:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71636434/1244776974.0.jpg "World Cup bracket 2022: Download printable bracket for live updates of group, knockout stage")
The 2022 World Cup gets underway on Sunday, November 20 when host country Qatar faces Ecuador in group play. The group stage will run until Friday, December 2, and then the knockout stage will run from December 3-18.
If you're one of the millions (or billions) of people watching the World Cup this year, you will be looking for ways to keep up with the progress of all 32 nations. There are a host of printable brackets if you want to track the tournament on your own. My favorite would probably be this PDF at Covers. It provides a space to track scores for every group match and then a spot for ranking out each team within group play. If you do that, make sure and use a pencil instead of a pen so you can update the standings throughout.
Each nation will play three matches in group play, which makes for 48 total matches. The top two teams in each group advancing to the knockout round to set up a 16-team tournament. The knockout stage starts on Friday, December 2 with the Round of 16 and wraps with the Final on Sunday, December 18.