The draw for the 2022 FIFA World Cup takes place on Friday as Gareth Southgate and England wait to find out who they will be facing in the group stage come November, as they bid to reach a second consecutive final at a major tournament following Euro 2020.
But due to the time difference in Qatar, some of the Three Lions’ matches will have numerous kick-off times in the UK when the tournament begins later this year.
Here is all you need to know about the time difference in Qatar, the scheduled tournament kick-off times and when England could be playing.
What is the time difference between Qatar and the UK?
London is currently two hours behind Qatar, however, due to the clocks going back in the UK on October 30, it will mean that the UK is three hours behind the host country when the World Cup kicks-off in November.
Unlike the UK, Qatar’s time difference remains the same throughout the year, and so this will not have any further impact on the kick-off times.
As things stand, when it is 12pm in the UK, it is 2pm in Qatar. At the time of the World Cup, when it is 12pm in the UK, it will be 3pm in Qatar.
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When are the World Cup fixtures?
The 2022 FIFA World Cup takes place between Monday, November 21 - Sunday, December 18.
The group stage fixtures take place from Monday, November 21 - Friday, December 2. The first two rounds of group stage fixtures will see four games take place at four individual times per day, while the final round will see four games take place at two individual times per day.
The last 16 fixtures will take place from Saturday, December 3 - Tuesday, December 6, with two games per day, before the quarter-finals will take place from Friday, December 9 - Saturday, December 10, with two games per day.
The semi-finals will take place from Tuesday, December 13 - Wednesday, December 14. The third-place play-off is on Saturday, December 17, before the final on Sunday, December 18.
What are the World Cup kick off times?
The first two rounds of group stage fixtures will have kick-off times of 1pm, 4pm, 7pm and 10pm local time, which will be 10am, 1pm, 4pm and 7pm in the UK, respectively.
The final round of group stage fixtures, as well as the knockout round fixtures (last 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals) will have kick-off times of 6pm and 10pm local time, which will be 3pm and 7pm in the UK.
Both the third-place play-off match and the final will kick-off at 6pm local time, which will be 3pm in the UK.
