The FIFA World Cup is the most prestigious competition in the world of football. And in a matter of a few days, we will get to know all about the group stages of the competition. Here’s what we know so far about the tournament.
FIFA World Cup 2022 draw
The group stage draw for the World Cup will be held on Friday, 1 April, at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center in Doha, Qatar. The teams will be drawn into eight groups, which will then be played to determine the knockout stages.
Here are all the teams that have made it to the competition so far:
- Qatar
- Germany
- Denmark
- Brazil
- France
- Belgium
- Croatia
- Spain
- Serbia
- England
- Switzerland
- Netherlands
- Argentina
- Iran
- South Korea
- Japan
- Saudi Arabia
- Ecuador
- Uruguay
- Canada
- Ghana
- Senegal
- Portugal
- Poland
- Morocco
- Tunisia
- Cameroon
Pots for the draw
As hosts, Qatar will be playing in Group A and will be seeded. The other seven seeded teams will be determined by their FIFA rankings. The countries which are 8-15 in the ranking will be assigned to Pot 2, while those ranked 16-23 with the best position will be placed in Pot 3.
Finally, Pot 4 will include the teams ranked 24-28, which will also include the two winners of the intercontinental play-offs and the remaining winner of the UEFA play-offs (Wales vs. the winner of the Scotland-Ukraine).
Format of the FIFA World Cup
The tournament will consist of 32 teams, divided into eight groups. Each of the teams will play three games, in a round robin format.
The winner of group A will face the second of group B, the second of group A the winner of group B, and so on with the rest of the groups C-D, E-F and G-H.
Dates for the matches
-Group stage: From November 21 to December 2
– Round of 16: 3 to 6 December
– Quarterfinals: December 9 and 10
– Semifinals: December 13 and 14
– Third and fourth place: December 17
– Final: December 18
