When is the World Cup 2022 draw? Current FIFA rankings, seedings and how it works - The Mirror

The draw for the 2022 FIFA World Cup takes place this week following the conclusion of the current international break, where the remaining places in Qatar will be decided following the latest round of qualifiers

The first international break of the year represents the final round of qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, as the 32 places at the most prestigious football tournament in the world begin to fill up.

29 of the 32 teams will be confirmed by the time the draw starts - as will the next set of FIFA World Rankings, used to determine who goes in which of the four pots. England, though, have already been confirmed as one of the top seeds.

Here is all you need to know about the upcoming draw for the 2022 Qatar World Cup, including the current seedings and how the draw works.

When is the 2022 FIFA World Cup draw?

The Group Stage draw for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar will be made at 5pm (BST) on Friday, April 1, at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center, Doha, Qatar.

This will be after the majority of qualifying has taken place, with 29 of 32 places already confirmed, besides the two nations who will qualify via the inter-confederation play-offs, and the winner of UEFA’s Path A play-off, in June 2022.

How to watch

The draw will typically be broadcast live on FIFA's website, but for UK viewers it will be televised on BBC 1, while it can also be accessed via iPlayer and the iPlayer app. Coverage will begin at 4:45pm.

How far will England go in the 2022 World Cup? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

How the draw works

The 32 teams will be drawn into eight groups of four, listed alphabetically from Group A to Group H, and will play each other once. The top two from each group will advance to the knockout stage.

For this draw, however, the teams will be allocated into the four pots based on the latest round of FIFA World Rankings, published on Thursday before the draw, and the top seven seeds will be drawn into Pot 1, along with the hosts, Qatar.

Pot 2 will then contain the next eight highest ranked teams, while the same will be applied for Pot 3 and Pot 4. However, Pot 4 will also contain the two winners of the inter-confederation play-offs and the winner of the last UEFA play-off.

Rules for the draw

As hosts, Qatar will be automatically assigned to Group A, while the rest of the seven teams in Pot A will be allocated to Groups B-H in the order they are drawn out. The same process will be applied for Pot B, Pot C and Pot D.

With UEFA having 13 nations at the tournament, five out of the eight groups will have two European nations pitted against each other, although this is the maximum amount allowed in any one group. Each group must have at least one team from UEFA.

No other continent is allowed to have more than one of its nations in the same group. For example, two South American countries, such as Brazil and Uruguay, cannot be drawn in the same group and two Asian countries, such as Japan and Saudi Arabia, cannot be drawn in the same group.

Qualified teams

Qatar (hosts)

Africa - Senegal, Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco, Tunisia

Asia - Iran, South Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia

Europe - Germany, Denmark, France, Belgium, Croatia, Spain, Serbia, England, Switzerland, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and one more TBC

North America - Canada, Mexico, United States

South America - Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Uruguay

Inter-confederation play-offs - One team from Asia, North America, South America and Oceania will compete in the play-offs for the final two spots in June. This will be UAE/Australia vs Peru in the first play-off, and Costa Rica vs New Zealand in the second play-off

Current seedings

1 - Belgium

2 - Brazil

3 - France

4 - Argentina

5 - England

6 - Italy

7 - Spain

8 - Portugal

9 - Denmark

10 - Netherlands

11 - Germany

12 - Mexico

13 - USA

14 - Switzerland

15 - Croatia

16 - Uruguay

17 - Sweden

18 - Senegal

19 - Colombia

20 - Wales

21 - Iran

22 - Peru

23 - Morocco

24 - Japan

25 - Serbia

26 - Chile

27 - Ukraine

28 - Poland

29 - South Korea

30 - Austria

Notable others -

33 - Canada

36 - Tunisia

38 - Cameroon

44 - Ecuador

52 - Qatar

53 - Saudi Arabia

61 - Ghana

When does the Group Stage begin?

The Group Stage will take place over 12 days, with four matches being played each day and each team playing each other once, with the first match set to take place on Monday, November 21, 2022 at the Al Bayt Stadium, featuring the hosts Qatar in Group A.

Groups A, B, E and F will all play their matches at the same four stadiums: Al Bayt Stadium (60,000 capacity), Khalifa International Stadium (40,000 capacity), Al Thumama Stadium (40,000 capacity), Ahmed bin Ali Stadium (44,740 capacity).

Groups C, D, G and H will play all their matches at the four other stadiums: Lusail Iconic Stadium (80,000 capacity), Stadium 974 (40,000 capacity), Education City Stadium (45.350 capacity), Al Janoub Stadium (40,000 capacity).