Explainers

GET your flags out as the World Cup is well underway – and some players will be targeting more than just the big trophy.Brazil, France, Argentina, Germany, England and others will all be vying to win the sport’s biggest prize in Qatar.
Harry Kane won the World Cup 2018 Golden BootCredit: Getty – Contributor
However, stars such as Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will want a certain individual award.
The World Cup Golden Boot is one of the tournament’s most coveted prizes, with some of football’s legends having won it in the past.
Brazilian Ronaldo, Gary Lineker, Gerd Muller and Eusebio have all picked up the award before.
England’s Harry Kane won it in 2018, and he’ll be hoping to do it all over again in Qatar.
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France’s Karim Benzema, who won the Ballon d’Or earlier this year, WON’T be involved, however, as he has been ruled out of the tournament through injury.
But Brazil superstars Neymar and Vinicius Jr will be eager to bring the award back to the South American country.
In 2006 and 2010, Germany stars Miroslav Klose and Thomas Muller bagged the Golden Boot.
Colombia superstar James Rodriguez won it in 2014 but he won’t be involved in this tournament as his country failed to qualify.
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Who has scored this week?
Ecuador’s Enner Valencia got off to the perfect start having bagged a double on the World Cup opener against the hosts Qatar.
Jude Bellingham, Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish all grabbed themselves a goal for England.
Arsenal talisman Bukayo Saka stole the headlines as he became the youngest ever player to score a double in their first World Cup match.
Olivier Giroud then equalled Thierry Henry’s record of 51 goals for France with a brace against Australia.
World Cup Golden Boot standings
*Correct as of November 22 – 9pm

Bukayo Saka – England – 2
Olivier Giroud – France – 2
Mehdi Taremi – Iran – 2
Enner Valencia – Ecuador – 2
Jude Bellingham – England – 1
Marcus Rashford – England – 1
Jack Grealish – England – 1
Kylian Mbappe – France – 1
Gareth Bale – Wales – 1
Lionel Messi – Argentina – 1 More

THE World Cup has started and we now know all of the referees who will be involved at Qatar and amongst them is Victor Gomes.The South African is his country’s only representative this winter, after the 2010 hosts failed to qualify.
Victor Gomes makes up 39 referees who will officiate at the Qatar World CupCredit: AFP
Here is the low-down on Qatar’s ‘hero referee’.
Who is Victor Gomes?
Victor Miguel Freitas Gomes was born in Johannesburg in 1982.
Gomes has been a referee in South Africa’s Premier Soccer League since 2008, winning the Referee of the Season award twice in his career.
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The 39-year-old was appointed an official FIFA referee in 2011 and has since taken charge of some huge international matches.
Few were more important than the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations final which saw Senegal beat Egypt in a dramatic penalty shootout.
Victor Gomes refereed the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations finalCredit: AP
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However, Gomes isn’t just known for his decisions on the field.
The referee was praised by the South African people and Football Association after rejecting and reporting a bribe to fix a Confederation Cup match between Nigerian side Plateau United and Algerian side USM Alger.
Following the Qatar World Cup, the highly respected referee is reportedly set to hang up his whistle and retire from football, as per the iDiskiTimes.

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STOPPAGE TIME can be one of the most nail biting experiences in football if your side is in the lead – and the 2022 World Cup has had loads of it.The unprecedented competition in Qatar has already put forward some controversial talking points for fans to discuss.
There was 14 minutes added on to the end of England vs Iran’s first halfCredit: Getty
And one of those is the amount stoppage time being added to the end of each match.
But what is the reason and how much time exactly are referees adding to the clock?
Why is there so much injury time at the 2022 World Cup?
In the opening five World Cup fixtures, there has been a staggering total of 85 minutes added on.
England’s match against Iran incredibly went on for 117 minutes due to the Iranian goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand’s horrific clash of heads with his own teammate.
Alireza Beiranvand suffered a horrific head injury against EnglandCredit: Getty
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And there was another lengthy additional time period in Argentina’s shock loss to Saudi Arabia where seven minutes was added at the end of the first half followed by 14 in the second half.
A big chunk was also added to USA vs Wales and Senegal vs Netherlands.
Injuries, cards, VAR, substitutions are reason for stoppage in play but fans have been left confused as to why it has been so much at the World Cup.
What is the most amount of injury time added in World Cup history?
Opta have stated that the five single halves with the most stoppage time have all cup at the Qatar World Cup.

