme emotions from the very beginning. Due to the high temperatures in Qatar in summer, it would be impossible to organize matches in this period as the players could suffer health problems. On the other hand, it is a drastic change from the norm, which always saw the championship being played between the end and the start of the new league season. This time, there will be an emergency situation whereby players will be released by their clubs in the middle of the season in order to be able to attend training and national team matches.

Which stadiums will host the World Cup in Qatar?

The first five proposed venues for the 2022 World Cup were unveiled in early March 2010, a few months before Qatar officially became the host of the tournament. It was also pointed out that all stadiums would be provided with cooling systems, and that their shape and form would relate to the country's history and culture. In the end, eight arenas were decided upon, each with a capacity of at least 40,000 fans. Among these, as many as seven had to be built from scratch. The only venue that existed before is Khalifa International Stadium, which was rebuilt for the championships. It is here that the match for 3rd place will take place. Interestingly, only two stadiums can be fully covered during a match. Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor and Al Janoub Stadium in Al-Wakrah both feature a retractable roof.

All venues are located within a radius of just 75 kilometers, which will make commuting to matches a minor inconvenience. As many as five of the eight stadiums are located in the capital itself, Doha, or its suburbs. The opening match of the championship was originally scheduled to take place on November 21, 2022 at Al Thumama Stadium, but following the FIFA decision, it will be the Qatari national team that will kick off the tournament on November 20 (a day earlier than scheduled) with a clash against Ecuador at Al Bayt Stadium. Since 2006, it has been a tradition for the hosts to play the first match of the World Cup. This has been the case for Germany, South Africa, Brazil and Russia. The last time a different team played the opening match was in 2002, when France took on Senegal. The grand final is scheduled to take place on December 18 at the biggest stadium of the tournament – Lusail Stadium in Lusail City.

Seven matches, including six group stage games and one Round of 16 clash, will take place at both Al Janoub Stadium in Al-Wakrah and Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Al-Rayyan, as well as at Stadium 974 in Doha. One more match will be played at Education City Stadium, which will additionally be the venue for one quarter-final. However, the profile of the inconspicuous Stadium 974 is the most interesting here. The 40,000-seater, located in the eastern part of the capital, was built, as the name suggests, from 974 shipping containers. It is also an area code for Qatar. The arena, sitting on an artificial promontory, is a temporary structure that will be dismantled after the tournament. This is the first time in history that a World Cup stadium will be taken down immediately after the final.

What does World Cup 2022 stadiums look like?

All tournament matches

Group A

StadiumFixtureAttendanceDate (local time)
 Al Bayt Stadium   Qatar 0–2 Ecuador   67 372 (97.79%) 20.11.2022 19:00
 Al Thumama Stadium   Senegal 0–2 Netherlands   41 721 (93.97%) 21.11.2022 19:00
 Al Thumama Stadium   Qatar 1–3 Senegal   41 797 (94.14%) 25.11.2022 16:00
 Khalifa International Stadium   Netherlands 1–1 Ecuador   44 833 (97.77%) 25.11.2022 19:00
 Al Bayt Stadium   Netherlands 2–0 Qatar   66 784 (96.94%) 29.11.2022 18:00
 Khalifa International Stadium   Ecuador 1–2 Senegal   44 569 (97.19%) 29.11.2022 18:00

Group B

StadiumFixtureAttendanceDate (local time)
 Khalifa International Stadium   England 6–2 Iran   45 334 (98.86%) 21.11.2022 16:00
 Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium   United States 1–1 Wales   43 418 (96.42%) 21.11.2022 22:00
 Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium   Wales 0–2 Iran   40 875 (90.77%) 25.11.2022 13:00
 Al Bayt Stadium   England 0–0 United States   68 463 (99.37%) 25.11.2022 22:00
 Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium   Wales 0–3 England   44 297 (98.37%) 29.11.2022 22:00
 Al Thumama Stadium   Iran 0–1 United States   42 127 (94.88%) 29.11.2022 22:00

Group C

StadiumFixtureAttendanceDate (local time)
 Lusail Stadium   Argentina 1–2 Saudi Arabia   88 012 (98.93%) 22.11.2022 13:00
 Stadium 974   Mexico 0–0 Poland   39 369 (89.29%) 22.11.2022 19:00
 Education City Stadium   Poland 2–0 Saudi Arabia   44 259 (99.09%) 26.11.2022 16:00
 Lusail Stadium   Argentina 2–0 Mexico   88 966 (100%) 26.11.2022 22:00
 Stadium 974   Poland 0–2 Argentina   44 089 (100%) 30.11.2022 22:00
 Lusail Stadium   Saudi Arabia 1–2 Mexico   84 985 (95.53%) 30.11.2022 22:00

Group D

StadiumFixtureAttendanceDate (local time)
 Education City Stadium   Denmark 0–0 Tunisia   42 925 (96.10%) 22.11.2022 16:00
 Al Janoub Stadium   France 4–1 Australia   40 875 (92.22%) 22.11.2022 22:00
 Al Janoub Stadium   Tunisia 0–1 Australia   41 823 (94.36%) 26.11.2022 13:00
 Stadium 974   France 2–1 Denmark   42 860 (97.21%) 26.11.2022 19:00
 Education City Stadium   Tunisia 1–0 France   43 627 (97.67%) 30.11.2022 18:00
 Al Janoub Stadium   Australia 1–0 Denmark   41 232 (93.02%) 30.11.2022 18:00

