World Cup 2022 draw: Date, start time, how to watch and format
The draw for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar is just around the corner with England, Germany, Brazil and France among the teams that have already booked their place in the competition.
This will be the final World Cup featuring 32 teams, with the tournament set to be expanded to 48 sides for the 2026 iteration – which is being jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
This makes the format of the draw slightly more straightforward, but there is still a lot to keep track of. Here is everything you need to know...
When is the 2022 World Cup draw?
The draw takes place on Friday 1 April at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center in Qatar.
Proceedings begin at 19:00 local time, which translates to 17:00 in the UK and 12:00 noon on the east coast of America.
How can I watch the World Cup draw?
FIFA will stream the draw on their official website, with the action also readily available in the UK across all BBC platforms, including live coverage on BBC One.
World Cup 2022: Which teams have qualified for Qatar?
The following teams have booked their place at the 2022 World Cup.
UEFA
- Germany
- Denmark
- France
- Belgium
- Croatia
- Spain
- Serbia
- England
- Switzerland
- Netherlands
- Poland
- Portugal
Conmebol
- Brazil
- Argentina
- Ecuador
- Uruguay
AFC
- Iran
- South Korea
- Saudi Arabia
- Japan
- Qatar (hosts)
Concacaf
- Canada
- Mexico
- USA
Who can still qualify for the World Cup?
The 12 UEFA teams will be joined by three more nations. The playoffs were contested in March, with the exception of Ukraine vs Scotland which has been delayed until June, leaving just one spot to fill.
- Wales vs Scotland/Ukraine
The AFC play-off winner between Australia and the UAE will then meet CONMEBOL's Peru in an intercontinental matchup to decide who goes to Qatar.
Lastly, OFC do not get an automatic qualification spot so New Zealand will have to beat CONCACAF's Costa Rica in another intercontinental play-off to reach the finals.
2022 World Cup draw format
Once the 32 teams have been determined they will be split into four pots depending on their FIFA ranking.
Hosts Qatar will be placed in Group A and pot one, alongside the seven highest-ranked nations in the draw.
Each of the groups cannot have more than one team from the same continental confederation with the exception of UEFA, who can have a maximum of two different sides.
2022 World Draw pots
Pot 1
- Qatar
- Belgium
- France
- Brazil
- Argentina
- England
- Spain
- Portugal
Pot 2
- Netherlands
- Germany
- Denmark
- Switzerland
- Croatia
- Uruguay
- Mexico
- USA
Pot 3
- Iran
- Japan
- Serbia
- Poland
- South Korea
- Senegal
- Morocco
- Tunisia
Pot 4
- Cameroon
- Ecuador
- Saudi Arabia
- Ghana
- Canada
- Wales/Scotland/Ukraine
- Australia/UAE/Peru
- New Zealand/Costa Rica
A maximum of two European teams can be drawn per group, while there can be no more than one team per other confederation.
When does the Qatar World Cup start?
The World Cup group stages kick off on Monday 21 November and the curtain will come down on the competition with the final on Sunday 18 December.
Why is the World Cup in November?
The decision was made to move the World Cup to winter due to the extreme heat conditions that would be present if it is was played in its normal slot: the end of the European club season.
As a result the 2022/23 campaign will be heavily disrupted, with the continent's top leagues taking a break before Christmas before resuming in the New Year.