The final draw for the 2022 FIFA World Cup is due to be made today (Friday, April 1) following the latest round of international fixtures which saw 29 of the 32 teams involved confirmed for this year’s tournament.
The seedings have been decided following Thursday’s release of the latest set of FIFA World Rankings and England have been placed in Pot 1, as Gareth Southgate ’s Three Lions prepare to find out the three other nations they will contest against at 5pm today.
Here is all you need to know about how to watch the World Cup draw, including when coverage begins and who England could face.
When is the group stage draw for the 2022 FIFA World Cup?
The draw for the group stage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup will take place at 5pm (BST) on Friday, April 1 at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center in Doha, Qatar.
At the time of the draw, only 29 of the 32 nations involved will be known, with two inter-confederation play-offs set to be held in June, along with Scotland’s postponed UEFA play-off semi-final with Ukraine, before the winner will face Wales in the final the same month.
How to watch
The draw will typically be broadcast live on FIFA's website, but for UK viewers it will be televised on BBC 1, while it can also be accessed via iPlayer and the iPlayer app. Coverage will begin at 4:45pm.
Who would you like England to avoid in the World Cup draw? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
How the draw works
This will be the final edition of the 32-team format, before it expands to 48 in 2026, meaning that the usual structure of eight groups of four teams will be used in Qatar. The pots for the draw will be decided by the current FIFA rankings, with the hosts and the top seven ranked teams going into Pot A.
Pot B will contain the next eight best ranked teams, and so on for Pot C and Pot D, although Pot D will include the two winners of the inter-confederation play-offs, along with the winner of the remaining UEFA play-off final. Europe is the only continent in which more than one of its nations can be drawn in the same group, with a maximum of two allowed.
The inter-confederation play-offs in June will see one of the United Arab Emirates and Australia face Peru, while Costa Rica will face New Zealand for the final two spots at the World Cup.
Full seedings
Pot 1 - Qatar (hosts), Brazil, Belgium, France, Argentina, England, Spain, Portugal
Pot 2 - Mexico, Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Uruguay, Switzerland, USA, Croatia
Pot 3 - Senegal, Iran, Japan, Morocco, Serbia, Poland, South Korea, Tunisia
Pot 4 - Cameroon, Canada, Ecuador, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Costa Rica/New Zealand, Peru or Australia/UAE, Wales or Scotland/Ukraine
When does the group stage take place?
The group stage for the 2022 FIFA World Cup takes place from November 21, 2022 - December 2, 2022. The first match will feature the hosts, Qatar, and another team from Group A. The game will kick off at 1pm local time (10am BST) on Monday, November 21, 2022.
