- 20 Dec 2024
World Cup 2022: Fixtures, results, teams, knockouts, favourites, draw
Carlo Garganese
- Updated: 10 Jan 2023 10:55 GMT
- 11 min read
Argentina are 2022 World Cup champions!
The South Americans clinched their third World Cup triumph after a thrilling final against France.
Argentina emerged victorious 4-2 on penalties after a 3-3 draw after extra time.
It was one of the greatest games in football history as Kylian Mbappe hit a hat-trick for France but still ended up on the losing side.
Lionel Messi struck twice for Argentina, while Angel Di Maria also found the back of the net.
Croatia secured bronze at the 2022 World Cup thanks to a 2-1 victory over Morocco on Saturday.
Josko Gvardiol's spectacular diving header was quickly cancelled out by Achraf Dari, but Mislav Orsic scored what proved to be the winner three minutes from time with a brilliant curling effort from an acute angle.
The North African side fought to level the game in the closing stages, but despite procuring a handful of opportunities, were unable to snatch an equaliser that would have taken the game to extra-time.
Croatia, therefore, finish the competition in third, one place worse off than they were at the 2018 World Cup in Russia and equalling their achievement at France 98.
Meanwhile, Morocco's fourth-placed finish is the strongest ever achieved by an African side and will be the benchmark performance for teams from the continent going forwards.
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World Cup 2022 fixtures and results
| Date | Fixture | KO time/Scorers (GMT/EST) |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 20 | Qatar 0-2 Ecuador | Valencia x2 |
| Nov 21 | Senegal 0-2 Netherlands | Gakpo, Klaassen |
| Nov 21 | England 6-2 Iran | Bellingham, Saka x2, Sterling, Rashford, Grealish; Taremi x2 |
| Nov 21 | United States 1-1 Wales | Weah; Bale (pen) |
| Nov 22 | Argentina 1-2 Saudi Arabia | Messi (pen); Al-Shehri, Al Dawsari |
| Nov 22 | Mexico 0-0 Poland | No goals |
| Nov 22 | France 4-1 Australia | Rabiot, Giroud x2, Mbappe; Goodwin |
| Nov 22 | Denmark 0-0 Tunisia | No goals |
| Nov 23 | Spain 7-0 Costa Rica | Torres x 2, Olmo, Asensio, Gavi, Soler, Morata |
| Nov 23 | Germany 1-2 Japan | Gundogan (pen); Doan, Asano |
| Nov 23 | Belgium 1-0 Canada | Batshuayi |
| Nov 23 | Morocco 0-0 Croatia | No goals |
| Nov 24 | Brazil 2-0 Serbia | Richarlison x2 |
| Nov 24 | Switzerland 1-0 Cameroon | Embolo |
| Nov 24 | Portugal 3-2 Ghana | Ronaldo (pen), Felix, Leao; Ayew, Bukari |
| Nov 24 | Uruguay 0-0 South Korea | No goals |
| Nov 25 | Qatar 1-3 Senegal | Muntari; Dia, Diedhiou, Dieng |
| Nov 25 | Netherlands 1-1 Ecuador | Gakpo; Valencia |
| Nov 25 | England 0-0 United States | No goals |
| Nov 25 | Wales 0-2 Iran | Cheshmi, Rezaeian |
| Nov 26 | Argentina 2-0 Mexico | Messi, Fernandez |
| Nov 26 | Poland 2-0 Saudi Arabia | Zielinski, Lewandowski |
| Nov 26 | France 2-1 Denmark | Mbappe x2; Christensen |
| Nov 26 | Tunisia 0-1 Australia | Duke |
| Nov 27 | Spain 1-1 Germany | Morata; Fullkrug |
| Nov 27 | Japan 0-1 Costa Rica | Fuller |
| Nov 27 | Belgium 0-2 Morocco | Saiss, Aboukhlal |
| Nov 27 | Croatia 4-1 Canada | Majer, Kramaric, Livaja; Davies |
| Nov 28 | Brazil 1-0 Switzerland | Casemiro |
| Nov 28 | Cameroon 3-3 Serbia | Castelletto, Aboubakar, Chupo-Moting; Pavlovic, Milinkovic-Savic, Mitrovic |
| Nov 28 | Portugal 2-0 Uruguay | Bruno Fernandes x2 |
| Nov 28 | South Korea 2-3 Ghana | Cho Gue-sung x2; Salisu, Kudus x2 |
| Nov 29 | Netherlands 2-0 Qatar | Gakpo, De Jong |
| Nov 29 | Ecuador 1-2 Senegal | Caicedo; Sarr, Koulibaly |
| Nov 29 | Wales 0-3 England | Rashford x2, Foden |
