The 2022 World Cup is taking place this year in Qatar with the group stages scheduled to start on November 21st. It ends with the championship match in Doha on December 18th. While not every participating country has officially been chosen, all 32 “spots” have been drawn using FIFA’s regional competition system and the confederation’s rating system to create a field that comprises the top national teams globally and gives representation to all regions. The 32 teams are broken into eight groups, each of four sections. Two teams will advance each from these groups to form the round of 16, which operates as an elimination-style bracket.
As there tends to be when groups are drawn randomly, some groups are more challenging than others. Group A, which includes host nation Qatar, also has the Netherlands, Ecuador, and Senegal might advance a sitting duck into the knockout stage. All three non-Qatari teams will likely beat the host nation, whose soccer team is not a World Cup caliber squad. In contrast to Group C, this is dubbed the “Group of Death” by many. One of Argentina, Mexico, or Poland will be knocked out in the group stage, and that’s without even mentioning Saudi Arabia, who went 9-1 in the Asian qualifiers, losing only to Japan.
Regardless of whatever ends up happening, the worldwide tournament will be entertaining and refreshing to watch in November and December during the school day instead of focusing on class.
