World Cup 2022: All you need to know about the Qatar World Cup

The World Cup kicks off on Sunday, 20 November with the Group A opener between hosts Qatar and Ecuador.

It's the first time the tournament has been held in the Middle East and it's also the first winter World Cup in the tournament's 92-year history.

Usually, the competition takes place in the summer but because of extreme heat in Qatar at that time of year, it has been moved to a November-December 'winter' slot, though temperatures will still reach about 25C.

On the field, England and Wales have qualified for the tournament. It's the first time Wales have made it to the World Cup finals since 1958.

Off the field, this World Cup has been very controversial.

• You can read why the World Cup in Qatar is so controversial here

Qatar has been criticised for its anti same-sex relationship laws, the impact the World Cup will have on the environment, its human rights record and the treatment of migrant workers in the country.

England will be one of the favourites

Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane could play a big part for England during the World Cup this winter

England will be hoping to go one better than recent tournaments having reached the semi-final of the 2018 World Cup in Russia and the final of Euro 2020, where they lost on penalties to Italy.

The Three Lions face tricky opponents in Iran on the second day of the tournament, a tough test against the USA in their second match in Group B followed by familiar opposition Wales in their final group game.

Captain Harry Kane has been in great form for his club Tottenham Hotspur, having scored 11 goals in 14 games so far this season, something manager Gareth Southgate will hope continues in Qatar.

Both England and Wales' first games of the tournament come on Monday, 21 November - just eight days after some of their players have been involved in Premier League action.

The Premier League will be taking a break during the tournament with fixtures restarting on Boxing Day.

Wales back after 64 years ...

It's been a long time since Wales last took part at a World Cup - the last time a Welsh national team made it to the finals was in 1958, that's 31 years before one of their best players Gareth Bale (above) was born.

The team beat Ukraine 1-0 in a World Cup play-off final in Cardiff back in June to secure their place in the competition for the first time in 64 years.

But tournament football is nothing new for this Wales team having qualified for three of the past four major international competitions. Wales manager Rob Page will be hoping that tournament experience will be enough to see the team advance from the group stage in Qatar.

If either Wales or England win the group they would face the runner-up from Group A in the last 16 - one of Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal and Netherlands.

The ones to watch

Brazil are Fifa's top ranked team in the world with a host of Premier League stars including Thiago Silva at Chelsea, Gabriel Jesus from Arsenal, Allison from Liverpool and Manchester United's Casemiro in their team. The world's most expensive footballer Neymar will also be in attack for the Brazilians.

Brazil have won the World Cup a record five times, but their last tournament victory came 20 years ago in 2002. However they are among the favourites to win the competition in Qatar.

France's Benzema won the Ballon d'Or trophy for the world's best male footballer in October

World champions France are hoping to hold onto their World Cup trophy that they won in 2018, but they will have to play without 2022 Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema leading their attack. The striker has been ruled out of the World Cup because of a thigh injury suffered in training.

They do still have super-quick Kylian Mbappé, but 2018 World Cup winner Paul Pogba also misses the tournament through injury.

Lionel Messi has never won the World Cup

Another favourite to win the competition is Argentina, who last won the World Cup 36 years ago in 1986. But this Argentina side is currently 35 games unbeaten going into this tournament.

Captain Lionel Messi, who is considered to be one of the greatest players of all time, has never won a World Cup, and at the age of 35 he's running out of opportunities to do so. He's in good form for his club Paris Saint-Germain, so this could be his year.

Qatar 2022 could be Cristiano Ronaldo's last appearance at a World Cup tournament

The other footballing GOAT (Greatest Of All Time), Cristiano Ronaldo says that Qatar won't be his last international tournament with Portugal. Ronaldo, who is 37, will be desperate to add a World Cup trophy to his list of achievements - as it's one of the few tournaments he hasn't won so far in his career.

Ranked as the second best team in the world, Belgium's 'golden generation' of players - that includes Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku - have yet to win a World Cup or European Championship trophy. But in a World Cup group with Canada, Morocco and Croatia they should easily qualify for the knockout stages.

There will be 32 teams at the World Cup in 2022 (that number increases to 48 at the next World Cup in four years time). Thirteen are are from Europe, with five representing Africa, four from South America, North America and Asia, plus Australia and hosts Qatar.

Host nation Qatar ...

An aerial view of Khalifa Stadium stadium at sunrise in Doha, Qatar

Qatar is the smallest host nation in World Cup history, situated in the Middle East and bordering Saudi Arabia.

The country has a population of around three million living in an area roughly half the size of Wales.

The tournament will see eight stadiums separated by roughly an hour's drive, and fans will be able to travel to and from venues using 110 metro trains and 4,000 buses, of which 750 are electric.

Fifa has claimed that this World Cup is the first to be carbon neutral - which means removing the same amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as you put in to it.

That's largely due to efforts - such as electric transport - which the tournament organisers say will compensate for pollution generated during the World Cup.

However environmentalists say Fifa's claim is misleading and the World Cup's carbon footprint - the amount of carbon produced - could be three times higher than predicted during the competition.

Buses will transport fans to stadiums in Qatar

Why is World Cup 2022 controversial?

An entrance of the Khalifa Stadium in Doha

One and a half million fans from all over the world are expected to visit Qatar to watch World Cup games.

The country follows strict Muslim laws and there are some concerns about how fans will be allowed to behave, including those in same-sex relationships.

Being gay is illegal in Qatar and public displays of affection can be considered offensive, regardless of gender.

Punishments include fines, prison sentences of up to seven years - and even death.

A Fifa banner is displayed in front of a poster of Qatar 2022 mascot La'eeb

Qatar's World Cup organisers state "everyone is welcome" to visit the country to watch the football matches and claims no one will be discriminated against.

However, Qatar 2022 chief executive Nasser al Khater says the government will not change its laws on homosexuality and has asked visitors to "respect our culture".

Why was Qatar chosen as the World Cup host?

Qatar won the bid for the World Cup in 2010, something that Fifa's then-chairman Sepp Blatter (pictured right) has since said was a 'mistake'

In 2010, Qatar won the right to host the World Cup, beating bids from the US, South Korea, Japan and Australia.

However Qatar was accused of paying Fifa officials £3m ($3.7m) in bribes to secure their backing, but was cleared after a two-year investigation.

At the time, Fifa's then-chairman Sepp Blatter supported Qatar's bid, but has since said the organisation may have made the wrong decision in choosing the country to host the tournament.