The waiting is almost over. The 22nd FIFA World Cup kicks off on Sunday November 20 when host nation Qatar play against Ecuador at 4pm UK time. There are a number of firsts for the tournament: It will be the first World Cup in the Middle East, the first World Cup to be held in the northern hemisphere’s winter and it will be played in a slightly reduced time-frame of 29 days.

The world tournament matches will be played in eight host cities of Qatar. Thirty-two best teams from all over the world are participating in the tournament, which have been divided into eight groups. A total of forty-eight group matches will be played in fourteen days till 2nd of next month.

The top two teams of each group will reach the round of 16. These knockout matches will start from 3rd of next month. After this, the path from the quarter-final to the final will be decided. The final match will be played on 18th of next month.

Expectations surrounding England are reasonably low, but one man who has arguably attracted the most attention is James Maddison. Gareth Southgate listened to the public outcry and included the Leicester star in his squad, but faces a race against time to be fit for England's group opener against Iran on Monday with a knee problem.

Hosts Qatar will get the tournament under way on November 20 against Ecuador, with the final taking place at the Lusail Iconic Stadium on December 18. The competition will kick off with the group stage where only the top two teams will advance to the knockout stages.

England will face USA and Wales in Group B, Argentina and Lionel Messi will go up against Mexico and Robert Lewandowski's Poland in Group C, and it'll be Luis Suarez and Uruguay looking to spoil a potential final World Cup tournament for Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal in Group H.

The tournament kicks off on Sunday, November 20 with an opening ceremony and the inaugural match between Qatar and Ecuador. It will wrap up less than a month later with the final set to be played on Sunday, December 18.

Brazil enter the tournament as the most successful nation in World Cup history with five titles, and they have a manageable group to navigate, while defending champions France are expected to finish top in their group and have a good chance to build up a head of steam into the knockout rounds.

Which teams could surprise? African champions Senegal are one of the stronger teams in Group A, which also features hosts Qatar. Making a first participation in 36 years, Canada landed in Group F, where their battles with Morocco and Croatia will likely determine second place behind Belgium.

The 2022 World Cup will follow along the lines of recent editions, with a 32-team group stage to whittle the field down to 16 teams only the top two teams from each of the eight groups survive.

Those 16 group-stage teams will advance to the single-game knockout stages,  round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals, final  where the winner moves on and the loser goes home. There must be a winner on the day for every knockout-round match, and extra time and penalty kicks will be used, if necessary, to determine the victor. The world tournament matches will be played in eight host cities of Qatar.

Thirty-two best teams from all over the world are participating in the tournament, which have been divided into eight groups. A total of forty-eight group matches will be played in fourteen days till 2nd of next month.

The top two teams of each group will reach the round of 16. These knockout matches will start from 3rd of next month. After this, the path from the quarter-final to the final will be decided. The final match will be played on 18th of next month.

A total of sixty-four matches will be played in this entire World Cup. There will be up to four matches daily during the group stage staggered throughout the day. The only matches that will overlap are the ones played on the final day of the group-stage phase, and that's purely for competitive integrity.

Every time zone in the world will get a chance to watch matches at decent times throughout their day. Here's a breakdown of how the local kickoff times in Qatar translate across various regions around the world.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-INP