Puri (Odisha) [India], November 20 (ANI): World-renowned sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik created a replica of the FIFA World Cup trophy using sand to commemorate the football mega event and wish the participating teams good luck at a Puri beach in Odisha.

The World Cup trophy replica stands at a height of eight feet and also features 1350 coins collected from the countries of the 32 teams participating in the football extravaganza.

Indian coins have also been used along with other countries' coins to make the trophy replica.

The message at the bottom of the trophy replica reads 'Good Luck' which is for the teams participating in the tournament.

Pattnaik always tries to do something new in sand art. This time he created an eight feet high sand sculpture of the trophy by using around 5 tones of sand and at the backdrop of the trophy he created a football.

He said that he had collected these coins during his participation in different sand art competitions worldwide.

Pattnaik is a Padma awardee artist who has participated in more than 60 International sand art festivals and competitions around the World and won many prizes for our country.

FIFA World Cup 2022 will be held across Qatar from November 20 to December 18.

The Qatar FIFA World Cup 2022 will see 32 teams from five confederations compete for the biggest prize in football. As many as 64 matches will be played during the course of 29 days.

The teams are hosts Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, the Netherlands, England, Iran, USA, Wales, Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland, France, Australia, Denmark, Tunisia, Spain, Costa Rica, Germany, Japan, Belgium, Canada, Morocco, and Croatia, Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, Cameroon, Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, and South Korea.

France is the defending champion, having won their second title in 2018 after defeating Croatia in the final. They will be aiming to defend their crown against a world-class competition offered by these aforementioned teams.

It will be the final World Cup tournament for Lionel Messi, the Argentina striker considered one of the greatest ever footballers of all time. It is also highly likely that 37-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo will don the Portuguese colours for one final time.

This marks the first time the Middle East is hosting the event. It is also the first time the World Cup is being held outside the typical June-July window, in order to avoid the desert heat during the summers in Qatar.

Eight stadiums across Qatar will be hosting the 64 matches of this tournament.Qatar and Ecuador will lock horns in the campaign opener from 9:30 PM IST onwards. Matches throughout the tournament will take place at 12:30 AM, 3:30 PM, 6:30 PM, 9:30 PM IST as well and will be broadcasted live on Sports 18.

The Round of 16 from December 3 onwards will mark the beginning of the knockout stage of the tournament.

The quarterfinals will start from December 9 onwards, followed by the semifinals from December 14 onwards.

The title clash will take place on December 18 at the Lusail Iconic Stadium in Lusail.

Groups:Group A: Qatar (H), Ecuador, Senegal, NetherlandsGroup B: England, Iran, United States, WalesGroup C: Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, PolandGroup D: France, Australia, Denmark, TunisiaGroup E: Spain, Costa Rica, Germany, JapanGroup F: Belgium, Canada, Morocco, CroatiaGroup G: Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, CameroonGroup H: Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, South Korea. (ANI)