How it works and who is taking part

  • Friday will see the draw for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar.
  • 32 teams representing different countries will be split into four groups for the tournament.
  • It may look simple at first glance, but there are many possible outcomes. You can read on to learn how it will play out.

Friday is the draw for 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar. This will determine the early round matchups in the most recent edition of soccer’s quadrennial festival of the beautiful game.

Ninety-nine teams have already qualified to the tournament. Three spots remain open, with 32 teams expected to compete.

Europe is the traditional soccer powerhouse. 12 teams are from Europe. Five teams will come out of Africa, five from Asia, and four each from South America.

At the moment, eight teams are competing for three World Cup spots. Some of those spots won’t be decided until the June playoff games. The 13th European team should have qualified, but Russia’s invasion in Ukraine has delayed it. Ukraine is one of the European playoffs teams, but is currently not able to play.

Two other playoff qualifiers will be drawn from Asia, Oceania and North America.

How the draw works

An image of the 2018 FIFA World Cup draw in Moscow, Russia.

The FIFA World Cup draw is often a lavish affair.

Amin Mohammad Jamali/Getty Images


The draw It will take place in Qatar on Friday at 12:01 ETAlthough it may seem simple, it is actually quite complex due to the many possibilities that could arise in terms of each team’s group placement in tournament, and who they are allowed to face. This will all be played out in a multitude plastic balls and paper slips that are on stage in Qatar.

Based on their overall world rankings, the 29 teams along with three still-to-be claimed spots are divided into four different pots. The unclaimed spots go into the fourth pot, regardless of their eventual world rank. Each team’s name and number are written on a piece or paper. The paper is then sealed into a small plastic ball that will be used by the official to select the winner.

Pot 1 is made up of seven top-ranked teams from the tournament plus the hosts Qatar. The pots then are divided equally according to the descending order of world ranking.

Below you will find the complete list of qualified teams as well as their pots.

Pot 1: Qatar, Brazil, Belgium, France, Argentina, England, Spain, Portugal

Pot 2Mexico, The Netherlands. Denmark. Germany. Uruguay. Switzerland. USA. Croatia

Pot 3 Senegal, Iran, Japan, Morocco, Serbia, Poland, South Korea, Tunisia

Pot 4Canada, Cameroon Ecuador Saudi Arabia, Ghana, International Qualifier 1. (Peru, Australia or United Arab Emirates), International Qualifier 2. (New Zealand, Costa Rica), European Qualifier. (Scotland., Wales., Ukraine.

Portugal's forward Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring his second goal during the FIFA World Cup 2022 European qualifying round group A football match between Portugal and Republic of Ireland, at the Algarve stadium

Cristiano Ronaldo will participate in the 2022 World Cup.

Getty/Pedro Fiuza


The four-team groupings will be formed from the countries, starting with Pot 1. The country will first be selected, then a group letter. For example, England could be the first to be taken out of the team pot. However, depending on how the group letter is drawn, it could be placed in Group F. Qatar will automatically be placed at A1, but no other team can guarantee where it will be.

After all teams from Pot 1 are allocated, the draw will be moved to Pot 2, using the same process. Then Pot 3 will be drawn, and finally Pot 4 — until all 32 contenders are organized into the eight groups.

Although the draw seems straightforward on the surface, FIFA has placed some restrictions regarding geographic distributions. For example, only two European teams can be included in any group. Each group can also contain one team from each of the other continental confederations.

“FIFA’s general principle, whenever possible, is to ensure that no group has more than one team from the same qualification zone drawn into it,” The rules of the draw state. “Each group must have at least one but no more than two European teams drawn into it.”

In order to make sure that these rules are adhered to, certain teams will be removed from specific pots at particular times.

For example, if Brazil is drawn into Group B, all South American teams would be removed for the next drawing and put back in the draw for the next team if it doesn’t already have one.

FIFA’s goal in segregating countries by continent is to make the draw as global as possible.

Practically, it is a draw with many possibilities, and lots of balls filled with little slips or paper.

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