The final draw for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 is almost upon us. The eyes of the football world turn towards Qatar, and excitement builds in the nations who’ve sealed their places at the global finals.
The 32 nations involved in the 2022 World Cup, 29 of which are currently known, will be drawn into eight groups of four. Two of the remaining three spots will be filled by the winners of the Intercontinental Play-offs on 13 or 14 June, with the final berth determined by Path A of the European qualifying play-offs, in which Wales will face off against either Scotland or Ukraine in the final.
The group stage draw will take place tomorrow Friday 1st April at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center (DECC) in Qatar.
The Organising Committee for FIFA Competitions outlined that the teams already qualified will be allocated according to sporting principles to Pots 1 to 4 based on the FIFA/Coca-Cola Men’s World Ranking released on 31 March.
As hosts, Qatar will take position A1 from Pot 1, where they will be joined by the FIFA Ranking’s seven highest-ranked qualified teams. The countries occupying positions 8-15 on the ranking of the qualified teams will be allocated to Pot 2, while the 16th-23rd best-ranked qualifiers will be placed in Pot 3. Finally, Pot 4 will include the qualified teams in positions 24 to 28, plus three placeholders representing the two winners of the intercontinental play-offs and the remaining UEFA play-off winners.
The match schedule will be confirmed after games have been assigned to a stadium and kick-off time for each matchday.
The World Cup itself will take place between 21 November and 18 December 2022, with the group stage lasting 12 days and featuring four matches per day.
Here’s a look at what the pots will be for Friday’s draw:
Pot 1
Qatar
Brazil
Belgium
France
Argentina
England
Spain
Portugal
Pot 2
Netherlands
Denmark
Germany
Mexico
Switzerland
USA
Uruguay
Croatia
Pot 3
Senegal
Iran
Japan
Morocco
Serbia
Poland
South Korea
Tunisia
Pot 4
Cameroon
Canada
Ecuador
Saudi Arabia
Ghana
UEFA Playoff Winner
Peru-AFC Third Place Playoff winner
Costa Rica-New Zealand Playoff winner
The play-offs:
Asia play-off: Australia will face the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Doha on 7 June to decide which team enter the inter-confederation play-offs.
Inter-continental play-offs: Peru will face either Australia or UAE, while New Zealand will play Costa Rica. Both matches will be played in Doha on 13 and 14 June. The two winners will qualify for the World Cup Finals.
Europe play-off: Due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Ukrainian association requested for their European play-offs semi-final tie against Scotland be postponed. The match will now be played in June, and the winner will face Wales in the play-off final to determine the final European qualifier.
