Exactly thirty-two teams have already been confirmed for the World Cup and will take place in Qatar. The tournament will be played from November 21 to December 18, and the draw is scheduled for Friday. The draw will take place at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center at 7pm local time. The draw will determine the group matches and the venues for each match. The draw will start with teams in Pot 1.
Teams from the same qualification zone cannot be drawn together. However, there are exceptions to this rule. For example, teams from the same South American region will not be drawn against each other. This could mean a differentiation process is necessary, depending on inter-confederation ties.
FIFA will use the official men’s world rankings as of March 31 to determine the placement of teams in pots. The first pot includes the host nation of Qatar, as well as the top seven seeds. The second pot is for teams ranked 8 to 15. The third pot contains teams ranked 16 to 23. The fourth pot includes teams ranked 24 to 28. It also includes the three placeholders.
The FIFA world rankings are based on results over several years. Teams like England, France, and Belgium are ranked first, while Italy is second only to Brazil in Cup wins. In fact, Italy will not play in the World Cup for the second straight year.
The World Cup draw will determine the group matches and the venues. The draw will start at 7pm local time on Friday and will be held at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center. The draw will be conducted using a system in which groups are assigned based on the rankings of the qualifying teams. Teams will be drawn into eight groups, with no more than two European teams in any group.
The host nation of Qatar will be placed in Pot 1. The next eight teams will be placed in Pot 2. The United States will be placed in Pot 2. The third pot is for teams ranked 8 to 15. There will be five of the lowest ranked sides in Pot 3. The fourth pot includes the next five highest ranked qualifiers. In addition, the final three spots are allocated to the winner of the Ukraine-Scotland-Wales playoff. The winner will then play Wales in June for the final Pot 4 berth.
The other 29 teams will gain qualification via a federation’s path. In addition, the winner of the Asian Cup has never qualified for the World Cup. The other three participants will be finalized by June this year. The group matches will be played on different days depending on the group placement. The order of matches is left to chance. Despite the early draw, the tournament has been delayed by three days due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The two intercontinental playoffs will be played in June. One will be held in Qatar, with the other in Cardiff. The winner of both matches will advance to Qatar for the World Cup.