| Nov 29 | Iran 0-1 USA | Pulisic |
| Nov 30 | Poland 0-2 Argentina | MacAllister, Alvarez |
| Nov 30 | Saudi Arabia 1-2 Mexico | Al Dawsari; Martin, Chavez |
| Nov 30 | Tunisia 1-0 France | Khazri |
| Nov 30 | Australia 1-0 Denmark | Leckie |
| Dec 1 | Japan 2-1 Spain | Doan, Tanaka; Morata |
| Dec 1 | Costa Rica 2-4 Germany | Tejeda, Neuer OG; Gnabry, Havertz x2, Fullkrug |
| Dec 1 | Croatia 0-0 Belgium | No goals |
| Dec 1 | Canada 1-2 Morocco | Agyerd OG; Ziyech, En-Nesyri |
| Dec 2 | Cameroon 1-0 Brazil | Aboubakar |
| Dec 2 | Serbia 2-3 Switzerland | Mitrovic, Vlahovic; Shaqiri, Embolo, Freuler |
| Dec 2 | South Korea 2-1 Portugal | Kim, Hwang; Horta |
| Dec 2 | Ghana 0-2 Uruguay | de Arrascaeta x2 |
| Dec 3 | Netherlands 3-1 USA | Memphis, Blind, Dumfries; Wright |
| Dec 3 | Argentina 2-1 Australia | Messi, Alvarez; Fernandez (og) |
| Dec 4 | France 3-1 Poland | Giroud, Mbappe x2; Lewandowski (pen) |
| Dec 4 | England 3-0 Senegal | Henderson, Kane, Saka |
| Dec 5 | Japan 1-1 Croatia (penalties) | Maeda; Perisic |
| Dec 5 | Brazil 4-1 South Korea | Vini Jr, Neymar (pen), Richarlison, Paqueta; Paik Seung-Ho |
| Dec 6 | Morocco 0-0 Spain (penalties | No goals |
| Dec 6 | Portugal 6-1 Switzerland | Ramos x3, Pepe, Guerreiro, Leao; Akanji |
| Dec 9 | Croatia (penalties) 1-1 Brazil | Petkovic; Neymar |
| Dec 9 | Netherlands 2-2 Argentina (penalties) | Weghorst x2; Molina, Messi (pen) |
| Dec 9 | Morocco 1-0 Portugal | En-Nesyri |
| Dec 9 | England 1-2 France | Kane; Tchouameni, Giroud |
| Dec 13 | Argentina 3-0 Croatia | Messi, Alvarez x2 |
| Dec 14 | France 2-0 Morocco | Hernandez, Kolo Muani |
| Dec 17 | Croatia 2-1 Morocco | Gvardiol, Orsic; Dari |
| Dec 18 | Argentina* 3-3 France | Messi x 2, Di Maria; Mbappe x 3 |
There were up to four matches per day during a hectic group stage that ran until 2 December.
Eight last-16 fixtures were played from 3-6 December, with the quarter-finals taking place on 9 and 10 December.
The two semi-finals took place across 13-14 December, with the third-place play-off on 17 December and the main event, the World Cup final, on Sunday 18 December.
When is the World Cup 2022?
World Cup 2022 began on 20 November 2022 and ran until 18 December The 29-day schedule for the full event was much shorter than normal.
The event was supposed to start on 21 November, but FIFA decided to bring it forward by a day, allowing hosts Qatar to open the tournament, with their match against Ecuador the only contest taking place on Sunday.
Where is the World Cup 2022?
World Cup 2022 is being hosted in Qatar. It is the first time the tournament has been held in an Arab nation and just the second in the continent of Asia - the first being South Korea and Japan's joint-hosting of the 2002 World Cup.
What teams have qualified for World Cup 2022?
World Cup 2022: Qualified teams
| Team | Confederation |
|---|---|
| Qatar (hosts) | AFC |
| Australia | AFC |
| Japan | AFC |
| Iran | AFC |
| Saudi Arabia | AFC |
| South Korea | AFC |
| Mexico | CONCACAF |
| United States | CONCACAF |
| Canada | CONCACAF |
| Costa Rica | CONCACAF |
| Senegal | CAF |
| Cameroon | CAF |
| Ghana | CAF |
| Morocco | CAF |
| Tunisia | CAF |
| Argentina | CONMEBOL |
| Brazil | CONMEBOL |
| Ecuador | CONMEBOL |
| Uruguay | CONMEBOL |
| Belgium | UEFA |
| Croatia | UEFA |
| Denmark | UEFA |
| England | UEFA |
| France | UEFA |
| Germany | UEFA |
| Netherlands | UEFA |
| Poland | UEFA |
| Portugal | UEFA |
| Serbia | UEFA |
| Spain | UEFA |
| Switzerland | UEFA |
| Wales | UEFA |
Hosts Qatar gained automatic entry, but it was Germany who became the first nation to join them at the tournament by topping Group J of their UEFA qualification group.
