For the first time ever, the 2022 World Cup will take place in the winter with the tournament running from November into December. Qatar are the hosts and thus earn the right to be drawn automatically into the competition, taking the first spot in Group A as the top seed.
England are one of 20 teams qualified so far, and with more to be named this week, fans will be excited as to who England might draw at the tournament. In Qatar, the World Cup will keep its 32 team format for the final time, with a 48 team format set to be trialled in 2026.
This means that England will be one of four teams drawn into one of the eight groups as one of the top seeds thanks to their fifth place in the FIFA World Rankings. The other home nations still in with a chance of qualifying are Scotland and Wales, with the former awaiting their play-off fixture with Ukraine with the winner to play Rob Jones' side in Cardiff in a fixture set to take place this summer.
Here we explain the draw in full:
Who has already qualified:
- Qatar - Host nation
- Germany - UEFA Group J winners - October 11, 2021
- Denmark - UEFA Group F winners - October 12, 2021
- Brazil - One of CONMEBOL top four teams - November 11, 2021
- France - UEFA Group D winners - November 13, 2021
- Belgium - UEFA Group E winners - November 13, 2021
- Croatia - UEFA Group H winners - November 14, 2021
- Spain - UEFA Group B winners - November 14, 2021
- Serbia - UEFA Group A winners - November 14, 2021
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- England - UEFA Group I winners - November 15, 2021
- Switzerland - UEFA Group C winner - November 15, 2021
- Netherlands - UEFA Group G winners - November 16, 2021
- Argentina - One of CONMEBOL top four teams - November 16, 2021
- Iran - One of AFC Third Round Group A top two teams - January 27, 2022
- South Korea - One of AFC Third Round Group A top two teams - February 1, 2022
- Japan - One of AFC Third Round Group B top two teams - March 24, 2022
- Saudi Arabia - One of AFC Third Round Group B top two teams - March 24, 2022
- Ecuador - One of CONMEBOL top four teams - March 24, 2022
- Uruguay - One of CONMEBOL top four teams - March 24, 2022
- Canada - One of CONCACAF Third Round top three teams - March 27, 2022
When is the draw?
By Friday 1 April, we will know 28 of the 32 participants for the tournament and the draw will take place on that date at 5pm (BST).
What is the format of the draw?
The draw will place teams firstly into pots based on seedings determined by teams' FIFA World Rankings. Pot one will contain the hosts Qatar and the best seven teams. Pot two will have the next best eight teams, with the next best eight teams into pot 3.
Pot 4 will contain the five lowest-ranked teams, along with the placeholders for the two inter-confederation play-off winners, along with the UEFA Path A play-off winner.
What are the seedings for the draw?
Qatar are the only team to have a confirmed place in any pot, taking place in pot one, where England are also set to be placed due to their world ranking. Teams from the same confederation cannot be drawn into the same group except for UEFA, who can have two representatives per group.
This all means that England could well face Scotland or Wales who will be in with the lowest ranked teams in pot four along with Ukraine, with Path A in the European play-offs set to be decided in June due to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. The full seedings will be released on March 31 after the conclusion of this international window.
What is the schedule?
- Group stage: November 21- December 2
- Round of 16: December 3-6
- Quarter-finals: December 9/10
- Semi-finals: December 13/14
- Final: December 18
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