FIFA has published on its official website a detailed guide with the essential information you need to know about the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, which will play 64 matches over 29 days starting November 20th and ending on December 18th.
FIFA indicated the list of participating teams, the number of players that can be called up and used in each match, the criteria for determining a draw, the criteria for stopping players due to color cards and other important information.
The guide kicked off with the opening match between Qatar and Ecuador on November 20, as it will be the first time in the almost 92 year old competition to be played over the past months. year, and not in the summer, as usual.
Qatar will host this World Cup and its matches will be played in 8 stadiums in 5 different cities. Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor will host the opening match and the final match will take place at Lusail Stadium.
And FIFA has said it will be the last time a World Cup will be organized with 32 teams, seven of which have won the title in previous sessions “Brazil, Germany, Argentina, France, Uruguay, England and Spain”. While 25 other teams will be aiming for an unprecedented achievement, only Italy, which won the title three times, will not participate in the previous World Cup, which will be held in 2026 in Canada, the United States and Mexico. teams will be Participation in the final 48 teams.
Regarding the format of the competition, FIFA said that the 32 participating teams were divided into eight groups, each with 4 teams: the first group includes: Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal and the Netherlands, the second group includes: England, Iran, USA . States and Wales, third group: Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Poland and third group: fourth: France, Australia, Denmark and Tunisia, group E: Spain, Costa Rica, Germany and Japan, group F: Belgium, Canada, Morocco and Croatia, seventh group: Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland and Cameroon, eighth group: Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay and South Korea.
Each team faces the rest of the teams in its group and the two teams with the most points, 3 points in case of a win and one point in case of a draw in each group, advance to the 1/8 finals, then the remaining 16 teams will advance to the playoffs where the winner qualifies and the loser leaves the competition and matches will be played. The price of the final, quarter-finals and semi-finals in this way and the two teams qualified semi-finals will play the final match.
Regarding the criteria for deciding in the event of a draw, FIFA has confirmed that during the group stage the criteria for ranking teams in the event of a draw will depend on a number of factors, firstly. , sum of points, then goal difference (advantage to the share of the highest scorer), then number of goals (advantage goes to the player with the most goals), then the result of a direct confrontation, then fair play, and victory goes to the team with the least number of goals in this regard points (yellow card: 1 point, removal after receiving two yellow cards: 3 points, red card Red card: 4 points, and red card to the player who previously received a yellow card: 5 points and, finally, a lottery).
In the knockout rounds (play-offs), a draw is not possible. In the event that 90 minutes of the match ends in a draw, two additional 30-minute periods are resorted to, and if the draw continues, the confrontation is decided by a penalty kick.
In terms of the number of players participating in the competition, 832 players will compete in the World Cup Final in Qatar, where each team is eligible to register 26 players (3 players more than the previous session four years ago).
Team lists will be announced no later than November 14th.
Regarding the number of substitutions allowed in each match, and in accordance with the rules that were adopted at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, each team is entitled to substitute five players during the matches of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. , and each coach may make these substitutions in three sets, and in the playoffs, each team may make an additional substitution if an additional two halves are reached.
With regard to the rules used for disqualifying players, every player who receives two yellow cards in two different matches in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 will be automatically suspended as they will not be able to play the next match for their team in the competition, and the same applies to the sent-off player and other penalties may be applied before the FIFA Disciplinary Committee depending on the severity of the incidents in question at the end of the quarter-finals, all yellow cards received by the players before that are annulled and the players advance to the semi-finals without regard to disqualification.
The guide touched upon the mascot of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, which was announced in April last year and bears the name “Laib”, and the design of the mascot was inspired by the shape of the Arab headband.
As for the official ball, the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, as usual, Adidas, the official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup competitions, developed a special ball for this tournament, which they called “Journey”.