Despite the tournament taking part in the winter, a key focus for many of the squads arriving in Doha will be acclimatising to the hot temperatures.
Advertisement
England will have to adapt to the conditions fast as they head to the Middle East after the Premier League comes to a halt a week before the opening game.
With temperatures expected to play a big part through the tournament, what will the weather be like in Qatar and what is the time difference to the UK?
Weather in Qatar
Advertisement
Throughout the year in Qatar, the average temperature is around 29 degrees Celsius with highs in the summer months reaching 40 degrees.
With the heat clearly too much in the summer, the World Cup is being played in the winter. However, compared to the UK, the temperatures will still be very high.
The average temperatures in November and December in Qatar are 26 degrees celsius and 21 degrees respectively.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Comparing this to the UK, there are averages of 7-12 degrees in November and highs of nine in December.
The two months in which the tournament takes place will also be some of the most humid months on average in Qatar.
A relative average humidity of 71% in December is much higher than the annual average in the country of 59%.
These numbers will be even higher within stadiums and to counteract this they have included state-of-the-art air conditioning inside grounds.
Advertisement
Time difference with the UK
The UK is currently two hours behind Qatar but once the tournament starts, the difference will be three hours to GMT.
This is because the clocks go back in the UK in October before the World Cup begins while in Qatar, the time difference doesn't change.
Advertisement
England's group fixtures will take place on November 21, November 25 and November 29.
Kick-off times in the UK are at 1pm for the opening game and 7pm for the remaining two matches during the group stage.
With the time difference, these games will be played three hours later in the day in Qatar.