Qatar warns World Cup fans about sneaking alcohol into country

The opening match will be played on November 21 and the final on December 18, 2022. The matches in the group stage will be decided later when the draw has been made among the qualifiers. Russia's participation was further thrown into doubt after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. On 24 February, the three teams in Russia's qualifying path — Czech Republic, Poland, and Sweden — announced their unwillingness to play any matches in Russian territory. The boycott was extended on February 26 by Poland and Sweden to any qualifying games at all, and the same decision was made by the Czech Republic one day later. The official emblem was designed by Lisbon-based Brandia Central branding agency and unveiled on 3 September 2019 during simultaneous events at the Doha Tower, Katara Cultural Village Amphitheatre, Msheireb Downtown Doha, and Zubarah.

Its name comes from the number of shipping containers used in its construction and Qatar's international dialing code. Some investigations found that Qatar sought an edge in securing hosting by hiring a former CIA officer turned private contractor, Kevin Chalker, to spy on rival bid teams and key football officials who picked the winner in 2010. Switzerland (quarter-finals 1954), Sweden (runners-up in 1958), Chile , South Korea , and Mexico (quarter-finals in 1970 and 1986) all have their best results when serving as hosts. So far, South Africa has been the only host nation to fail to advance beyond the first round. Since the second World Cup in 1934, qualifying tournaments have been held to thin the field for the final tournament. They are held within the six FIFA continental zones , overseen by their respective confederations.

In 1970, Brazil's third victory in the tournament entitled them to keep the trophy permanently. However, the trophy was stolen in 1983 and has never been recovered, apparently melted down by the thieves. At the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, football became an official competition. Planned by The Football Association , England's football governing body, the event was for amateur players only and was regarded suspiciously as a show rather than a competition.

Since then, collecting and trading stickers and cards has become part of the World Cup experience, especially for the younger generation. FIFA has also licensed World Cup video games since 1986, with Electronic Arts the current license holder.

The tournament was originally set to begin a day later with Senegal's game against the Netherlands at Al Thumama Stadium but Qatar's match was moved forward in August to allow them to open their home tournament. Red Roses set new record in style England’s women become the first test team to win 25 tests in a row after beating World Cup Wales 73-7 at Ashton Gate in Bristol on Wednesday. In the first tournament with VAR, France benefitted from a questionable decision in the final which awarded them a penalty after a harsh hand-ball.. Antoine Griezmann scored to put the side 2-1 up going into half time, in a moment that changed the complexion of the match.