LONDON – As the English are still licking their wounds from a heart-breaking defeat to Italy in the Euro final at the Wembley Stadium on Monday, they received another blow.
England will begin the 2022 World Cup in Qatar having not played for two months due to the tournament being held in the middle of the European season.
According to the British media, there will be no time for any warm-up games after the shutdown of the Premier League just eight days earlier.
FIFA have only secured a seven-day mandatory release period before the tournament for players to join their national teams.
Assuming they qualify, the shortened window is likely to affect England's preparations because, with 20 clubs, the Premier League has more matches than most other leagues.
Under the schedule agreed by the clubs and the FA, there will be a full round of Premier League games on the weekend of November 12 and 13 next year before the players join up with England on November 14, a week before the start of the tournament.
Gareth Southgate is therefore planning to take his players straight to Qatar to acclimatise, as temperatures in Doha often reach 86°F (30°C) even in winter, leaving no time for pre-tournament friendlies.
To compound matters, the October international break has been scrapped next year to allow the Champions’ League group stage to be completed before the World Cup begins, with match-day six scheduled for November 2 - six weeks earlier than usual.
The Premier League will begin a week earlier than normal on August 6, 2022, before resuming on Boxing Day after a six-week break and finishing slightly on May 28, 2023.
The FA Cup final will take place on June 3, with the Champions League final being held a week later in Munich. Such a congested schedule has led to concerns over player welfare.
The Championship will also take a break from November 14 but, with a 46-game season to fit in, consideration is being given to resuming at the end of the World Cup group stage rather than waiting until the end of the tournament.
However, according to reports, the 2022-23 schedule is yet to be confirmed.
Meanwhile, the FA will not rush Southgate into signing a new contract and are prepared to wait until next season before opening negotiations.
Chief executive Mark Bullingham made it clear last month that the FA want to extend Southgate's deal until the 2024 Euros in Germany, but in the wake of England's loss to Italy on Monday the 50-year-old raised concerns about outstaying his welcome.
With just 16 months to go until the World Cup finals in Qatar, however, Southgate is committed to staying on to manage England in that tournament - but has yet to consider his future beyond 2022.
Southgate was offered a new contract by the FA after the 2018 World Cup but did not sign it until the following October so Bullingham is hopeful that his waiting tactics will pay off. – Agencies July 14, 2021
