The 2022 FIFA World Cup is currently being held in Qatar, spanning November 20 to December 18, 2022. The group stages are now drawing to a close with the contest headed towards its Round of 16 stages.
At the start, there are 32 teams which are divided into eight groups for the first phase. Groups A to H have to face each other in a single-headed round-robin format. The top two teams from each group are set to qualify for the Round of 16. The latter part of the tournament will see the knockout stages that will determine the ultimate champion.
How to Qualify for the FIFA World Cup?
Being able to compete in the very prestigious and highly competitive FIFA World Cup is no mean feat as this event is held only every after 4 years. Aspiring national football teams must be able to prove their capabilities. It is the only way for the team to qualify for one of the available berths. Typically, qualifying tournaments are held within the six FIFA continental zones. The games are organized care of each zone’s confederation, namely:
- CAF (Africa)
- AFC (Asia)
- UEFA (Europe)
- CONCACAF (North and Central America and the Caribbean)
- OFC (Oceania)
- CONMEBOL (South America)
For every World Cup, FIFA decides on the number of places in the finals allocated for each zone. This hinges on the relative strength and numbers exhibited by the confederations’ team. As a courtesy, the host country usually receives an automatic berth selection. The rest are determined based on performance in qualifying rounds without regard to their past achievements.
The qualifying rounds for 2022 FIFA World Cup started June 6, 2019, with several AFC matches, the first between Brunei and Mongolia. In 2020, numerous games were postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. But later, when countries opened up, the confederations commenced determining which among the 31 teams would qualify to battle it out in Qatar.
Arab countries in 2022 FIFA World Cup
As the host, Team Qatar was able to join the first qualifying knockouts belonging to Group A. Unfortunately, the team lost their opening games after going against Ecuador, Netherlands and Senegal. Qatar was among the first team to crash out of the bid to join the Round of 16.
The other three arab nations who are in this year’s event are Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Morocco.
Team UAE did not qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup spot after they were defeated by team Australia in the Asian playoff. This defeat cost UAE’s bid to return to the football marque. The first and last time they were there was back in year 1990.
Still a Win for the middle east region!
Despite Team Qatar not reaching the Round of 16, it is still a win for the region. For starters, there’s a tourism boom in the middle east. The glitzy city of Dubai benefiting as well being a major gateway to many countries around the globe who would like to see the match in person. There are many watch parties and events in honor of the FIFA World Cup 2022.
Alcohol ban inside the stadium
Notably, two days before the first FIFA World Cup match in Qatar, officials announced that fans could not consume alcohol inside stadiums. Concerning the strict rules of the host nation, fans have been very understanding and respectful of following their cultural traditions. This exemplifies how people from various races can unite despite restrictions due to their passion and love for football.
