Despite the controversies, around the 2022 Qatar world cup, from supposedly corrupt winning bids over ten years ago in 2010 to even the weather, the tournament is set to go ahead.
However, being in Qatar and with some things being different from other years, you may have plenty of questions on the tournament that you want answers to to get ready best for it.
From knowing when games will be on so you can tune into them to even going to games yourself, in this post, I am going to answer the most commonly asked questions on the tournament.
Table of Contents
Is Qatar 2022 Still Happening?
The Qatar World Cup has been set to go ahead in 2022 ever since the controversial bidding process in 2010.
Despite Qatar not being ready to host a world cup and while yes they had over 10 years to get one ready, it was clear that there were better suitors for the edition to host it.
However, from billions poured into the project the World Cup is set to still go ahead as planned during November and December in 2022, instead of taking place in the summer as it typically is.
Is Qatar ready for the 2022 World Cup?
All signs point to Qatar now being ready to host the 2022 edition of the World Cup.
This is despite many claims over the years that they weren’t, which without getting too political was true to some extent.
The eight stadiums are now ready and with the infrastructure that can accommodate the estimated 1.5 million visitors in the winter of 2022, it seems like everything is in the all-clear.
Why Qatar Is Playing World Cup Qualifiers?
Hosting an international tournament like the world cup gives the hosts the advantage of not having to go through the stress of needing to qualify for it like every other country needs to do.
Their name is already there and they are the first country guaranteed to be playing in the world cup.
This is the case for Qatar who booked their place at the 2020 World Cup in 2010 when they were revealed as the hosts.
However, what some people have spotted out is that Qatar is technically in the World Cup Qualifying phase, which looks odd to some football fans as they don’t need to qualify.
But the reason they are playing world cup qualifiers is that these are connected to the 2023 Asian Cup.
In the second round of the Fifa World Cup Asian Qualifiers, teams are playing for a spot in that 2023 Asian Cup as well as for passage to the third round.
Since Qatar only needed a 2023 Asian Cup spot, which they achieved by finishing first, they only participated in the second round and didn’t move on to the next stage.
Who Did Qatar Beat For World Cup?
As I talked about in the last section, Qatar didn’t need to beat anyone to gain entry to the World Cup group stage.
However with that said they did still play qualified games, which got them into the Asian Cup.
In the second round they were placed in Group E, where they comfortably won 7 out of 8 games only conceding once to second placed Oman.
If it wasn’t for the fact they had qualified they would of needed to compete against the likes of South Korea, Australia and Japan to qualify.
Is Qatar In Group A?
While teams will find out there groups during the World Cup draw on the 1st of April.
Qatar already know that they will be in group A making them the first team to know there group.
They won’t however know who they will be playing until the draw takes place.
However the reason they are in Group A is because the host always plays the first game of the tournament.
With Group stages going in accordance to groups, from A to H and then repeating until each team has played three games, Group A therefore starts first.
How Many Times Has Qatar Qualified For The World Cup?
Qatar have never qualified for a world cup since the international side was formed in the 1970’s.
This makes the 2022 world cup there first ever appearance in the tournamnet.
However while they may have never qualified, football in the country has come along way over the past couple of decades.
Not only have they invested money into the World Cup but they have also done so on the facilities and development of young players.
As a result with each generation of players that is coming through is better then the last, to the point now whether they are competing with the big nations around Asia.
In fact if it wasn’t for the fact that Qatar were already qualified as host they would of more then likely qualified anyway, having breezed through the second round of qualification undefeated.
An argument could be said for them playing weak sides, however, they have also tested themselves against countries who will be at the world cup.
They went on a fantastic run as guests in the 2021 Gold Cup where they reached the semi-final only narrowly losing 1 nil to eventual winners the USA.
So while years ago, if Qatar were in an international tournament it may have been just to make up the numbers.
For the 2022 and being on home soil, they may be fancied to go on a run past the group stage.
The 6 Most Popular Celebrations In Football Explained