England vs Iran first half – 13.59 minutes
Argentina vs Saudi Arabia second half – 13.53 minutes
England vs Iran second half – 13.05 minutes
USA vs Wales second half – 10.32 minutes
Senegal vs Netherlands second half – 10.03 minutes

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What has been said?
The head of FIFA’S refereeing committee Pierluigi Collina mentioned that the fourth officials have been instructed to keep track of lost time during the game.
Collina said: “In Russia, we tried to be more accurate in compensating for time lost during games and that’s why you saw six, seven or even eight minutes added on,” he told reporters at a pre-tournament briefing.
“Think about it: if you have three goals in a half, you’ll probably lose four or five minutes in total to celebrations and the restart.” More

TIME to be excited football lovers as the World Cup is officially UNDERWAY – and SunSport is here to bring you the ENTIRE fixture list.The Three Lions have Wales and USA to still come up against in the group stages having comfortably dispatched of Iran 6-2.

This will be the first time in the tournament’s history that it will be contested for during winter, with the big event starting on November 20.
It is set to be a condensed schedule with Qatar kicking things off on the opening day.
Whilst there will be three matches played on the second day of the showpiece event.
However, fans of the competition will not have to miss a single minute of the action with all the details of the encounters detailed below.
What are the most important dates for the World Cup?

The group stages got underway on Sunday, November 20.
Round of 16 will be on December 3 – December 6.
Quarter-final stages begin on December 9 – December 10.
Semi-finals are taking place on December 13 – December 14.
The World Cup final will be participated on Sunday, December 18.

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World Cup full fixture dates
The fixture list has been revealed for the World Cup 2022, following the big draw.
Group stage
Sunday, November 20

Monday, November 21

Tuesday, November 22

Wednesday, November 23

Thursday, November 24

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Friday, November 25

Saturday, November 26

Sunday, November 27

Monday, November 28

Group G: Cameroon vs Serbia (10am)
Group H: South Korea vs Ghana (1pm)
Group G: Brazil vs Switzerland (4pm)
Group H: Portugal vs Uruguay (7pm)

Tuesday, November 29

Group A: Netherlands vs Qatar (3pm)
Group A: Ecuador vs Senegal (3pm)
Group B: Wales vs England (7pm)
Group B: Iran vs United States (7pm)

Wednesday, November 30

Group D: Tunisia vs France (3pm)
Group D: Australia vs Denmark (3pm)
Group C: Poland vs Argentina (7pm)
Group C: Saudi Arabia vs Mexico (7pm)

Thursday, December 1

Group F: Croatia vs Belgium (3pm)
Group F: Canada vs Morocco (3pm)
Group E: Japan vs Spain (7pm)
Group E: Costa Rica vs Germany (7pm)

Friday, December 2

Group H: South Korea vs Portugal (3pm)
Group H: Ghana vs Uruguay (3pm)
Group G: Cameroon vs Brazil (7pm)
Group G: Serbia vs Switzerland (7pm)

Last 16
Saturday, December 3

Match 49: Winners Group A vs Runners-up Group B (3pm)
Match 50: Winners Group C vs Runners-up Group D (7pm)

Sunday, December 4

Match 52: Winners Group D vs Runners-up Group C (3pm)
Match 51: Winners Group A vs Runners-up Group B (7pm)

Monday, December 5

Match 53: Winners Group E vs Runners-up Group F (3pm)
Match 54: Winners Group G vs Runners-up Group H (7pm)

Tuesday, December 6

Match 55: Winners Group F vs Runners-up Group F (3pm)
Match 56: Winners Group H vs Runners-up Group G (7pm)

Quarter-finals
Friday, December 9

Match 58: Winners of Match 53 vs Winners of Match 54 (3pm)
Match 57: Winners of Match 49 vs Winners of Match 50 (7pm)

Saturday, December 10

Match 60: Winners of Match 55 vs Winners of Match 56 (3pm)
Match 59: Winners of Match 51 vs Winners of Match 52 (7pm)

