Beyond the UEFA men’s tournament: Upcoming international football events to keep an eye on

1^st July 2022

The editorial unit

The editorial unit

1 July 2022

Sure, the UEFA men’s championship has passed us by, with Real Madrid defeating Liverpool in the final, but that’s not the end of football events for 2022, and there are still games and teams to get behind while the sun shines. So, after the end of the UEFA what are the upcoming events in football?

UEFA Women’s Euros

Well of course there’s the women’s UEFA championship, which is yet to play out for 2022. This year it happens from 6^th until 31^st July 2022, hosted by England, and the host nation are looking like hot favourites to win. The England women’s football team have been going from strength to strength, and they’re likely to be challenged only by France in the upcoming matches, with Germany and Sweden next in line and reigning champions the Netherlands behind. Any England fans still smarting from Liverpool’s loss would do well to get behind these phenomenal women.

AFC Asian Cup

The AFC Asian Cup is the second oldest continental football championship in the world after Copa América, and until 2015 the winning team qualified for the FIFA Confederations Cup. Since 1984, Japan and Saudi Arabia have been the most successful teams, winning seven of the last ten finals combined; Qatar are the current champions, having won in 2019. Many wonder about upcoming cricket matches. Next matches for 2022 run from August, with the finals in October. So far, Pedro Paulo (on the Viettel Vietnamese team) and Mahmoud Al-Mardi (of Darul Aman from Kedah, Malaysia) are top scorers, but it’s early days for finals predictions.

African Cup of Nations

The African Cup of Nations was originally scheduled to run this summer, but has been moved to early next year. Algeria last won in 2019, and they will host the tournament beginning in January 2023. In the meantime, the 14^th edition of the African Women’s Cup of Nations is about to kick off, running from 2^nd until 23^rd July, and doubling as the African qualifiers to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Morocco are the hosts for this year, with a stacked field bringing top contenders from Nigeria, Cameroon, Morocco, South Africa and Zambia.

Fifa World Cup

The Fifa World Cup is scheduled for later this year, due to the fact it’s being hosted by Qatar, where the climate earlier in summer isn’t suitable for any sporting events. The four-yearly competition was last won by France (at a very different time when Russia was home for the games). This time, Brazil are clear favourites, with Argentina also being strong contenders. Matches begin in November, and the final is scheduled for 18^th December at Lusail.

The editorial unit