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Soccer’s marquee event is here.
The 2022 World Cup will be played by 32 national teams at stadiums in the Middle East country of Qatar. This year marks the first timethe quadrennial tournament is held in the winter instead of over the summer.
Plenty of highly anticipated matchups are on the docket in the opening round, including the United States vs. England game on Nov. 25, Mexico vs. Argentina on Nov. 26 and Germany vs. Spain on Nov. 27. Host nation Qatar will take on Ecuador on Nov. 20 to inaugurate the 4-week competition.
Is this your first World Cup? Here’s everything you need to know to understand the ultimate display of the beautiful game.
The World Cup is international soccer’s – or football depending on where you live – flagship tournament that takes place every four years, where national teams compete to determine which country has the best soccer team in the world.
The competition dates back to 1930 in Uruguay. Twenty-oneWorld Cups have been played – every four years since, onlyskipping tournaments slated for 1942 and 1946 because of World War II.
It’s one of the most watched sports competitions globally. More than 3.5 billion viewers tuned into the 2018 World Cup in Russia, and 1.12 billion watched the final, according to the sport’s governing body FIFA.
The reigning champion is France, which beat Croatia in the 2018 final. The tournaments have been dominated by teams from South America and Europe, where the sport is immensely popular.
Yes. The United States Men’s National Team has never won a World Cup. But it goes into Qatar looking to unlock the promise of a young squad that is widely regarded as its most talented ever. Led by Christian Pulisic, a forward who plays for the English soccer club Chelsea, the team has several young players who compete for teams in the world’s top leagues in Europe.
The U.S., however, is dominant in the women’s competition. The U.S. Women’s National Teamhas hoisted 4 World Cup trophies since the competition started in 1991.
The tournament is comprised of teams that qualify from each of FIFA’s six regional soccer confederations plus the host nation. In the lead up to the World Cup, each confederation holds “World Cup Qualifier” matches.
