By Laura Rutkowski

Published: Tuesday, 15 November 2022 at 12:00 am


No one can remember a World Cup like it. For many of us it feels weirdly out of place, and fans are as confused as they are divided about a tournament that interrupts the domestic season and takes place in a nation with barely any football culture and, worst of all, stands accused of a string of human rights abuses.

There is little about the Qatar regime’s handling of the migrant workers who built the stadiums, or its treatment of minorities that fits with how our football culture likes to see itself, which is about inclusion, diversity and fair play.

But, as our columnist Simon Barnes says, this isn’t the first time the World Cup has been hosted by an authoritarian regime with a bad human rights record – and officials have argued that you can’t blame football for the wrongs in Qatar. Football is the world’s game. It belongs to us all.

With that view in mind, television is clearing the schedules for four weeks of international football – and we’re here to help you get the most out of the coverage. On our wall chart you will find a broadcast guide to all the matches, and a dream team of BBC and ITV pundits marks your card for the month ahead.

Will England go one better than when they reached the semi-final in 2018? Will Wales make the knock-out stages in their first World Cup since 1958? Will Qatar 2022 end up as more than a footnote in footballing history?

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