The 2022 World Cup in Qatar begins on the 20th of November and England will kick their tournament a day later. This is a helpful guide to let England fans know when they’ll be playing on and where you can watch each game.
Group B
England were drawn in Group B which is also made up of Iran, USA and Wales. Due to being part of the first two groups alphabetically, England will play early on in this year’s World Cup alongside the teams from Group A and B on the first day of action after Qatar host Ecuador.
So, from England’s group, the first fixtures will be England v Iran and USA v Wales. They’ll be staggered kick offs so football fans will be able to watch both home nations including the opening game of the tournament between Senegal and the Netherlands.
When do England play their group matches?
Game 1: v Iran, 21st November at 13:00 (BBC)
Game 2: v USA, 25th November at 19:00 (ITV)
Game 3: v Wales, 29th November at 19:00 (BBC)
How to watch England’s matches
Football and broadcasting have reached unprecedented levels of greed over the last decade or so, but thankfully World Cup matches are still available on terrestrial TV. That’s incredibly important for the next generation of football fans as in the current climate, access to the sport both in person and on television isn’t the most affordable.
The BBC will televise two of England’s three group matches including the opening game against Iran on the 21st of November. ITV will have the second game against the United States and then we’ll be back to the BBC for the mouth-watering clash with Wales.
England’s route to the world cup final
England reached the semi-finals of the last World Cup by edging past both Colombia and Sweden in the knockout stages before being dumped out by Croatia in the semis. It’s hard to believe that England will ever have a more straight-forward route to a final as it’s sure to be tough in Qatar.
If you look at the tournament tree, there’s the potential England could face each of Netherlands, Argentina, Brazil and France if they finish as runners-up in Group B. Winning the group is likely to be paramount to their success.
It’ll be all eyes on Group A for England towards the end of the group stages as that’s where their opponents in the last 16 will hail from. The group consists of Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal and the Netherlands so Gareth Southgate’s side are likely to meet the African Cup of Nations winners or the Dutch. That first game in the knockouts will be played in Al Rayyan on December 3rd.
There’s going to be many permutations along the way, but if England win Group B, there’s a good chance that they could face either reigning champions France or Argentina in the quarters. That tie will take place on the 10th of December in Al Khor.
As for the semis, England would play a top-level nation regardless by the look of things. If they win the group, it’s likely they’d get Belgium or Portugal. If they finish as runners-up, they could be up against the might of Germany, Spain or Brazil. The Three Lions’ opponents in the final would come from that list, but again, it all comes down to where England place in Group B.
