The FIFA World Cup 2022 is fast approaching, and all the participating nations are busy preparing their squads. On October 21, Louis van Gaal, the head coach of the Netherlands, revealed a preliminary squad of 39 players. Let's look at the players who were named to the Dutch roster. Netherlands preliminary squad for Qatar World Cup 2022 All the participating teams in the FIFA World Cup 2022 have to name their final 26-man squads by November 14. Before that, teams can announce their provisional squad to construct their final roster for the mega event. Read: FIFA World Cup 2022: Participating countries, venues, full group phase fixtures The Netherlands team’s head coach, Louis van Gaal, declared a preliminary squad where he called up 39 players. There were some surprises in the squad as Mitchel Bakker, Xavi Simons and Micky van de Ven were called up for the first time. Sven Botman, Jeremie Frimpong, and Pascal Struijk, who were previously called up but yet to make a debut for the national side, were also called up. Apart from that, all the expected names found a place in the roster. Netherlands 39-man provisional squad Goalkeepers: Andries Noppert, Remko Pasveer, Justin Bijlow, Jasper Cillessen, Mark Flekken Defenders: Jeremie Frimpong, Tyrell Malacia, Devyne Rensch, Pascal Struijk, Jurrien Timber, Nathan Ake, Mitchel Bakker, Daley Blind, Sven Botman, Matthijs de Ligt, Stefan de Vrij, Denzel Dumfries, Micky van de Ven, Virgil van Dijk Midfielders: Teun Koopmeiners, Xavi Simons, Kenneth Taylor, Guus Til, Steven Berghuis, Jordy Clasie, Frenkie de Jong, Marten de Roon, Ryan Gravenberch, Davy Klaassen Forwards: Steven Bergwijn, Brian Brobbey, Luuk de Jong, Vincent Janssen, Noa Lang, Donyell Malen, Wout Weghorst, Arnaut Danjuma, Memphis Depay, Cody Gakpo Read: Technologies set to amaze at Qatar Football World Cup 2022 The Netherlands have long been recognized as one of the best footballing nations in the world and the World Cup's unluckiest team. Despite participating in the finals of the 1974, 1978, and 2010 World Cups, the Dutch national men's football team has never taken home the trophy. The current Dutch team is not considered one of the strong favourites to win the FIFA World Cup 2022. However, as the competition goes on, they might become a dangerous force. One of the most seasoned and well-respected coaches in the world is their head coach, Louis van Gaal. He has a big job on hand to make a strong team from the preliminary squad for the upcoming football World Cup in Qatar.

The football World Cup is set to begin on November 20 in Qatar. For the first time, a middle-east country will host football's biggest event, and it will arguably be the costliest one ever. Let’s have a look at the participating countries, groups, venues, and complete fixtures of the FIFA World Cup 2022. FIFA World Cup 2022: Participating Countries and Groups Through qualifying competitions, 31 of 211 countries from six continental confederations secured a place in the main event of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Qatar automatically qualified to take part in the main event as a host country. Read: Technologies set to amaze at Qatar Football World Cup 2022 Among the 32 participating teams, 13 are from Europe, 6 from the AFC, 5 from the CAF, and 4 each from CONCACAF and CONMEBOL. No team qualified from the OFC region. Here are the teams who have qualified for the 2022 World Cup football main event. Europe: Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, WalesAFC: Qatar (host), Iran, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, AustraliaCAF: Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, TunisiaCONCACAF: Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, United StatesCONMEBOL: Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Uruguay There are eight groups for the 32-nation tournament, with each containing four teams. The top two teams from each of the eight groups will advance to the Round of 16 phase. Here are the eight groups of the Qatar World Cup 2022. Group A: Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal and Netherlands Group B: England, IR Iran, USA and Wales Group C: Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland Group D: France, Australia, Denmark and Tunisia Group E: Spain, Costa Rica, Germany and Japan Group F: Belgium, Canada, Morocco and Croatia Group G: Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland and Cameroon Group H: Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay and Korea Republic Qatar World Cup 2022: Venues One of the main attractions of the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar is the venues. The organizer has built some eye-catching stadiums for the mega tournament where all the modern facilities are installed. A total of eight stadiums have been built in five major cities in Qatar and the interesting thing is that all the venues are air-conditioned where cooling systems have been installed to reduce temperatures within the stadium up to 36 degrees Fahrenheit. Qatar is a tiny country, so the distance between one city and another is very short. Due to the short distance traveled, fatigue will be less among the players. The five cities where the matches of the tournament