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World Cup matches today: The full list of Qatar 2022 fixtures and predictions for November 27

Antonio Ruediger (L) and Julian Brandt (R) preparing for Spain match - World Cup matches today: The full list of Qatar 2022 fixtures and predictions for November 26 - MARTIN DIVISEK/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Antonio Ruediger (L) and Julian Brandt (R) preparing for Spain match - World Cup matches today: The full list of Qatar 2022 fixtures and predictions for November 26 - MARTIN DIVISEK/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

The Qatar World Cup is now well under way as the 32 teams continue to battle it out in the first ever winter instalment of the competition.

The 22nd edition of the quadrennial tournament, which began way back in 1930, is also the first to be held in an Arab country. The State of Qatar is the smallest country in size (11,600 km2) and population (2.7 million) ever to host.

The World Cup sees eight groups of four teams play before the top two from each go through to a knockout round of 16, followed by the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final. This format will be changed for the World Cup 2026 when the tournament will be expanded to 48 teams as the USA, Mexico and Canada co-host.

All World Cup matches today

Japan v Costa Rica (Group E - ITV): 10am (GMT), 1pm local time, 5am (ET)

Belgium v Morocco (Group F - BBC): 1pm (GMT), 4pm local time, 8am (ET)

Croatia v Canada (Group F - BBC): 4pm (GMT), 7pm local time, 11am (ET)

Spain v Germany (Group E - BBC): 7pm (GMT), 10pm local time, 2pm (ET)

Today's match predictions

From Jason Burt in Doha

Japan 3 Costa Rica 1: If Japan play anywhere near as well as they did in beating Germany they will blow Costa Rica away. Similarly if Costa Rica are as poor as they were in losing 7-0 to Spain then the scoreline could be embarrassing.

Belgium 1 Morocco 0: Group F has been the lowest scoring group – one goal so far – and looks like it might be tight. Belgium were fortunate to beat Canada and can, surely, only be better. In theory Morocco pose a tougher challenge.

Croatia 2 Canada 1: Will Canada coach John Herdman regret turning this fixture into an unexpected grudge match? Croatia feel insulted and will use it as added motivation. They also need a win.

Spain 3 Germany 2: The heavyweight meeting of the group stages could result in Germany being out of the World Cup. Spain are flying – and beat Germany 6-0 the last time they played them. Expect goals but also expect it to be tighter.

When are the knockout stages?

The knockout stages of this year's World Cup begin with the round of 16 before moving through to the quarter finals, semi finals and final. The first round of 16 match is on Saturday, December 3 at 3pm.

What date is the World Cup 2022 final?

The last match of the World Cup will take place on Qatar National Day – Sunday, December 18. It will kick-off at 3pm UK time (6pm in Qatar, 10am ET, 9am CT and 7am PT) at the 80,000-seater Lusail Stadium.

Where is the next World Cup taking place?

The World Cup 2026 will be held across three host countries - America, Canada and Mexico - in a tournament first after the trio's bid fended off a strong proposal from Morocco. The competition matches will be played across 16 different cities - 11 from America, two in Canada and three in Mexico.

This article is kept updated with the latest information.