World Cup 2022 is Approaching – The Things We Know
Sports tend to make the world go round, particularly when huge tournaments are organized. People will flock together in cafes, and pubs to watch the said tournaments, cheering for their favorite athletes or national teams. Some even bet on their favorite teams, using bonus codes similar to Unibet Bonus, while watching the match(es) unravel. With another FIFA World Cup nearing, you can bet that the pubs will be full and that sportsbooks will have a lot of visits.
The World Cup is one of the most popular sporting events in the world and with the 2022 edition nearing, we should take a closer look and see what to expect.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup – The Basics
Every four years, there is a world cup. The 2018 cup was won by France and was held in Russia. The 2022 version will be held in Qatar. Much has changed in the world since 2018, the first thing being a global pandemic. Many sports events were canceled or held at zero crowd capacity due to the spread rate of the virus.
Qatar is assuring everybody that they will be prepared for the pandemic and that they will have all things under control. There were hundreds of millions of dollars invested into the infrastructure and paying the workers who had to work under difficult conditions. Some were infected, but the country covered all the expenses.
The World Cup will be taking place in November and December and not July and June, due to the severe summers that plague Qatar.
This change was met with controversy, mostly because league regular seasons start at the time.
Who Qualified – What’s the Structure
The structure of the World Cup remains unchanged, as of yet. CONMEBOL tried to get FIFA to expand the cup to 48 teams, four years prior to the planned expansion, but it was not allowed. 32 teams will be competing. Of the 32, the following have qualified, Qatar, as the host country, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Croatia, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Iran, Netherlands, Serbia, South Korea, Spain and Switzerland. 17 spots are left, at the moment.
There will be 8 venues, one of which was built specifically to be used for the 2022 World Cup, namely the Al Bayt stadium.
Who Is Likely to Qualify
In CONMEBOL, Argentina and Brazil are already in. Ecuador and Uruguay are likely to qualify with Peru joining them as the last place team. CONCACAF has Canada at the top of the list with the US trailing behind. The two are likely to qualify with Mexico joining as the third. The fourth is up for grabs. Africa has competition brewing, with matches like Egypt vs Senegal and Ghana vs Nigeria. Some European teams have already qualified, but either Portugal or Italy will be out, due to the draw. Asian teams have qualified, at least the two from Group A, and Group B is still under way, with Saudi Arabia and Japan topping the rankings.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup is still a ways off, but we will be waiting for it patiently, as it is always a spectacular event.