will take place are Lusail, Al Khor, Doha, Al Rayyan, and Al Wakrah. Here are the eight stadiums for the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Read: World Cup Football 2022 jerseys: Where to buy online in Bangladesh Ground: Lusail Iconic Stadium | Capacity: 80,000 | City: LusailGround: Al Bayt Stadium | Capacity: 60,000 | City: Al KhorGround: Stadium 974 | Capacity: 40,000 | City: DohaGround: Al Thumama Stadium | Capacity: 40,000 | City: DohaGround: Khalifa International Stadium | Capacity: 45,416 | City: Al RayyanGround: Education City Stadium | Capacity: 45,350 | City: Al RayyanGround: Ahmad bin Ali Stadium | Capacity: 44,740 | City: Al WakrahGround: Al Janoub Stadium | Capacity: 40,000 | City: Al Wakrah Football World Cup Qatar 2022: Full Group Phase Fixtures The tournament’s group phase will start on November 20 with a match between Qatar and Ecuador. The group stage will end on December 2. The Round of 16 phase will be held from December 3 to December 6. After that, the quarter-finals will take place on December 9 and 10, followed by the two semifinals on December 13 and 14. The final match of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 will be held on December 18 at the Lusail Iconic Stadium. Here are the complete 2022 FIFA World Cup group stage fixtures. The match schedule is given in Bangladesh Standard Time. Match 1: Qatar vs Ecuador | Date: November 20 | Time: 10 p.m. (BST) Match 2: England vs Iran | Date: November 21 | Time: 7 p.m. (BST) Match 3: Senegal vs Netherlands | Date: November 21 | Time: 10 p.m. (BST) Match 4: United States vs Wales | Date: November 22 | Time: 1 a.m. (BST) Match 5: Argentina vs Saudi Arabia | Date: November 22 | Time: 4 p.m. (BST) Match 6: Denmark vs Tunisia | Date: November 22 | Time: 7 p.m. (BST) Match 7: Mexico vs Poland | Date: November 22 | Time: 10 p.m. (BST) Match 8: France vs Australia | Date: November 23 | Time: 1 a.m. (BST) Match 9: Morocco vs Croatia | Date: November 23 | Time: 4 p.m. (BST) Match 10: Germany vs Japan | Date: November 23 | Time: 7 p.m. (BST) Match 11: Spain vs Costa Rica | Date: November 23 | Time: 10 p.m. (BST) Match 12: Belgium vs Canada | Date: November 24 | Time: 1 a.m. (BST) Match 13: Switzerland vs Cameroon | Date: November 24 | Time: 4 p.m. (BST) Match 14: Uruguay vs Korea Republic | Date: November 24 | Time: 7 p.m. (BST) Match 15: Portugal vs Ghana | Date: November 24 | Time: 10 p.m. (BST) Match 16: Brazil vs Serbia | Date: November 25 | Time: 1 a.m. (BST) Match 17: Wales vs Iran | Date: November 25 | Time: 4 p.m. (BST) Match 18: Qatar vs Senegal | Date: November 25 | Time: 7 p.m. (BST) Match 19: Netherlands vs Ecuador | Date: November 25 | Time: 10 p.m. (BST) Match 20: United States vs England | Date: November 26 | Time: 1 a.m. (BST) Match 21: Australia vs Tunisia | Date: November 26 | Time: 4 p.m. (BST) Match 22: Poland vs Saudi Arabia | Date: November 26 | Time: 7 p.m. (BST) Match 23: France vs Denmark | Date: November 26 | Time: 10 p.m. (BST) Match 24: Argentina vs Mexico | Date: November 27 | Time: 1 a.m. (BST) Match 25: Japan vs Costa Rica | Date: November 27 | Time: 4 p.m. (BST) Match 26: Belgium vs Morocco | Date: November 27 | Time: 7 p.m. (BST) Match 27: Croatia vs Canada | Date: November 27 | Time: 10 p.m. (BST) Match 28: Spain vs Germany | Date: November 28 | Time: 1 a.m. (BST) Match 29: Cameroon vs Serbia | Date: November 28 | Time: 4 p.m. (BST) Match 30: Korea Republic vs Ghana | Date: November 28 | Time: 7 p.m. (BST) Match 31: Brazil vs Switzerland | Date: November 28 | Time: 10 p.m. (BST) Match 32: Portugal vs Uruguay | Date: November 29 | Time: 1 a.m. (BST) Match 33: Netherlands vs Qatar | Date: November 29 | Time: 9 p.m. (BST) Match 34: Ecuador vs Senegal | Date: November 29 | Time: 9 p.m. (BST) Match 35: Wales vs England | Date: November 30 | Time: 1 a.m. (BST) Match 36: Iran vs United States | Date: November 30 | Time: 1 a.m. (BST) Match 37: Australia vs Denmark | Date: November 30 | Time: 9 p.m. (BST) Match 38: Tunisia vs France | Date: November 30 | Time: 9 p.m. (BST) Match 39: Poland vs Argentina | Date: December 1 | Time: 1 a.m. (BST) Match 40: Saudi Arabia vs Mexico | Date: December 1 | Time: 1 a.m. (BST) Match 41: Croatia vs Belgium | Date: December 1 | Time: 9 p.m. (BST) Match 42: Canada vs Morocco | Date: December 1 | Time: 9 p.m. (BST) Match 43: Japan vs Spain | Date: December 2 | Time: 1 a.m. (BST) Match 44: Costa Rica vs Germany | Date: December 2 | Time: 1 a.m. (BST) Match 45: Ghana vs Uruguay | Date: December 2 | Time: 9 p.m. (BST) Match 46: Korea Republic vs Portugal | Date: December 2 | Time: 9 p.m. (BST) Match 47: Serbia vs Switzerland | Date: December 3 | Time: 1 a.m. (BST) Match 48: Cameroon vs Brazil | Date: December 3 | Time: 1 a.m. (BST) Read: Brilliant Benzema and His Road to Ballon d’Or Glory Aftermath The FIFA World Cup 2022 is drawing a lot of attention from football enthusiasts worldwide, especially with regard to how the host country will organize the competition. The schedule indicates that the eight groups of 32 participating nations won't have to travel much further to play their matches because of the close proximity of the venues. Overall, Qatar's preparations for the World Cup promise to be a memorable event.