FIFA World Cup 2022 Group A: Fixtures, Match Schedule, Date, and Time for Hosts Qatar, Senegal, Netherlands, and Ecuador

Hosts Qatar will be looking to make their home advantage count at the FIFA World Cup 2022, but they have it all to get out of a talented group that includes teams from four continents.

Despite being ranked 51st in the world when the draw was made in April, Qatar was included in the tournament’s top-ranked team, as per the tradition of the hosts. But that gives them a slight advantage as they play Netherlands, Senegal, and Ecuador in Group A.

The Netherlands missed out on the last World Cup but returns to field a strong squad that features the likes of Liverpool’s defensive rock Virgil van Dijk, while Senegal – the AFCON 2022 champions – offers the toughest challenge of any African side.

Ecuador makes the pool, and should not be discounted after coming into the tough CONMEBOL qualification section.

Fixtures and Match Schedule of World Cup Group A

The four teams selected in the group will play in a round-robin format, with each nation playing three other teams. Group standings are based on points from those three group stage matches — three points for a win, one for a draw, and any points for a loss.

The top two teams from each group based on total points advance to the single-match knockouts. If the teams are tied on points, goal difference is the first tiebreaker followed by goals. Another set of tiebreakers applies if the teams are tied in those categories.

World Cup Draw Breakdowns:

Group A Teams World Cup 2022

Qatar

As the host of the 2022 World Cup, Qatar is determined to put on a show for soccer fans around the world, and that includes on the field.

The tiny Gulf nation, with a population of under 3 million, has invested heavily in its national team program over the past decade after winning the right to host the tournament in December 2010. Since then, cash spending on player development, coaching, and infrastructure has paid off, rising from 112th, with a top 50 FIFA world ranking. It also won the first Asia Cup title in 2019.

Led by former Barcelona youth coach Felix Sanchez since 2017, Qatar has developed an attacking, entertaining style of play that is sure to win over fans, no matter how far they progress in their first World Cup appearance.

Netherlands

Louis van Gaal – in his third spell in the Netherlands hot seat – will be hoping to use all his experience to guide the Dutch through the latter stages of the World Cup in their first finals appearance in eight years.

Third-place finishers in 2014, they failed to reach Russia last time out but their fortunes have since improved under a new generation of talents such as Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong and Bayern’s Matthijs de Ligt.

Led by Liverpool powerhouse Virgil van Dijk – who is looking to cement his place as one of the world’s best defenders – the Dutch won a qualifying group that also included Turkey and Norway.

Senegal

Senegal did the hard way to book their place at Qatar 2022 via a penalty shootout but will be looking to continue the recent fine streak that has already seen the country crowned as Africa’s kings.

Having beaten Egypt to claim the AFCON title for the first time in February, Aliou Cisse’s side repeated that feat in the final round of African World Cup qualifiers to secure a place in Qatar – although that match was controversial, as fans in the stadium aimed laser pointers. Egypt’s players eliminated them in a penalty shootout.

That match proved to be another battle between two former Liverpool teammates, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, and there is no doubt that the Senegalese will largely rest with the latter, now at Bayern Munich, as their primary attacking threat. But they also have some other world-class players, including Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.

Senegal, interestingly, has the highest World Cup winning percentage of any African nation in the field.

Ecuador

Ecuador was knocked out in the quarter-finals of the last major competition, the Copa America, as they lost 3-0 to eventual winners Argentina, and Gustavo Alfaro’s side will have to be very resilient to avoid an early exit from the World Cup.

Veteran forward Ener Valencia, who is his country’s all-time leading goalscorer, will have a key role to play in Ecuador’s return to the world’s biggest stage after missing out on the 2018 tournament.

Brighton defender Pervis Estupinan is another talented player, but the squad is not the strongest overall and could struggle to match some of their best group rivals.

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