The 2022 Men's FIFA World Cup will kick off on Monday.
From the matches to keep an eye on and why this year is so different, to a bit of World Cup trivia to test your skills, here's your quick guide to this year's tournament.
Three quick questions
- When does it start? The first game will begin at 3am AEDT on Monday, November 21.
- When will Australia play? Their first match is scheduled for 6am AEDT on Wednesday, November 23.
- Who's the favourite to win? It's hard to go past five-time World Cup winners Brazil.
Moments to watch
On the field:
- Ones to watch: Spain vs Germany (November 28 at 6am AEDT) and Croatia vs Belgium (December 2 at 2am AEDT).
- Some neighbourly competition: Wales vs England (November 30 at 5am AEDT)
- Socceroos: Australia vs France (November 23 at 6am AEDT), Australia vs Tunisia (November 26 at 9pm AEDT), and Australia vs Denmark (December 1 at 2am (AEDT).
Off the field:
- Protests — the decision to award the hosting rights to Qatar has led to intense scrutiny, prompting FIFA to send an official letter to every team asking them to "focus on the football".
- Entertainment — Musicians Calvin Harris and Diplo are among those headlining the tournament. They'll be joined by Kizz Daniel, Nora Fatehi and Trinidad Cardona.
Let's get you up to speed
Back in 2010, Qatar beat off competition from the likes of Australia and the United States to host the 2022 FIFA Men's World Cup.
And with the winning bid came a massive spending plan, somewhere in the order of $US220 billion ($320 billion).
More than a decade later, 32 teams will play 64 games in eight stadiums across the city of Doha, which has been transformed by massive construction projects.
- Games start on November 21 (Australian time) and end on December 19, with about 1.2 million international visitors expected to visit Qatar during that time.
- For the first time in the tournament's history, the World Cup will be held during winter in a bid to beat the country's searing heat.
What makes this World Cup different?
From Qatar's track-record on gender equality and same-sex relationships, to questions over how the nation of 2.8 million people even won the bid in the first place, this year's tournament has faced scrutiny from multiple quarters.
But it's human rights abuses and even deaths that have quickly formed the backdrop to the World Cup. An analysis by The Guardian in 2021 revealed that at least 6,500 migrant workers had died since Qatar was named host — a figure disputed by the government.
As the ABC's Jeremy Fernandez explains:
"Amnesty International estimates 1.7 million migrant workers make up 90 per cent of the country's workforce. These labourers mostly come from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Nepal.
"Their workplace rights, conditions and treatment has been questioned by human rights groups because of the kafala sponsorship-based employment program, which had legally tied workers to their employees."
For more on the situation in Qatar, controversy, corruption and the cup, watch the full story below.
Could Australia win the World Cup?
Never say never, but here's every World Cup winner and runner up for the last five tournaments.
Now that you're in the know...
Let's see how much of a football fan you really are. Put your World Cup knowledge to the test with a bit of trivia.
Looking for more?
We've taken a look at who's in and who's out of the Socceroo's World Cup squad — plus the ABC's Tracey Holmes speaks with Thomas Deng, one of the 17 players to make his World Cup debut for the green and gold.
The city hosting football's biggest show
The ABC's Samantha Lewis is on the ground in Qatar covering this year's World Cup.
As she writes, days out from the opening match, Doha is still largely empty of the 1.2 million travelling fans expected to visit over the course of the tournament.
There is World Cup branding everywhere — giant footballs, flags, sculptures and signs — especially around the city's central fan zone of Al Bidda Park; a garden the size of a suburb that will be the beating heart of the fan experience for the next month.
It is yet to come to life. Just a scattering of gardeners and last-minute repairmen can be seen hanging around tents beyond the barricades, trying to find pockets of shade in the incessant, draining heat of the day.
The human cost of the World Cup
While World Cup fever may be heating up, as the ABC's South Asia correspondent Avani Dias reports, migrant workers who built Qatar's stadiums have reportedly been subjected to discrimination, wage theft and dangerous conditions.
