The FIFA World Cup in 2022 is less than a year away, and the qualification rounds are nearing their conclusion. Next year’s event will be placed in Qatar from November 21 to December 18. This will be the tournament’s final edition with 32 participants since the FIFA World Cup will be expanded to 48 teams starting in 2026.
During the international break, national teams from all around the world competed in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers on their respective continents. Several teams have already qualified for the championships, including Qatar, which qualified as the host nation automatically. Except for Qatar, only teams from Europe and South America have qualified thus far. This is owing to the pandemic’s varied speed of qualifying.
However, as the days pass, additional teams will join the FIFA World Cup to fill the remaining seats. The following is a list of teams that have already confirmed their participation in the forthcoming FIFA World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
AFC: Qatar
At the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Qatar will serve as the host nation. As a result, they were automatically qualified for the tournament. Qatar, on the other hand, took part in the AFC qualifications, which also served as AFC Asian Cup qualifiers. Qatar qualified for the Asian Cup by winning Group E in the second round of qualifying, defeating nations such as Oman, India, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh.
CONMEBOL: Brazil
Because of their outstanding performance, the Latin American giants were the first team from the region to secure a place in Qatar. The team will finish in the top four, ensuring direct qualification for the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying round. With 35 points, the Selecao currently leads the rankings after winning 11 of their 13 matches and drawing the other two. With seven goals and eight assists, Neymar is the team’s leading scorer.
Argentina
Argentina, another South American giant, has also qualified for the main competition after a goalless draw against Brazil. With 29 points, the Copa America champions are in second place behind Brazil and are one of only two teams yet to lose. Lionel Messi, the captain, has six goals to his name.
UEFA
European countries have already earned ten of the thirteen available seats. The qualification phase is finished, and the remaining three berths will be determined in a playoff round in March 2022. The remaining three berths will be fiercely contested, with 12 teams vying for the final three spots.
Serbia
Serbia surprised everyone by winning Group A after defeating Portugal in the qualifications’ final match. With a last-minute goal against Portugal, they now have 20 points, three more than the 2016 Euro champions. With eight goals, Aleksandar Mitrovic was the Serbian national team’s top scorer. In the last minutes of the match against Portugal, he scored the game-winning goal, ensuring Serbia’s qualification.
Spain
La Roja also qualified for the main competition by winning the European leg of the World Cup Qualifiers. They came up on top of Group B, which included teams like Sweden, Greece, Georgia, and Kosovo. They won six of their eight games, with Ferran Torres leading the way with four goals.
Switzerland
Switzerland surprised everyone by winning Group C and securing straight qualification over European Champions Italy. They finished first with 18 points, whereas Italy only managed 16. The Swiss won their encounter against Bulgaria 4-0 on the last matchday, while Italy drew their match against Northern Ireland. With four goals, Xherdan Shaqiri was the team’s leading scorer.
France
France, the reigning world champion, won Group D by a considerable margin. Les Bleus trounced Kazakhstan 8-0 in one of their most significant victories. With six goals, Antoine Griezmann was the leading scorer. Along with Kazakhstan, the alliance included Ukraine, Finland, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Belgium
The Red Devils finished third in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, winning Group E by a wide margin. Wales, the Czech Republic, Estonia, and Belarus were among the countries they left behind. Belgium ended with a total of 20 points after eight games. They had the most goals (five) thanks to Romelu Lukaku.
Denmark
The Danes were in fantastic form, winning Group F by a comfortable margin over Scotland, Israel, Austria, the Faroe Islands, and Moldova. With five goals, Andreas Olsen led the team. Only one of Denmark’s ten matches was lost, and that was against Scotland in the last round of fixtures.
Netherlands
The Netherlands will compete in Qatar after missing out on qualifying for the previous edition. The Oranje finished first in Group G with 23 points, just ahead of Turkey, which placed second with 21 points. The team qualified for the tournament after a 2-0 win over Norway on the last matchday. The Netherlands was headed by Memphis Depay, who scored 12 goals.
Croatia
Croatia, who reached the 2018 World Cup final after finishing first in Group H by a single point, will make their debut in Qatar. Croatia defeated Russia 1-0 in the final match of the group, determining the group champion. These two defeated Slovakia, Slovenia, Cyprus, and Malta, among others. Luka Modric, Ivan Perisic, and Mario Pasalic combined for three goals to lead Croatia in scoring.
England
The 2020 Euros runners-up were able to easily win Group I and book a spot in Qatar. Gareth Southgate’s side won eight of their ten games, including a convincing 10-0 win against San Marino to finish second in the qualifiers. Harry Kane was England’s top scorer in the qualifiers, with 12 goals.
Germany
Die Mannschaft has also qualified directly for the FIFA World Cup 2022. In Group J, North Macedonia, Romania, Armenia, Iceland, and Liechtenstein came in second and third, respectively. In one of the best qualification wins, Hansi Flick’s team defeated Liechtenstein 9-0. With five goals, Ilkay Gundogan, a midfielder, was Germany’s leading scorer.
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