Fans brace for a never-seen-before FIFA World Cup having unique tight schedule

re has never been a World Cup match schedule like this one.

first World Cup ever played in vember and December to avoid Qatar's desert heat is just starting point for or unique features.

For players and fans in Qatar, and viewers worldwide, games come around early and often on a more intense schedule than any previous group st. Four separate kickoff time slots are needed to make this tournament work, though y were used on first Saturday of previous tournaments.

In Qatar, re will be back-to-back-to-back-to-back games for seven straight days to squeeze this World Cup into only 29 days.

That's three total days fewer than were used to play 2018 tournament in Russia and 2014 edition in Brazil.

A 32-day tournament using five full weekends wasn't available this time because of deal FIFA h to strike with European leagues and clubs in 2015 to drop World Cup into middle of ir domestic season.

European Leagues group h warned of very severe dam being done to its members' sporting and financial interests by shutting m down for at least six weeks.

While storied clubs and stars like Erling Haaland take an extended break or he to training camps, World Cup players have an intense time ahe.

Teams in Groups G and H, like Brazil and Portugal, have fewest possible rest days. To win title, y will have to play seven games in only 25 days. World Cup doesn't even pause between group st and round of 16.

"This will be a very tiring tournament, and it's true we start later," Portugal coach Fernando Santos said after draw on April 1.

" only vant I see is starting on 24th," he said, ting that teams which play on vember 21  England, Nerlands, United States  have fewer days to prepare.

Santos, who wants those extra pre-tournament days for practice, pointed to dilemma facing most of 32 coaches at a World Cup where typically 75% of selected players are employed by European clubs.

European domestic leagues were mostly playing games right up to Sunday on last day before players h been mandated by FIFA to be with ir national teams.

That leaves only one week of official preparation time inste of at least two weeks before a rmal World Cup.

In Premier League on Sunday, Ecuor players Moiss Caicedo and Pervis Estupin were on field for Brighton exactly one week before ir national team opens World Cup against Qatar.

When clock in Doha ticked past midnight into Monday  FIFA's v. 14 deline for players to be on national-team duty  squ members from Argentina, Brazil, France, Poland and Serbia were still on field in Italy, where Juventus-Lazio game finished close to 11 pm local time.

"We don't have time to prepare team, just seven days," Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic said in April. "It will t be easy for us."

re was perfect solution when FIFA confirmed inevitable switch of dates in 2015, accepting World Cup could t be played or organized in June, when temperatures in Qatar reach 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit).

Seven years ago, favored European option of a January 2022 tournament was dismissed by FIFA's n-leers because of a direct clash with Winter Olympics in Beijing.

"It is, of course, t an ideal situation to play in vember and December," n-UEFA general secretary Gianni Infanti (w FIFA president) said in March 2015, "and we would have preferred to play in January because it would have h less of an impact."

Still, agreement to play in vember and December did create a five-month delay that proved essential when COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc with international soccer. Nearly all World Cup qualifying games scheduled in 2020 were postponed.

When it came to finalizing World Cup dates, one red line was ensuring Premier League would have its tritional December 26 games.

happy solution for Qatar was staging a four-week tournament with a tritional and auspicious Sunday final   emirate's National Day on December 18.