The last 16 stage of the Qatar World Cup is well on its way with England between the teams already in the quarterfinals.
The 22nd edition of the quadrennial tournament, which started way back in 1930, is also the first to be held in an Arab country. The state of Qatar is the smallest country in terms of area (11,600 km2) and population (2.7 million) to ever host.
The World Cup came up eight groups of four teams before the top two of each advanced to this knockout round of 16, which is followed by the quarter-finals, semi-finals and definitive.
This format will be changed for the 2026 World Cup when the tournament expands to 48 teams co-hosting the US, Mexico and Canada.
All World Cup matches today
Morocco vs Spain (3pm, ITV)
Portugal vs Switzerland (7pm, ITV)
Today’s match predictions
By Jason Burt at Doha
To be determined
When did the knockout stages start?
The knockout stage of this year’s World Cup started on Saturday with the round of 16, before advancing to the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final. The first round of 16 games is on Saturday, December 3 at 3 p.m.
A total of 16 teams advanced to the knockouts. These were the Netherlands, Senegal, England, USA, Argentina, Poland, France, Australia, Morocco, Croatia, Japan, Spain, Brazil, Switzerland, Portugal and South Korea.
On what date is the 2022 World Cup final?
The last match of the World Cup takes place on Qatar National Day – Sunday, December 18. It kicks off at 3pm UK time (6pm Qatar, 10am ET, 9am CT and 7am PT) at the 80,000 seat Lusail Stadium.