The 2022 World Cup in Qatar has earned the global spotlight over the past month.
A total of 32 nations have been competing for the biggest prize in international football, with legends like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo likely playing at the tournament for a final time.
France arrived in Qatar as champions, hoping to avoid a recent trend that's seen previous winners fail at the next tournament.
Fans from all around the world are keeping their eyes on the action in Qatar. Here The Sporting News breaks down all the details for those hoping to follow along in India.
MORE: Why the 2022 World Cup is being played in Qatar? | Complete 2022 World Cup schedule
World Cup 2022 schedule and tournament format
The 2022 World Cup has followed along the lines of recent editions, with a 32-team group stage to whittle the field down to 16 teams — only the top two teams from each of the eight groups survived.
Those 16 group-stage teams advanced to the single-game knockout stages — Round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals, final — where the winner moves on and the loser goes home.
There must be a winner on the day for every knockout-round match, and extra time and penalty kicks will be used, if necessary, to determine the victor.
- Group stage: Nov. 20-Dec. 2
- Round of 16: Dec. 3-6
- Quarterfinals: Dec. 9-10
- Semifinals: Dec. 13-14
- Third-place match: Dec. 17
- Final: Dec. 18
World Cup 2022 kick-off times in India
Due to India's close proximity to Qatar, 2022 World Cup matches will be played at good times for fans wanting to watch the action.
Qatar is in the GMT+3 timezone, which is two-and-a-half hours behind IST.
World Cups games are set to kick-off between 1:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. local time in Qatar, meaning matches can be watched in India between 3:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. (IST).
The 2022 World Cup final will start at 8:30 p.m. in India.
| Stage(s) | Local (Qatar) |
India (IST) |
|---|---|---|
| Group stage only | 1:00 p.m. | 3:30 p.m. |
| Group stage only | 4:00 p.m. | 6:30 p.m. |
| Knockouts only | 6:00 p.m. | 8:30 p.m. |
| Group stage only | 7:00 p.m. | 9:30 p.m. |
| Group/Knockouts | 10:00 p.m. | 12:30 a.m. |
Where to watch the 2022 World Cup in India
- TV channel: Sports18, Sports18 HD
- Streaming: JioTV
The 2022 World Cup will be televised on Sports18 in India.
The channel was only launched in April 2022 and was formed in partnership with Network 18 and Paramount Global. World Cup matches will be broadcast in both standard and high definition.
Live streams of 2022 World Cup matches will also be available for fans in India via JioTV.
JioTV has a deal in place with Sports18 parent company Viacom18 to distribute some of their content.
