FIFA PRIMER by Best Life Qatar

ROAD TO FIFA 2022  | Which teams have qualified for the World Cup?

The 2022 World Cup in Qatar will feature 32 teams with thirty-one nations vying for the right to play alongside host Qatar through regional qualifying matches. It has been predetermined how many nations will qualify from each region:

  • Africa (CAF): 5
  • Asia (AFC): 4 (plus 1 playoff qualifier)
  • Europe (UEFA): 13
  • North/Central America & Caribbean (CONCACAF): 3 (plus 1 playoff qualifier)
  • Oceania (OFC): 1 playoff qualifier
  • South America (CONMEBOL): 4 (plus 1 playoff qualifier)

Two intercontinental playoff matches played in June 2022, featuring one nation from each of four different regions, will determine the final two qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup: Asia vs. South America, and North America vs. Oceania.

Which teams have qualified for the World Cup so far?

From a total of 210 teams all over the world,  15 teams have officially qualified for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, including the host nation. That leaves 17 spots to be filled in the upcoming months to complete the 32 FINAL TEAMS.

In addition to host nation Qatar, there have been 10 nations from Europe to qualify for the tournament. Brazil was the first to earn a berth from South America with five qualifying matches left and it was joined by Argentina. The first team from Asia to mathematically clinch a berth was Iran and it was followed by South Korea.

The table below will be updated as nations clinch:

No.Nation (Ranking)RegionDate qualifiedHow qualifiedWC appsTitles (Last)
1Qatar (48)AsiaDec. 2, 2010Hosts1 of 22
2Germany (12)EuropeOct. 11, 20211st – Grp. J20 of 224 (2014)
3Denmark (9)EuropeOct. 12, 20211st – Grp. F6 of 22
4Brazil (2)S. AmericaNov. 11, 2021Top 422 of 225 (2002)
5France (3)EuropeNov. 13, 20211st – Grp. D16 of 222 (2018)
6Belgium (1)EuropeNov. 13, 20211st – Grp. E14 of 22
7Croatia (15)EuropeNov. 14, 20211st – Grp. H6 of 22
8Spain (7)EuropeNov. 14, 20211st – Grp. B16 of 221 (2010)
9Serbia (23)EuropeNov. 14, 20211st – Grp. A4 of 22
10England (4)EuropeNov. 15, 20211st – Grp. I16 of 221 (1966)
11Switzerland (13)EuropeNov. 15, 20211st – Grp. C12 of 22
12Netherlands (10)EuropeNov. 16, 20211st – Grp. G11 of 22
13Argentina (5)S AmericaNov. 16, 2021Top 418 of 222 (1986)
14Iran (21)AsiaJan. 27, 2022Top 2 – Grp. A6 of 22
15South Korea (33)AsiaFeb. 1, 2022Top 2 – Grp. A11 of 22
16     
17     
18     
19     
20     
21     
22     
23     
24     
25     
26     
27     
28     
29     
30     
31 Asia / S. America Intercont’l Playoff 
32 N. America / Oceania Intercont’l Playoff 
SOURCE: https://www.sportingnews.com/

As of press time, there is still a lot going on leading to the FIFA World Cup 2022 which will start on November 21, 2022 in Doha, Qatar.

AFRICA

Ten teams reached the final round of African qualifying. The winners of the five two-legged ties, scheduled for March 23 & 29, will represent Africa at Qatar 2022.

Fixtures:

  • Egypt-Senegal
  • Cameroon-Algeria
  • Nigeria-Ghana
  • DR Congo-Morocco
  • Mali-Tunisia

ASIA

Five or six teams will represent the AFC in Qatar. The top two teams in each group will qualify for Qatar 2022. The third-placed teams in each section will meet in a single-game tie for the right to go into an intercontinental play-off for a place at the World Cup. In addition, Qatar has qualified as the host nation.

Group A

TeamPlayedPointsGD
IR Iran (QUALIFIED)822+11
Korea Republic (QUALIFIED)820+9
United Arab Emirates890
Lebanon86-3
Iraq85-7
Syria82-10

Group B

TeamPlayedPointsGD
Saudi Arabia819+5
Japan818+6
Australia815+9
Oman88-2
China PR85-8
Vietnam83-10

EUROPE

Thirteen teams will represent UEFA in Qatar.

Qualified: Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland.

Qualified for play-offs on March 24-25, 2022 | Finals on March 28-29, 2022: Austria, Czech Republic, Italy, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Scotland, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine and Wales.

NORTH, CENTRAL AMERICA & CARIBBEAN

Three or four teams will represent Concacaf at Qatar 2022. The top three will qualify for Qatar 2022. The third-placed finishers will go into an intercontinental playoff.

TeamPlayedPointsGD
Canada1125+14
USA1121+9
Mexico1121+6
Panama1117+1
Costa Rica1116+1
El Salvador119-7
Jamaica117-7
Honduras113-17

OCEANIA

Zero or one team will represent the OFC at Qatar 2022. The qualification will take place between 13 and 30 March in Qatar. The winners will face the Concacaf representative in the FIFA intercontinental play-offs in June 2022 for a place in the final competition.

As a result of the draw, the teams were allocated to two groups for the round-robin group stage:

Group A:

  • Solomon Islands
  • Tahiti
  • Vanuatu
  • Tonga or Cook Islands

Group B:

  • New Zealand
  • New Caledonia
  • Fiji
  • Papua New Guinea

SOUTH AMERICA

Four or five teams will represent CONMEBOL at Qatar 2022.  The top four teams will secure World Cup qualification. The fifth-placed finishers will go into an intercontinental playoff.

TablePlayedPointsGD
Brazil (QUALIFIED)1539+27
Argentina (QUALIFIED)1535+16
Ecuador1625+10
Uruguay1622-3
Peru1621-4
Chile1619-1
Colombia1617-3
Bolivia1615-12
Paraguay1613-14
Venezuela1610-16

IN QATAR, the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy has organized a flag-raising festival for FIFA World Cup 2022 qualified teams. In a  report by THE PENINSULA, ambassadors of some of the footballing nations that have already qualified for Qatar 2022 raised their country’s flags starting on November 14.  A week after on November 21, The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Official Countdown Clock, powered by Hublot, was unveiled at Doha’s picturesque Corniche Fishing Spot, marking one year to go to the big kick-off.

Sources:

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