Group E

StadiumFixtureAttendanceDate (local time)
 Khalifa International Stadium   Germany 1–2 Japan   42 608 (92.91%) 23.11.2022 16:00
 Al Thumama Stadium   Spain 7–0 Costa Rica   40 013 (90.12%) 23.11.2022 19:00
 Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium   Japan 0–1 Costa Rica   41 479 (92.11%) 27.11.2022 13:00
 Al Bayt Stadium   Spain 1–1 Germany   68 895 (100%) 27.11.2022 22:00
 Khalifa International Stadium   Japan 2–1 Spain   44 851 (97.81%) 01.12.2022 22:00
 Al Bayt Stadium   Costa Rica 2–4 Germany   67 054 (97.33%) 01.12.2022 22:00

Group F

StadiumFixtureAttendanceDate (local time)
 Al Bayt Stadium   Morocco 0–0 Croatia   59 407 (86.23%) 23.11.2022 13:00
 Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium   Belgium 1–0 Canada   40 432 (89.79%) 23.11.2022 22:00
 Al Thumama Stadium   Belgium 0–2 Morocco   43 738 (98.51%) 27.11.2022 16:00
 Khalifa International Stadium   Croatia 4–1 Canada   44 374 (96.77%) 27.11.2022 19:00
 Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium   Croatia 0–0 Belgium   43 984 (97.67%) 01.12.2022 18:00
 Al Thumama Stadium   Canada 1–2 Morocco   43 102 (97.08%) 01.12.2022 18:00

Group G

StadiumFixtureAttendanceDate (local time)
 Al Janoub Stadium   Switzerland 1–0 Cameroon   39 089 (88.19%) 24.11.2022 13:00
 Lusail Stadium   Brazil 2–0 Serbia   88 103 (99.03%) 24.11.2022 22:00
 Al Janoub Stadium   Cameroon 3–3 Serbia   39 789 (89.77%) 28.11.2022 13:00
 Stadium 974   Brazil 1–0 Switzerland   43 649 (99.00%) 28.11.2022 19:00
 Lusail Stadium   Cameroon 1–0 Brazil   85 986 (96.65%) 02.12.2022 22:00
 Stadium 974   Serbia 2–3 Switzerland   41 378 (93.85%) 02.12.2022 22:00

Group H

StadiumFixtureAttendanceDate (local time)
 Education City Stadium   Uruguay 0–0 South Korea   41 663 (93.27%) 24.11.2022 16:00
 Stadium 974   Portugal 3–2 Ghana   42 662 (96.76%) 24.11.2022 19:00
 Education City Stadium   South Korea 2–3 Ghana   43 983 (98.47%) 28.11.2022 16:00
 Lusail Stadium   Portugal 2–0 Uruguay   88 668 (99.67%) 28.11.2022 22:00
 Education City Stadium   South Korea 2–1 Portugal   44 097 (98.72%) 02.12.2022 18:00
 Al Janoub Stadium   Ghana 0–2 Uruguay   43 443 (98.01%) 02.12.2022 18:00

Round of 16

StadiumFixtureAttendanceDate (local time)
 Khalifa International Stadium  Netherlands 3–1 United States   44 846 (97.80%) 03.12.2022 18:00
 Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium  Argentina 2–1 Australia   45 032 (100%) 03.12.2022 22:00
 Al Thumama Stadium  France 3–1 Poland   40 989 (92.32%) 04.12.2022 18:00
 Al Bayt Stadium  England 3–0 Senegal   65 985 (95.78%) 04.12.2022 22:00
 Al Janoub Stadium  Japan 1–1 (1–3p) Croatia   42 523 (95.93%) 05.12.2022 18:00
 Stadium 974  Brazil 4–1 South Korea   43 847 (99.45%) 05.12.2022 22:00
 Education City Stadium  Morocco 0–0 (3–0p) Spain   44 667 (100%) 06.12.2022 18:00
 Lusail Stadium  Portugal 6–1 Switzerland   83 720 (94.10%) 06.12.2022 22:00

Quarterfinals

StadiumFixtureAttendanceDate (local time)
 Education City Stadium  Croatia 1–1 (4–2p) Brazil   43 893 (98.27%) 09.12.2022 18:00
 Lusail Stadium  Netherlands 2–2 (3–4p) Argentina   88 235 (99.18%) 09.12.2022 22:00
 Al Thumama Stadium  Morocco 1–0 Portugal   44 198 (99.55%) 10.12.2022 18:00
 Al Bayt Stadium  England 1–2 France   68 895 (100%) 10.12.2022 22:00

Semifinals

StadiumFixtureAttendanceDate (local time)
 Lusail Stadium  Argentina 3–0 Croatia   88 966 (100%) 13.12.2022 22:00
 Al Bayt Stadium  France 2–0 Morocco   68 294 (99.13%) 14.12.2022 22:00

3rd place game

StadiumFixtureAttendanceDate (local time)
 Khalifa International Stadium  Croatia 2–1 Morocco   44 137 (96.25%) 17.12.2022 18:00

Final

StadiumFixtureAttendanceDate (local time)
 Lusail Stadium  Argentina 3–3 (4–2p) France   88 966 (100%) 18.12.2022 18:00

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