FIFA World Cup 2022 Group с: Dates And Schedule Of Matches

The World Cup tournament, Qatar 2022, places teams from FIFA's six continental zones— AFC of Asia, CAF of Africa, CONCACAF of North and Central America and the Caribbean, CONMEBOL of South America, OFC of Oceania, and UEFA of Europe—one against the other.

There will be six matches played per group for each day after the first two days during the group stage. This will run over a 12-day period. Before the final showdown on Dec 18, the third-place playoff will be played on Dec 17, 2022.

From Groups A to H, each team will play three matches within its group, with a potential nine points up for only one team to grab. Winners of the group qualify automatically for the next round, alongside the runners-up. All group matches will take place from Nov 20 to Dec 2.

Qatar is the FIFA World Cup 2022 edition host. The tournament commences on Nov 20, 2022, and comes to its conclusion on Dec 18, 2022.

After first-round group games go full circle and end on Dec 2, the round of 16 takes place from 3-6 December. The Quarter-finals will be held from 9-10 December; Semi-finals will be held from 13-14 December before the Final on Dec 18. Eight stadiums will host the thirty-two teams facing off in the 64 matches. Kick-off times for the first two rounds of group matches are 10 a.m, 1 p.m, 4 p.m, and 7 p.m GMT.

Group C of the 2022 FIFA World Cup consists of one of the tournament's favorites, Argentina, and their South American counterparts Mexico, the host's neighbors Saudi Arabia, and Central Europeans, Poland.

Having Argentina's Lionel Messi going face to face with Poland's Robert Lewandowski is one to keep an eye on.

After scooping an unprecedented and almost unequitable seven FIFA Ballon d'Or awards, Qatar 2022 will most likely be Messi's last World Cup. Cue Lewandowski, who arguably should have been the canceled Ballon d'Or 2020 winner and has been on top-scoring form in recent years. This is the pick of the bunch in Group C.

North American's Mexico are no brush-off, as they have been consistent 16-time World Cup qualifiers since the inaugural 1930 edition. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia, the lowest-ranked side in the competition, are really up against it. Since their 1994 debut, this will be their 6th appearance at the World Cup.

Only eight teams have won the World Cup, and six have done so more than once. Current holders France is one of them. Since featuring in the 1930 inaugural competition, they have appeared in the tournament fifteen times.

Les Bleus won its first World Cup title in 1998—which they hosted—defeating football powerhouse Brazil 3–0 in the finals. Their second World Cup title was won in 2018 when they beat Croatia 4–2 in Russia.

In 2006, France finished as runners-up; in the 1958 and 1986 events, they ended up in third place and were fourth in 1982.

• Current FIFA World Ranking: 4th (August 2022);
• Regional Ranking: 2nd (Europe);
• World Cup Titles: 2;
• World Cup Appearances (last): 15 (Russia, 2018);
• How They Qualified: UEFA Group Winners;
• Coach: Didier Deschamps;
• Key Players: Kylian Mbappé (PSG/France), Antoine Griezmann (Atlético Madrid/Spain), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid/Spain), N'Golo Kanté (Chelsea/England), Paul Pogba (Juventus/Italy), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham/England), Ousmane Dembélé (Barcelona/Spain).

A trophy-laden cabinet of two World Cups and 15 Copa América trophies, La Albiceleste (The White and Sky Blue) is certainly one of the top two South American teams—only behind Brazil—and also one of the World Cup's traditional powerhouses.

Boasting a host of star names, past and present, Argentina and Lionel Messi will be up for it as this may be his last chance to cap off a remarkable career.

• FIFA World Ranking (as of August 2022): 3rd;
• Current Regional Ranking: 2nd;
• Titles (World Cup): 2;
• Appearances at World Cup (before 2022): 17;
• Qualification Process: CONMEBOL Group runners-up: 11 Won, 0 Lost, 6 Drawn;
• Team Coach: Lionel Scaloni (Argentina) since 2018;
• Key Players: Lionel Andrés Messi (PSG of France), Angel Fabián D Maria (Juventus of Italy) and Giovani Lo Celso (Villarreral of Spain).

Considered one of the most successful football teams in Asia, being the first Asian team to reach the final of a senior FIFA competition (1992 King Fahd Cup, later FIFA Confederations Cup), winners of three AFC Asian Cups and two FIFA Arab Cups. The Saudis have exited the World Cup at the group stages in their last four outings, which is obviously not an encouraging start.

But, the Green Falcons will take solace and confidence in finishing above the Socceroos of Australia during the qualifiers. They will have to ride that impetuous display and believe this will be different.

• FIFA World Ranking (as of March 2022): 53rd;
• Current Regional Ranking: 6th;
• Titles (World Cup): Nil;
• Appearances at World Cup (before 2022): 6;
• Qualification Process: AFC 3rd Round Group runners-up, 7 Won, 1 Lost, 2 Draws;
• Team Coach: Herve Renard (France) since 2019;
• Key players: Salem Al Dawsari, Saleh Al Shehri, Salman Al Faraj, all of Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia.

Outstandingly, Mexico has qualified for 17 World Cups and has qualified consecutively since 1994. It is undeniable that El Tri (The Tricolor) is a hard nut to crack on the football stage.

With an average of just over a goal per game during qualification, Mexico don't score or concede many goals. The objective, which is to stifle opponents, is not new to this team, and it has got them 1 FIFA Confederations Cup gold and made them CONCACAF Championship/ Gold Cup Champions 11 times.

• Current FIFA World Ranking: No. 12 (August 2022);
• Regional Ranking: 1st (CONCACAF);
• World Cup Titles: None;
• World Cup Appearances (last): 16 (Brazil 2018);
• How They Qualified: (CONCACAF qualifying runners-up: 7W-2L-4D;
• Coach: Gerardo Martino (Argentina) since January 2019;
• Key Players: Hector Herrera (Houston Dynamo/USA), Hirving Lozano (Napoli/Italy), Raul Jimenez (Wolves/England).

By knocking out Zlatan Ibrahimović's Sweden, Poland booked a spot in the World Cup finals via the playoff.

Biało-czerwoni (The White and Red), or Orły (The Eagles), as they are nicknamed, have twice finished third in the competition even though they've been represented only eight times.

Losing just twice through the entire qualification process, Poland are a tough opponent for any team in this tournament.

• Current FIFA world ranking: 26th (August 2022);
• Regional ranking: 15th (UEFA);
• World Cup titles: None;
• World Cup appearances (last): 8 (Russia 2018);
• How They Qualified: (UEFA playoff winners: (2-0 vs. Sweden);
• Coach: Czeslaw Michniewicz (Poland) since January 2022;
• Star players: Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona/Spain), Matty Cash (Aston Villa/England), Piotr Zielinski (Napoli/Italy).

Two out of Argentina, Poland, and Mexico are going to, without doubt, advance directly from this group. The clear-cut favorite to top the group is Argentina. It will be a close one between Poland and Mexico.

But, with Robert Lewandowski's high-scoring form compared to a low-scoring Mexico, plus a stronger team overall on paper, Poland is more likely to come out second in the group behind Argentina.