FIFA World Cup 2022 Power Rankings: USMNT tumble after awful month; Brazil, Argentina the favorites

In March 2016, Amnesty International accused Qatar of using forced labour, forcing the employees to live in poor conditions, and withholding their wages and passports. It also accused FIFA of failing to stop the stadium from being built on "human right abuses." Migrant workers told Amnesty about verbal abuse and threats they received after complaining about not being paid for up to several months. Nepali workers were even denied leave to visit their family after the 2015 Nepal earthquake. In 2015, a crew of four journalists from the BBC were arrested and held for two days after they attempted to report on the condition of workers in the country.

As a result, the 2022 tournament is the first World Cup in which none of the teams that earned a spot through qualification were making their debut. The Netherlands, Ecuador, Ghana, Cameroon and the United States returned to the tournament after missing the 2018 tournament. Wales made their first appearance in 64 years – a record gap for a European team, their only previous participation having been in 1958. On Wednesday, Hummel revealed “toned down” kits that Denmark will wear during the men’s World Cup. Hummel says the subtle uniform message is in response to the alleged human rights violations that have occurred in Qatar. Failure to qualify could perhaps be partly attributed to Isak’s own dip in goalscoring form, which saw him fail to add to his nine international goals at all in 2022.

Amnesty International has sent an open letter co-signed by other human rights organizations to Infantino, asking football’s international governing body to designate at least $440 million to compensate migrant workers. Scally played just 31 minutes during the window and did not contribute during qualifying, but he made a positive impact when coming on for Yedlin against Saudi Arabia. His ability to play on the left or right would be a vital asset, and even though he's just 19, Scally has more appearances in top-five European league games in the past two seasons than anyone else in the player pool. Vines got the start against Japan and has been playing well in Belgium, but he probably didn't do enough to get into the final 26.

Neither of them figures to be in line for meaningful playing time, unless injuries force the issue. Pulisic, Reyna, Weah and Aaronson are all obvious inclusions who will have important roles to play as either starters or impact subs -- if healthy. All four have dealt with injuries in the past year and they've never all appeared in the same game. Those four, plus Adams, are all safe bets to be on the roster, while Brenden Aaronson and Giovanni Reyna can also contribute in midfield. The wild card is Tillman, whose inclusion will likely be determined by some combination of roster makeup and injuries. There could be six slots here, depending on how many wingers or center-backs are selected.

Concerns have been raised about the rights of members of the LGBT community who attend the tournament, as homosexuality is illegal in Qatar, and also punishable by death for Muslims under Sharia. After Qatar was chosen as host, Blatter was criticised for jokingly telling a reporter inquiring about these concerns that gay attendees "should refrain from any sexual activities". On 7 June 2015, Phaedra Almajid, the former media officer for the Qatar bid team, claimed that the allegations would result in Qatar not hosting the แข่งขันบอลโลก. In an interview published on the same day, Domenico Scala, the head of FIFA's Audit and Compliance Committee, stated that "should there be evidence that the awards to Qatar and Russia came only because of bought votes, then the awards could be cancelled."

Players participating in the tournament, including England captain Harry Kane, spoke out against the country as well. The report – “categorically” denied by tournament organizers – did not connect all 6,500 deaths with World Cup infrastructure projects and has not been independently verified by CNN. Tickets are on sale for the world’s most popular sporting event, but concerns over worker exploitation and laws against homosexuality have complicated the decision to attend for some fans. Ukraine had ridden national pride and emotion to the cusp of a berth in the World Cup in Qatar. Soccer’s showcase championship, the first edition with 48 teams, will visit 16 cities in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup is scheduled to be the 22nd running of the FIFA World Cup competition, the quadrennial international men's football championship contested by the senior national teams of the member associations of FIFA. This will be the first World Cup ever to be held in the Arab world, and the second World Cup held entirely in Asia after the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan. In addition, the tournament will be the last to involve 32 teams, with an increase to 48 teams scheduled for the 2026 tournament in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.