he 2022 World Cup is now a matter of months away and the majority of the remaining places at the tournament are set to be decided in the coming days.
Hosts Qatar were the first nation to qualify, while the majority of the big-hitters – including England – have already secured their places at the tournament, which begins on November 21, but the likes of Portugal, Egypt and Nigeria are still battling for a place.
This will be the last World Cup to follow a 32-team format before Fifa’s planned expansion to 48 teams at the 2026 World Cup, with countries split into eight groups of four, as has been the case at every tournament since the last expansion ahead of the 1998 tournament.
Wales, North Macedonia and Portugal made it into the play-off finals after beating Austria, Italy and Turkey respectively.
One of those finals has been delayed, with Ukraine’s qualifying play-off semi-final against Scotland postponed until June in the wake of Russia’s invasion.
Here’s everything you need to know about the 2022 World Cup draw…
2022 World Cup draw date, time and venue
The draw is scheduled to take place on Friday, April 1, 2022 in Doha, Qatar.
The draw ceremony is scheduled to begin at 5pm BST.
How to watch the 2022 World Cup draw
TV channel: Both the BBC and Sky Sports are expected to provide coverage of the draw, with details to be confirmed closer to the time.
Live stream: The BBC Sport website is expected to stream the draw live, while Sky Sports subscribers will be able to stream their coverage via the SkyGo app. In addition, Fifa will broadcast the draw live on their website and YouTube channel.
Live blog: You can follow the draw via Standard Sport’s live blog.
Who has qualified for the 2022 World Cup?
A total of 20 teams have already qualified for the tournament.
They are: Qatar, Germany, Denmark, Brazil, France, Belgium, Croatia, Spain, Serbia, England, Switzerland, Netherlands, Argentina, Iran, South Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Ecuador, Uruguay
2022 World Cup pots and seedings
Teams are split into four pots of eight teams, with each group at the tournament to consist of one team from each pot. Teams from the same confederation cannot be drawn against one another, with the exception of Uefa, where no more than two teams can be drawn in the same group.
The final pots and seedings – which are based on Fifa’s world rankings – will not be confirmed until after this month’s international break, but seven of the eight top seeded teams are already confirmed: Qatar, Belgium, France, Brazil, Argentina, England and Spain.
The final spot in Pot 1 will go to Portugal if they book their place at the tournament. Should they failed to do so via the play-offs then Denmark – who have already qualified – will be promoted into Pot 1.
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