The draw for the group stage of the 2022 World Cup will take place on Friday, April 1 at 12:00 pm ET, at a gala event to be held at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center in Doha, Qatar. The draw will determine the composition of the eight groups of four teams that will make up the first phase of the World Cup in Qatar.
Once the 32 teams have been divided into the eight groups, it will be time to look ahead to the knockout rounds, as the schedule of matches has already been determined. 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.
Qualified teams for the 2022 World Cup
o Qatar
o Germany
o Denmark
o Brazil
o France
o Belgium
o Croatia
o Spain
o Serbia
o England
o Switzerland
o Netherlands
o Argentina
o Iran
o South Korea
o Japan
o Saudi Arabia
o Ecuador
o Uruguay
o Canada
o Ghana
o Senegal
o Portugal
o Poland
o Morocco
o Tunisia
o Cameroon
Pots for the Qatar World Cup draw
Qatar, as hosts, will be seeded and is directly assigned to the A1 slot, i.e. they will play in Group A. The other seven seeded teams will be the seven teams with the highest FIFA ranking.
The countries occupying positions 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).
Qatar 2022 World Cup format and schedule
The Qatar World Cup, still with 32 teams, will maintain a classic format of eight groups of four teams that will play three round robin, one-legged matches. The top two finishers from each group will advance to the round of 16 and will face each other in the following format: A vs B, C vs D, E vs F and G vs H.
In the World Cup, unlike what happens in the European Championship, there is an extra match, the third and fourth place match played by the two teams that lose in the semifinals, the day before the final.
o Group stage: From November 21 to December 2
o Round of 16: 3 to 6 December
o Quarterfinals: December 9 and 10
o Semifinals: December 13 and 14
o Third and fourth place: December 17
o Final: December 18
