It’s a World Cup year and, despite the tournament not starting until November, excitement is starting to build with the draw for the competition looming.
The tournament was moved from its traditional summer slot due to the intense heat in its host country, Qatar. The 2022 version of the competition will take place this winter, with domestic leagues paused to accommodate international football’s biggest tournament.
This is the final World Cup to feature 32 teams, with the 2026 finals set to be contested by 48 teams and staged by co-hosts Canada, USA and Mexico.
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When is the World Cup draw?
The World Cup draw is scheduled for the 1st April 2022 at 4pm(GMT), and the ceremony will take place in Doha, Qatar.
We’ll know 29 of the 32 team qualified by this point; the Uefa Path A qualifier between Scotland and Ukraine, originally scheduled for March 24th, has been postponed following Russia’s invasion of their country. There are then two inter-confederation ties scheduled to take place in June to determine who will clinch the final two spots at the World Cup.
What are the seedings for the World Cup draw?
The seedings and pots for the World Cup have been released and are as follows:
| Pot One | Qualification Route | FIFA World Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Qatar | Hosts | 51 |
| Brazil | Conmebol Group Winner | 1 |
| Belgium | Uefa Group E Winner | 2 |
| France | Uefa Group D Winner | 3 |
| Argentina | Conmebol Group Runners Up | 4 |
| England | Uefa Group I Winner | 5 |
| Spain | Uefa Group B Winner | 7 |
| Portugal | Uefa Playoff Path C Winner | 8 |
| Pot Two | Qualification Route | FIFA World Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Mexico | Concacaf Group Runners Up | 9 |
| Netherlands | Uefa Group G Winner | 10 |
| Denmark | Uefa Group F Winner | 11 |
| Germany | Uefa Group J Winner | 12 |
| Uruguay | Conmebol Group Third Place | 13 |
| Switzerland | Uefa Group C Winner | 14 |
| United States | Concacaf Group Third Place | 15 |
| Croatia | Uefa Group H Winner | 16 |
| Pot Three | Qualification Route | FIFA World Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Senegal | Caf Playoff Winner | 20 |
| Iran | AFC Group A Winner | 21 |
| Japan | AFC Group B Runners Up | 22 |
| Morocco | Caf Playoff Winner | 24 |
| Serbia | Uefa Group A Winner | 25 |
| Poland | Uefa Playoff Path B Winner | 26 |
| South Korea | AFC Group A Runners Up | 29 |
| Tunisia | Caf Playoff Winner | 35 |
| Pot Four | Qualification Route | FIFA World Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Cameroon | Caf Playoff Winner | 37 |
| Canada | Concacaf Group Winner | 38 |
| Ecuador | Conmebol Group Fourth Place | 46 |
| Saudi Arabia | AFC Group B Winner | 49 |
| Ghana | Caf Playoff Winner | 60 |
| Wales or Scotland/Ukraine | Uefa Playoff Path A Winner | 18 or 39/27 |
| Costa Rica or New Zealand | Inter-Confederation Playoff Winner | 31 or 101 |
| Peru or Australia/United Arab Emirates | Inter-Confederation Playoff Winner | 22 or 42 |
Who has qualified for the World Cup? (odds via Sky Bet*)
The following nations have already secured qualification to the 2022 World Cup
| Confederation | Nation | Outright odds |
|---|---|---|
| AFC | Qatar (hosts) | 150/1 |
| Japan | 250/1 | |
| Saudi Arabia | 1000/1 | |
| Iran | 750/1 | |
| South Korea | 500/1 | |
| Conmebol | Argentina | 10/1 |
| Brazil | 11/2 | |
| Ecuador | 200/1 | |
| Uruguay | 40/1 | |
| Uefa | Belgium | 11/1 |
| Croatia | 50/1 | |
| Denmark | 28/1 | |
| England | 7/1 | |
| France | 13/2 | |
| Germany | 9/1 | |
| Netherlands | 16/1 | |
| Poland | 80/1 | |
| Portugal | 12/1 | |
| Serbia | 80/1 | |
| Spain | 15/2 | |
| Switzerland | 66/1 | |
| Concacaf | Canada | 250/1 |
| United States | 100/1 | |
| Mexico | 100/1 | |
| Caf | Cameroon | 200/1 |
| Ghana | 150/1 | |
| Morocco | 150/1 | |
| Senegal | 80/1 | |
| Tunisia | 250/1 |
*You have to be 18+ to gamble. All odds within this article are accurate at the time of writing (08:55, 01/04/2022). GambleAware.
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Who could still qualify for the World Cup?
There are still three World Cup spots up for grabs, with the following nations still within a chance of travelling to Qatar in November.
AFC
United Arab Emirates and Australia will meet on June 7, 2022 for the right to face Peru in the inter-confederation playoff match. The winner of that playoff match will qualify for the World Cup.
Concacaf
Costa Rica enter the inter-confederation playoffs against the winner of the OFC’s qualifiers, New Zealand. Their contest is scheduled to take place in mid-June in a one-legged tie for a place in the World Cup.
Conmebol
Peru secured their place in the inter-confederation playoff against either Australia or United Arab Emirates. This match will take place on 13 or 14 June 2022 and the winner will qualify for the World Cup.
OFC
New Zealand beat Solomon Islands in OFC’s final 5-0, meaning they advance to that aforementioned inter-confederation playoff match against Costa Rica.
Uefa
Path A
Wales were able to overcome Austria in the semi-final and will move onto the final where they will face either Scotland or Ukraine. That semi-final tie between Scotland and Ukraine has been postponed due to the ongoing situation in Ukraine, with the rearranged fixture taking place in June.
Where to watch the World Cup draw
The World Cup draw is scheduled to be streamed live on FIFA.com on 1st April from 4pm. The entire draw will also be shown on BBC One with coverage starting at 4:45pm (UK time). In the US, the draw will be available on Peacock, Telemundo, and Universo.
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