The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international men’s association football championship contested by the national teams of FIFA’s member associations. It was held in Qatar in 2022, making It was the first World Cup ever staged in the Arab world and the first in a Muslim-majority country.
It was the second World Cup held entirely in Asia, after the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan. In addition, it was the last tournament to feature 32 teams, with the number set to increase to 48 for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The reigning champions going into the tournament were France. This was also the first World Cup not to be held in the summer; instead, it took place from late November to mid-December. It was played over a reduced time frame of around 28 days, with the final held on 18 December 2022, which coincided with Qatar National Day.
Qualification (32 Places from 220 Members)
CAF Africa: 5 Teams from 56 Members
AFC Asia: 5.5 Teams including Host Nation Qatar from 47 Members
UEFA Europe: 13 Teams from 55 Members (Draw on 7th December 2020)
CONCACAF North and Central America and Caribbean: 3.5 Teams from 41 Members
OFC Oceania: 0.5 Teams from 11 Members
CONMEBOL South America: 4.5 Teams from 10 Members
| Nation | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Qatar | Host nation | 02 December 2010 | 0 (debut) | — |
 | Germany | UEFA Group J winners | 11 October 2021 | 19 (1934, 1938, 19542, 19582, 19622, 19662, 19702, 19742, 19782, 19822, 19862, 19902, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018) | Champions (1954, 1974, 1990, 2014) |
 | Denmark | UEFA Group F winners | 12 October 2021 | 5 (1986, 1998, 2002, 2010, 2018) | Quarter-finals (1998) |
 | Brazil | One of CONMEBOL top four teams | 11 November 2021 | 21 (1930, 1934, 1938, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018) | Champions (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002) |
 | France | UEFA Group D winners | 13 November 2021 | 15 (1930, 1934, 1938, 1954, 1958, 1966, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018) | Champions (1998, 2018) |
 | Belgium | UEFA Group E winners | 13 November 2021 | 13 (1930, 1934, 1938, 1954, 1970, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2014, 2018) | Third place (2018) |
 | Croatia | UEFA Group H winners | 14 November 2021 | 5 (1998, 2002, 2006, 2014, 2018) | Runners-up (2018) |
| Spain | UEFA Group B winners | 14 November 2021 | 15 (1934, 1950, 1962, 1966, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018) | Champions (2010) |
 | Serbia | UEFA Group A winners | 14 November 2021 | 12 (19303, 19503, 19543, 19583, 19623, 19743, 19823, 19903, 19983, 20064, 2010, 2018) | Fourth place (1930, 1962) |
 | England | UEFA Group I winners | 15 November 2021 | 15 (1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018) | Champions (1966) |
 | Switzerland | UEFA Group C winners | 15 November 2021 | 11 (1934, 1938, 1950, 1954, 1962, 1966, 1994, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018) | Quarter-finals (1934, 1938, 1954) |
 | Netherlands | UEFA Group G winners | 16 November 2021 | 10 (1934, 1938, 1974, 1978, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2006, 2010, 2014) | Runners-up (1974, 1978, 2010) |
 | Argentina | One of CONMEBOL top four teams | 16 November 2021 | 17 (1930, 1934, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018) | Champions (1978, 1986) |
 | Iran | AFC 3rd Round Group A top 2 teams | 27 January 2022 | 5 (1978, 1998, 2006, 2014, 2018) | Group stage (1978, 1998, 2006, 2014, 2018) |
 | South Korea | AFC 3rd Round Group A top 2 teams | 01 February 2022 | 10 (1954, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018) | Fourth place (2002) |
 | Japan | AFC 3rd Round Group B top 2 teams | 24 March 2022 | 6 (1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018) | Round of 16 (2002, 2010, 2018) |
 | Saudi Arabia | AFC 3rd Round Group B top 2 teams | 24 March 2022 | 5 (1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2018) | Round of 16 (1994) |
 | Ecuador | One of CONMEBOL top four teams | 24 March 2022 | 3 (2002, 2006, 2014) | Second Round (2006) |
 | Uruguay | One of CONMEBOL top four teams | 24 March 2022 | 13 (1930, 1950, 1954, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1986, 1990, 2002, 2010, 2014, 2018) | Champions (1930, 1950) |
 | Canada | One of CONCACAF top three teams | 27 March 2022 | 1 (1986) | Group Stage (1986) |
 | Ghana | One of five CAF Africa teams | 29 March 2022 | 3 (2006, 2010, 2014) | Quarter-finals (2010) |
 | Senegal | One of five CAF Africa teams | 29 March 2022 | 2 (2002, 2018) | Quarter-finals (2002) |
 | Portugal | UEFA Play-Off Winners | 29 March 2022 | 7 (1966, 1986, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018) | Semi-Final (1966, 2006) |
 | Poland | UEFA Play-Off Winners | 29 March 2022 | 8 (1938, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 2002, 2006, 2018) | Semi-Final (1974, 1982) |
 | Morocco | One of five CAF Africa teams | 29 March 2022 | 5 (1970, 1986, 1994, 1998, 2018) | Second Round (1986) |
 | Tunisia | One of five CAF Africa teams | 29 March 2022 | 5 (1978, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2018) | Group Stage |
 | Cameroon | One of five CAF Africa teams | 29 March 2022 | 7 (1982, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2010, 2014) | Quarter Finals (1990) |
 | Mexico | One of CONCACAF top three teams | 31 March 2022 | 16 (1930, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1978, 1986, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018) | Quarter-finals (1970, 1986) |
 | United States | One of CONCACAF top three teams | 31 March 2022 | 10 (1930, 1934, 1950, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014) | Semi-Final (1930) |
 | Wales | UEFA Play-Off Winners | 05 June 2022 | 1 (1958) | Quarter Finals (1958) |
 | Australia | Asia v CONMEBOL Play-Off | 13 June 2022 | 5 (1974, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018) | Second Round (2006) |
 | Costa Rica | Oceania v CONCACAF Play-Off | 14 June 2022 | 5 (1990, 2002, 2006, 2014, 2018) | Quarter Finals (2014) |
Stadiums
About the author: Paul Yarden
Paul Yarden founded MyFootballFacts (MFF) in April 2009, after decades of collecting football data and statistics. A devout football fan, Paul follows the beautiful game around the world. As MFF’s main statistician and chief editor, he creates data reviews, daily football quizzes, and writes numerous articles. Renowned for his ability to spot trends, Paul is often described as a walking…