Qatar World Cup Stadium 2022

According to information available on FIFA.com, Al Rayyan city hosts the Education City Soccer Stadium. The arena is purposely built for the upcoming World Cup. The city is popular for its many universities and is credited as Qatar’s Foundation for community development, science and academia. Innovation defines the ethos of Al Rayyan city, a fact that is well manifested in the state-of-the-art design of the Education City arena Notably, the soccer stadium is surrounded by several university campuses, which further jests up its maiden name.

Education City Stadium was completed in June 2016. It was the third World Cup 2022 venue to be completed in readiness for the upcoming event in November this year. Notably, the stadium will be able to host up to 40,000 soccer fans. However, after the World Cup comes to an end, the management of the soccer stadium will reduce it to 25,000 seating arena.

ASTAD, an engineering consultancy in Qatar’s capital, Doha was the project manager during the construction of the Education City Stadium. Pattern Design and Fenwick Iribarren Architects did the dirty work of creating the marvel that is the Education City Stadium today from nothing.

Nicknamed Diamond of the Desert as can be seen in the design of the arena, the Education City football stadium has been constructed with environmental sustainability in mind. Three years after it was completed, the soccer arena was awarded a 5-star rating by the Global Sustainability Assessment System.

As you prepare for the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar, you should get acquainted with the match schedules. And while it is impossible to be at every venue to watch live games in this year’s FIFA World Cup, visitors who will be residing in Al Rayyan city can still catch all the live action at the Education City arena.

For starters, note that the arena will host soccer events right from the group stages to the quarterfinals. For now, only fixtures for the group stages are available before the World Cup kicks off in November.

*All times are in London Local Time

Education City Stadium Match Schedules

Thus far, here are the group stage matches to be staged at the Education City Stadium.

Denmark vs Tunisia will be the first match to be staged at the stadium. The game will take place on 22nd November, three days after the World Cup has kicked off in other stadia.

Denmark and Tunisia are drawn in Group D alongside Australia and France. It will be the first-ever soccer encounter between the two national teams. The teams to watch in group D of the 2022 World Cup are France and Denmark because they have previously reached advanced stages in the most-watched soccer tournament. France won the previous FIFA World Cup 2018, so it would be interesting to see how they fare in this year’s event.

The second matchday at the Education City Stadium is on 24th November and it will be marked by an encounter between Uruguay and the Korea Republic.

Tickets for this event as well as accommodation prices in various hotels in the hosting city are on sale. Uruguay and the Korean Republic are in Group H alongside Portugal and South Korea. Based on the latest FIFA rankings, Portugal is the best team in the group at position 9 followed by Uruguay in 13th place, South Korea in 28th and finally, Ghana in 60th position. From these rankings, Portugal and Uruguay are teams you should watch closely in Group H of the 2022 FIFA World Cup as they have a higher chance of progressing to the knockout stages.

Several other games will be played at the 40,000-capacity arena. They include:

• Poland vs Saudi Arabia is scheduled for Saturday 26th November 2022. Poland and Saudi Arabia are in Group C of the 2022 FIFA World Cup alongside Mexico and Argentina.
• The Korea Republic will play against Ghana at the arena on Monday 28th November 2022. It will be the second match for the Korean Republic and the first for Ghana at the venue.
• Tunisia vs France will be the fifth match to take place at the stadium. Notably, it will be the second game of the tournament for both teams at the same venue.
• The last group stage fixture at the Education City Stadium will be between the Korea Republic and Portugal on Friday 2nd December 2022.

After the group stages, the Diamond of the Desert arena will host other matches in the round of 16. Note that the venue will only host games up to the quarterfinals. The 2022 FIFA World Cup quarterfinals are set to take place on 9th December.

Remember that at the end of the tournament, the seating capacity of the Diamond of the Desert stadium will be reduced to 25,000. The removed seats will be donated to developing countries to promote the development of soccer.

What is the nickname for Education City Stadium?

The venue is nicknamed the Diamond of the Desert, thanks to its design features and green colours.

Which team won the 2018 World Cup and will it play at the Education City arena?

France bagged the 2018 World Cup Trophy. The good news is that France will play two group stage matches at the venue.

How can I book accommodation in Al Rayyan?

You can book accommodation through trusted travel agents or via hospitality.fifa.com and get the best packages.