Four games per day in group stage of 2022 World Cup

Qatar General view of the Khalifa International Stadium in Al Rayyan ahead of the World Cup in 2022, in this undated picture obtained by Reuters on July 15, 2020. (Reuters)
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Updated 15 July 2020
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Four games per day in group stage of 2022 World Cup

  • FIFA released the schedule for the first World Cup to be played in November and December on Wednesday

LONDON: The 2022 World Cup will have four games every day in a 12-day group stage and matches later in the tournament that go into extra time will extend past midnight in Qatar.

FIFA released the schedule for the first World Cup to be played in November and December on Wednesday, with kickoff times at 1 p.m. (1000 GMT), 4 p.m. (1300 GMT), 7 p.m. (1600 GMT) and 10 p.m. (1900 GMT).

“Once the pairings are known, the possibility will be discussed of providing a more beneficial kickoff time for audiences at home, or indeed for fans in Qatar with regard to the stadium allocation,” FIFA said in a statement.

Host Qatar will open the Middle East’s first World Cup in the 60,000-capacity Al Bayt Stadium at 1 p.m. on Nov. 21. The final start at 6 p.m. on Dec. 18 at the 80,000-capacity Lusail Stadium.

Eight venues in close proximity to Doha will be used at the tournament, which will be played in 28 days rather than the 32 days used at the last World Cup in Russia to minimize the disruption to the European season. Teams and fans will not need to fly around Qatar because stadiums are within a 30-mile radius.

Both semifinals — like some games in the previous rounds — will kick off at 10 p.m. and will spill over into the next day if there is extra time, or even just long injury and VAR delays in regular time.

There is no space for a gap without games between the group stage and round of 16.

Most teams will get three days of rest between games, which FIFA said was “optimum for sporting performance.” But teams in two last-16 matches will only have two days of rest. For the third-place playoff, one losing semifinalist will have two recovery days while the other has three.

FIFA is looking to stage the draw for the tournament in late March or early April 2022, when 30 of the 32 finalists will be known.

It is the last World Cup with 32 teams before the expansion to 48 nations at the 2026 tournament in the US, Canada and Mexico.


DeChambeau, Crushers GC lead LIV Singapore at halfway mark

Updated 13 March 2026
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DeChambeau, Crushers GC lead LIV Singapore at halfway mark

  • A second-round 6-under 65 has DeChambeau at 10-under through 36 holes

SINGAPORE: Entering Friday, Bryson DeChambeau is tied atop a bunched leaderboard at Aramco LIV Golf Singapore.

After shooting the round of the week, a second-round six-under 65, he sits at 10-under through 36 holes. The Crushers GC captain enters the weekend with a three-shot lead.

After beginning his second round with back-to-back pars, he birdied the third, fourth and eighth holes, making the turn in 32 strokes. His back nine was smooth-sailing until the par-four 15th, when he overdrew an iron off the tee into the harbor.

After taking a drop, he scrambled for a hard-earned bogey, protecting his lead in the process. And bounced back immediately, making a birdie on the 16th. For the round, he finished with a total of six birdies, an eagle and the lone bogey on 15.

“Focus on my golf, what I can control,” said DeChambeau of his mindset.

“I know it’s cliche, but you can’t get too wrapped up with what everybody else is doing and making sure I’m starting it on my lines the way I need to and rolling the putts on my lines like I need to. Barring that, I think I can give myself a good chance.”

DeChambeau’s closest competitors are three shots back at seven-under and include Thomas Detry, Jon Rahm, Louis Oosthuizen, Lee Westwood and Richard T. Lee.

Detry of 4Aces GC is fresh off a runner-up finish at HSBC LIV Golf Hong Kong and has carried that momentum into Singapore. His round included a chip-in eagle on the 18th hole (his 16th of the day) off the back of the green from 37 meters away.

The Belgian remains confident heading into the final two rounds. “I’m up for the challenge,” he said. “It’s definitely a challenge out there, so anything under par is pretty good, and I managed to do that pretty well.”

Hong Kong winner Rahm continues to lurk dangerously on the leaderboard. The Legion XIII captain made 11 consecutive pars from holes five to 17 before finishing his round with a birdie on the par-five 18th to finish at seven-under.

“I played really good today. Felt like I played actually significantly better than yesterday, just little margins,” Rahm said. “Couldn’t really make many putts out there today. Made that one on six and from then on missed a lot of birdie chances.”

Oosthuizen shot a four-under 67 that included six birdies and two bogeys. The Southern Guards GC captain has been fueled by a hot putter and ranks fifth in the field in Strokes Gained Putting at the halfway stage.

“I tried to give myself as many birdie putts as possible,” said Oosthuizen. “I felt I saw the greens really good today, the lines, and rolled the putter really good.”

Westwood, in just his second start after returning from a wrist injury, continues to play steady golf. The Majesticks Golf Club co-captain shot a three-under 68 that included five birdies and two bogeys.

Lee, who is looking to become the first LIV Golf Wild Card to finish better than 12th in a tournament, shot a three-under 68.

Matthew Wolff, Marc Leishman and Charles Howell III all shot three-under 68s as well and are four shots back of DeChambeau at six-under.

On the team leaderboard, the Crushers GC surged to the top after carding a cumulative 10-under for the day. They hold a three-shot lead over the first-round leaders, Legion XIII.

The champions from Hong Kong, 4Aces GC, are just one shot back of Legion XIII and four shots behind the Crushers.