World Cup 2022: schedule, teams, venues and final

Here's what you need to know about the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which is being held in Qatar:

WHEN DID WORLD CUP 2022 START?

* This year's World Cup began on Nov. 20 and will run through to Dec. 18.

* The tournament began with a Group A match between hosts Qatar and Ecuador on Nov. 20, which Ecuador won 2-0.

* The World Cup started a day earlier than originally scheduled to ensure hosts Qatar played the opening match.

*The group stage ended on Dec. 2 and was hailed by FIFA President Gianni Infantino as the "best ever" due to the number of upsets and geographic breadth of the teams progressing.

WHAT IS THE SCHEDULE?

* The group stages featured a round-robin format with the 32 teams playing three matches each. Teams got three points for a win and one for a draw.

* The top two teams in each group advanced to the last 16. The knockout rounds began on Dec. 3. They feature one-off matches that can go to extra time and then penalties to decide the winner.

WHICH TEAMS ARE IN THE QUARTER-FINALS

* The quarter-finals will start from Dec. 9. Below are the teams that will meet.

Croatia v Brazil

Netherlands v Argentina

Morocco v Portugal

England v France

WHEN ARE THE SEMI-FINALS?

* The semi-finals will take place on Dec. 13 and 14 at the Lusail Iconic Stadium and Al Bayt Stadium.

WHEN IS THE FINAL?

* The final takes place on Sunday Dec. 18 at the Lusail Iconic Stadium.

WHAT ARE THE VENUES?

* Games are being staged at eight stadiums - Al Bayt Stadium, Khalifa International Stadium, Al Thumama Stadium, Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Lusail Iconic Stadium, Stadium 974, Education City Stadium and Al Janoub Stadium.

* With 80,000 seats, Lusail Iconic Stadium is the largest of Qatar's eight World Cup stadiums.

* All the stadiums are located within 40 km of central Doha.

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