The schedule for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar was released Wednesday, providing the structure for a jam-packed tournament that November and December.
There will be four group-stage games each day across a 12-day window, with matches at 1 pm, 4 pm, 7 pm and 10 pm local time. , That will translate into 5 am, 8 am, 11 am and 2 pm kickoff times in the United States and Canada.
The tournament will begin Nov. 21 at the Al Bayt Stadium (a 60,000-capacity arena) between the hosts Qatar and a to-be-determined qualifying country. As for the final, it’s pencilled in for Dec. 18 at Lusail Stadium before a maximum crowd of 80,000 people. The third-place match takes place one day prior at Khalifa International Stadium.
The knockout round will begin Dec. 3 with the Round of 16, and that stage lasts through Dec. 6. The quarterfinals are set for Dec. 9-10, while the semifinals are scheduled for Dec. 13-14. Kickoff times for the final group-stage games and knockouts are set for 6 pm and 10 pm local time, or 10 am and 2 pm on the East Coast.
There will be three rest days during the knockout rounds, which are the only times no games will be played whatsoever. Once the group pairings are known, FIFA will entertain creating more beneficial kickoff times for home audiences.
With the eight stadiums within reasonable driving distance, fans and media members can realistically attend two games in one day. Teams won’t need to travel by air, reducing the travel concerns that existed for the 2014 and 2018 World Cups in Brazil and Russia, respectively.
Qatar is hosting the first World Cup in a Muslim-majority country and the first in Asia since the 2002 event was co-hosted by South Korea and Japan. It will be the last to involve 32 teams, and is the first World Cup not to be held in late spring or summer.
