With the Women's European Championships dominating the summer football calendar, the 2022 Men's World Cup will close out a hectic year of football.
Taking place in the middle of the typical European football season, the Qatar World Cup begins on 21 November and will wrap up with the final on 18 December - exactly a week before Christmas Day.
And while it's been difficult to find excitement for a World Cup that is taking place in the middle of the club season, we'll all be riddled with tournament football fever before we know it.
In what will be the final World Cup to feature 32 teams before the competition moves to a 48 team format in 2026, current holders France have a tough task of defending their crown with the competition as high as ever.
Argentina have looked completely revived under manager Lionel Scaloni and head in as 2021 Copa America winners, while their long time rivals Brazil also possess a mighty squad and are expected to go deep into the tournament.
England reached the semi-final of the 2018 tournament where they were knocked out by eventual runners up Croatia, and were beaten on penalties in the final of Euro 2020 by Italy, who astoundingly failed to qualify for the World Cup after being crowned European champions.
SAMARA, RUSSIA - JULY 07: Gareth Southgate, Manager of England celebrates following victory during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Quarter Final match between Sweden and England at Samara Arena on July 7, 2018 in Samara, Russia. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
If nothing else, it will certainly be fascinating to watch the tournament unfold with nations trying to pull to gather momentum while pulling players away from their domestic season so suddenly.
A Winter World Cup is something we have never seen before, and the managers tasked with defying the odds and trying to go all the way under such unusual circumstances certainly have their work cut out for them.
It makes sense, then, that those managers that will be in the dugouts in Qatar this Winter are receiving wages that align with the expectations they're shouldering.
Man Utd sign Eriksen (Football Terrace)
We all know just how inflated wages are among football players, thus it is no surprise to see it isn't much different across managers. Finance Football (via the Daily Star) have revealed the yearly salaries of the 10 highest earning managers heading to the World Cup.
Check out the full list below.
10. Murat Yakin - Switzerland - £1.4m
9. Fernando Santos - Portugal - £1.9m
8. Felix Sanchez Bas - Qatar - £2m
7. Lionel Scaloni - Argentina - £2.2m
6. Gerardo Martino - Mexico - £2.5m
= Louis van Gaal - Netherlands - £2.5m
ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS - OCTOBER 11: Louis van Gaal, head coach of Netherlands reacts during the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifier match between Netherlands and Gibraltar at De Kuip on October 11, 2021 in Rotterdam, . (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)
4. Tite - Brazil - £3m
3. Didier Deschamps - France - £3.2m
2. Gareth Southgate - England - £4.9m
- Hansi Flick - Germany - £5.5m
It's not a surprise to see such eyewatering figures all around.
What is perhaps a surprise is learning that Southgate - who has taken England to previously unreachable heights in recent times - isn't actually the highest earner at the World Cup, with his £4.9m salary.
That crown falls to Flick of Germany, who took the national team job in 2021 following an incredibly successful 2019/20 season in charge of Bayern Munich, where they secured their second ever continental treble and wiped the floor with most who tried to stop their dominance.
MARBELLA, SPAIN - MAY 26: Hansi Flick, manager of Germany speaks to the media after a training session of the German national soccer team on May 26, 2022 in Marbella, Spain. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images)
Van Gaal took charge of the Netherlands national team for the third time in his career in 2021, earning a salary of £2.5m in doing so, and will be looking to improve on the third place finish he achieved in the hot seat at the 2014 World Cup, before leaving to manage Manchester United.
That salary rather surprisingly keeps Van Gaal on the same wage as Mexico manager Martino, who has been in charge since 2019 and won the CONCACAF Gold Cup that year.
Also in the list is Santos of Portugal - who earns less than Qatar manager Bas - Scaloni of Argentina and Tite of Brazil; three teams all with the credentials to go deep into the tournament, and harbour ambitions of lifting the trophy.
What will dominate the headlines come December, however, is who can go the whole way and who exits early. No matter who is earning what, the 2022 World Cup is set to be one of the most intriguing tournaments we will witness.