Denmark were the second team to emerge from qualifying after sealing top spot in Group F with two matches to spare.
On 11 November, Brazil became the first South American side to book their passage to the World Cup. A goal from Lucas Paqueta gave them a 1-0 win over Colombia, which secured their place in the top four of the CONMEBOL qualifying group.
France and Belgium qualified for the World Cup on 13 November, while on 14 November, Croatia beat Russia 1-0 in Split to leapfrog their opponents and qualify for the World Cup as Group H winners.
Spain defeated Sweden 1-0 in Group B to book their own place at Qatar 2022, but the big shock was in Group A. Aleksandar Mitrovic's last minute goal gave Serbia a 2-1 win in Portugal, meaning Cristiano Ronaldo had to go through a playoff to make it to a fifth World Cup.
Two more teams sealed their places in Qatar on 15 November, including Euro 2020 runners-up England.
A 4-0 win for Switzerland over Bulgaria meant they were able to top Group C ahead of European champions Italy, who were held by Northern Ireland in a surprise result that left them, like Portugal, vulnerable in the playoffs - and they ultimately failed to progress.
On 16 November it was the turn of Netherlands to seal their World Cup spot, topping Turkey to win Group G.
There are 13 teams from Europe who gained entry to the tournament, with UEFA's qualification process starting on 24 March 2021.
Ten of those teams were group winners from UEFA's qualification pools, with the other three slots claimed by those who emerged from the play-off rounds, which were contested by 12 teams (the 10 group runners-up and two sides who gain entry via the Nations League tournament).
The final three places from UEFA were decided in the play-offs, with Wales, Poland and Portugal emerging triumphant, with European champions Italy the biggest side not to qualify.
With Brazil the first South American team through, Argentina, Ecuador and Uruguay came next in the 10-team group which has four automatic places available.
Five African teams progressed: Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia.
Another four from Asia (in addition to Qatar) - Iran, Japan, Saudi Arabia and South Korea - and three from the CONCACAF region - Canada, Mexico and the United States - will be at the event.
The last two places at the World Cup were decided by the inter-confederation play-offs. One team each from the South America, Asia, CONCACAF and Oceania qualification processes will enter the play-offs, with the winners of those two ties - held in June 2022 - filling the final spaces in the event.
In those fixtures, Costa Rica beat New Zealand, while Peru were denied a place at the tournament by Australia.
The final World Cup qualification standings can be found here via FootballCritic for: Europe, CONMEBOL, CAF, CONCACAF and Asia.
What stadiums are being used at World Cup 2022?
Eight stadiums are being used at World Cup 2022 across five different cities in Qatar.
The biggest ground is the Lusail Iconic Stadium which has a capacity of 80,000. That venue hosts the final as well as one of the first of two semi-finals.
The next biggest is Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor that houses 60,000 spectators and hosts the second semi-final as well as the first match of the tournament, which involves hosts Qatar.
The two venues in the capital city in Doha are Ras Abu Aboud Stadium and Al Thumama Stadium.
Al Rayyan has three World Cup stadiums: Education City Stadium, Ahmed bin Ali Stadium and Khalifa International Stadium.
Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah completes the line-up.
When was the draw for World Cup 2022?
The finals draw for World Cup 2022 took place on April 1 2022 after the March international fixtures had been completed.
What is the World Cup 2022 fixture schedule?
GROUP STAGE: The round-robin phase began on November 20 with Qatar playing in the first match of the tournament in Group A. Across eight groups, every team plays three matches until this section of the event finishes on December 2. During the group stage, there will be FOUR matches per day, which is sure to delight football fans.
LAST 16: Sixteen teams will contest the second round, all bidding to reach the last eight by winning a one-off knockout tie. Matches will be played on four consecutive days from December 3 until December 6.
QUARTER-FINALS: Four last-eight matches will be held across two pivotal days on December 9 and December 10.
SEMI-FINALS: The first last-four clash is on December 13, with the second semi-final to be played on December 14.
FINAL: The World Cup final will take place on December 18 in Lusail. The third-place playoff is one day earlier.
What are the World Cup 2022 groups?
Group A: Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands
Group B: England, Iran, United States, 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
Who are the favourites to win World Cup 2022?
The odds have changed significantly with the tournament's big kick-off upon us.
For now, it is Brazil who are most commonly listed as favourites with odds of around 4/1, with their price shortening over recent months.
They are one of five teams seen as the most likely winners, with Copa America winners Argentina (11/2), defending world champions France (6/1), regular contenders Spain (17/2) and Euro 2020 runners-up England (8/1) all well fancied.
Germany (10/1), along with Belgium , Portugal and the Netherlands (all around 12/1) are also seen as candidates to win.
After those nine possible winners, there is a huge gap before the other teams, with the likes of Uruguay (60/1), Croatia (66/1) and Denmark (40/1) seen as the next options.
