The draw for the 2022 World Cup takes place in Qatar this afternoon, with teams finally set to learn their group stage opponents for this winter’s tournament.
For the final time before Fifa’s planned expansion to a 48-team tournament in 2026, the 32 teams will be drawn into eight groups of four for the tournament, which begins on November 21.
Unusually, however, the identity of three teams is not yet known, with two inter-continental playoffs still to be played as well as one in Europe, the latter having been postponed because of the situation in Ukraine.
England are among the top seeds in this afternoon’s draw, along with plenty of the usual big-hitters and the host nation, while European champions Italy are the biggest-name absentees after their playoff exit against North Macedonia last week.
Here’s everything you need to know about the 2022 World Cup draw...
2022 World Cup draw date, time and venue
The 2022 World Cup draw is scheduled to take place today, 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: Today’s draw will be broadcast live on BBC One, with coverage beginning at 4.45pm BST.
Live stream: The BBC iPlayer will broadcast the draw, with the Fifa website also offering a live stream.
Live blog: You can also follow the draw via Standard Sport’s live blog.
Who has qualified for the 2022 World Cup?
A total of 29 teams have already qualified for the tournament ahead of the draw after the USA and Mexico secured their respective places on Wednesday night, with three spots left.
The final play-off winner from Europe is yet to be determined, with either Wales, Scotland or Ukraine making it to Qatar.
Concacaf’s fourth-placed team Costa Rica and Oceania winners New Zealand will meet in an inter-continental play-off, while Peru also await the winners of a play-off between Australia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The teams that have qualified are: Qatar, Germany, Denmark, Brazil, France, Belgium, Croatia, Spain, Serbia, England, Switzerland, Netherlands, Argentina, Iran, South Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Ecuador, Uruguay, Ghana, Senegal, Portugal, Poland, Tunisia, Morocco, Cameroon, USA, Mexico.
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.
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 play-off winner (Wales, Scotland or Ukraine)
- Peru vs Australia or UAE play-off winner
- Costa Rica vs New Zealand play-off winner
