It will be the second World Cup to be held entirely in Asia after the 2002 tournament was hosted jointly by South Korea and Japan. It will also be the first World Cup ever to be held in the Arab world. Because of the intense summer heat in Qatar, the World Cup will be held from late-November to mid-December, meaning that, for the first time, the tournament will not take place in May, June or July and will be played over a reduced timeframe of 28 days.

Dates: 21 November - 18 December

Teams: 32

Venues: 8 (in 5 host cities)

QUALIFIED TEAMS

Host: Qatar

Europe: Germany, England, Spain, France, Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, Belgium, Croatia, Serbia, Poland, Denmark

South America: Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador

Africa: Senegal, Ghana, Morocco, Tunisia, Cameroon

Asia: Japan, Iran, South Korea, Saudi Arabia

North America: Canada, Mexico, USA

TEAMS THAT CAN STILL QUALIFY

Europe: Wales, Scotland, Ukraine

South America: Peru

Asia: Australia, UAE

North America: Costa Rica

Oceania: New Zealand