Semi-finals
Tuesday, December 13

Match 61: Winners of Match 57 vs Winners of Match 58 (7pm)

Wednesday, December 14

Match 62: Winners of Match 59 vs Winners of Match 60 (7pm)
Third/Fourth place play-off

Saturday, December 17

Losers of Match 61 vs Losers of Match 62 (3pm)

Final
Sunday, December 18

Winners of Match 61 vs Winners of Match 62 (3pm)

Based on UK time zone
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What are the kick-off times for the World Cup?
The Qatar time zone is three hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time which means that games will be played earlier in the UK than locally.
FIFA have stated that the first two rounds of games will kick-off at 1pm, 4pm, 7pm and 10pm local time – 10am, 1pm, 4pm and 7pm UK time.
However, the kick-off timings in the final round of group fixtures and knock-out ties will be at 6pm and 10pm local time – 3pm and 7pm UK time.
Leaving the final to be scheduled at 6pm local time – 3pm UK time. More

THERE’S nothing more nerve racking in football than a penalty kick – and the winter World Cup has had its fair share of them already.The huge tournament in Qatar was always destined to throw up some major talking points.
Ecuador’s Enner Valencia scored the first penalty of the tournamentCredit: PA
And alongside the semi-automatic VAR system, controversial penalty decisions has been on the lips of most fans.
Even legendary footballers Graeme Souness and Roy Keane got into a heated argument over the spot-kick during Saudi Arabia’s upset over Argentina.
Find out how many penalties there has been at the World Cup so far below…
How many penalties has there been at the World Cup 2022?
Ecuador were awarded a penalty on the opening match of the tournament.
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And since then, there has been a few more incidents which includes a spot-kick at the death of England’s thrashing over Iran.
In total, there has been four penalties awarded at the World Cup so far as follows:

Enner Valencia (scored) – Qatar vs ECUADOR
Mehdi Taremi (scored) – England vs IRAN
Gareth Bale (scored) – USA vs WALES
Lionel Messi (scored) – ARGENTINA vs Saudi Arabia

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How many penalties were awarded at the World Cup 2018?
There were a record number of penalties given to teams as the World Cup Russian edition was the first to use VAR.
In 64 matches, there were a total of 29 penalties – with 22 scored and seven either saved or missed. More

WALES fans will be getting ready to cheer on their nation at a World Cup for the first time in 64 years – and they’ll be doing it in style.The Dragons’ campaign gets underway against USA with plenty of supporters expected to wear their eye-catching bucket hats.
The bucket hats have become a symbol of Welsh prideCredit: Darren Fletcher – The Sun
Wales beat Ukraine 1-0 to qualify for the World CupCredit: Reuters
Despite success at the Euros, reaching the semi-finals in 2016, Qatar marks a new territory for many Welsh fans, having never seen their country compete at the World Cup.
Those fortunate enough to have been in Sweden during 1958, will recall their last appearance in the competition.
The match saw them fall short against five-time winners Brazil in the quarter finals. A certain teenager named Pele got the winner that day.
Fast forward to 2022, Wales are back and fans won’t go unnoticed in Qatar.
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Why do Wales fans wear bucket hats?
The vibrant yellow, green and red bucket hat has become an iconic symbol of Welsh football, worn by thousands of fans across the country.
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The hat was originally created by Tim Williams, a small shop owner from Bala, Gwynedd.
His company, named Spirit of 58′, referencing Wales’ last appearance at the tournament was created in order “to bring a bit of colour and fun” to matches.
Following Wales’ qualification for Euro 2016, sales sky-rocketed and Williams had to quit his day job, donating all of his time to the hats’ production.
A giant bucket hat has been put on display in Cardiff ahead of the World CupCredit: Getty
Today, the company sells all sorts of clobber, including socks depicting cult-hero Hal Robson-Kanu.
The hats can be spotted at every Wales game, and represent the teams’ bold and defiant attitude.
They are particularly useful for fans to recognise fellow Welsh supporters from a mile off.
In addition to their striking appearance, the headgear will also provide some valuable protection from the Qatar heat.

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