The qualification process for the FIFA World Cup is held either in a league (home and away round-robin fixtures) or a knockout format (home and away two-legged fixtures). In case there is a tie between two or more teams, League: The Fair Play points system will be reviewed, where teams will be judged based on discipline (yellow/red card).
Full Answer
How does the FIFA World Cup qualifying process work?
As in recent qualifying competitions, all 10 nations play each other home and away. The top four nations qualify directly to the finals. The fifth-place team will go into an intercontinental playoff (draw to be determined). The first four rounds of qualifiers in March and September 2020 were suspended and it finally began in October 2020.
What are FIFA qualification tournaments?
Qualification tournaments generally consist of a number of stages, made up of groups or knock-out ties. In all group tournaments, three points are awarded for a win, one for a draw, and none for a loss. FIFA has set the order of the tie-breakers for teams that finish level on points:
What is the new FIFA World Cup qualifying format?
The new format for the qualifying process has yet to be confirmed, other than a play-off tournament that consists of one team from each confederation (except UEFA) and one additional team from the confederation of the host country for the last two World Cup berths. These numbers vary slightly between tournaments ( see above ).
Where do the FIFA World Cup qualifiers take place?
The qualifiers take place in the 6 FIFA continental zones (namely Africa, Asia, North and Central America and Caribbean, Europe, Oceania, South America). The respective footballing bodies are responsible for the organizing the qualifiers in their continent.
How many games is a FIFA qualifier?
The qualification process has suffered numerous postponements due to the COVID-19 pandemic....2022 FIFA World Cup qualification.Tournament detailsMatches played863Goals scored2,423 (2.81 per match)Attendance8,912,978 (10,328 per match)Top scorer(s)Ali Mabkhout (14 goals)4 more rows
How does the WC qualifier work?
As in recent qualifying competitions, all 10 nations play each other home and away. The top four nations qualify directly to the finals. The fifth-place team will go into an intercontinental playoff against the winners of the AFC playoff, Australia, on June 13.
Who will qualify for FIFA 2022?
Two intercontinental playoff matches played in June 2022, featuring one nation from each of four different regions, determined the final two qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup: Asia vs. South America, and North America vs. Oceania.
How many european teams can qualify for World Cup?
Teams were split into ten groups of five or six (the four teams who reached the 2021 UEFA Nations League finals – Belgium, France, Italy, Spain – were in the smaller groups). The ten group winners qualified for the World Cup. The three remaining World Cup berths were determined via the play-offs.
Are the World Cup qualifying one leg?
The teams were divided into three paths, each containing four teams, with each play-off path featuring two single-leg semi-finals, and one single-leg final. The matches took place in March and June 2022.
How do World Cup qualifiers work in Europe?
There are three routes, each with four teams featuring a semifinal and a final for a place at the World Cup. The draw was seeded based upon qualifying-round points. The two UEFA Nations League teams were unseeded. Russia were removed from the competition due to the invasion of Ukraine.
How will the 2022 23 season work?
The Premier League announced last week that its 2022-23 season will start on August 6 next year, before finishing on May 28, 2023, with all matches in the final round kicking off simultaneously. There will be a mid-season break between November 14 and December 26 in order to accommodate the World Cup.
How many teams have qualified for World Cup 2022?
30 teamsA total of 30 teams have qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2022, with Qatar earning automatic qualification, courtesy of being the hosts. Five-time champions Brazil were the first team from South America to qualify for the event, while Germany were the first European nation to confirm their spot in Qatar.
How many european teams qualify for the 2022 World Cup?
2022 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)Tournament detailsTeams55 (from 1 confederation)Tournament statisticsMatches played256Goals scored776 (3.03 per match)5 more rows
How many teams qualify for FIFA World Cup from each continent?
AFC (Asia) have an allocation of four or five teams* competing in the World Cup finals. CAF (Africa) are allocated five teams, with CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean) having three or four. CONEMBOL (South America) have four or five teams competing.
How many teams from Asia qualify for World Cup?
The qualification process involved four rounds; the first two doubled as the qualification for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup....2022 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)Tournament detailsTeams46 (from 1 confederation)Tournament statisticsMatches played229Goals scored676 (2.95 per match)5 more rows
How many teams qualify for World Cup from Europe playoffs?
In the 2022 cycle, UEFA brought 12 teams into the playoff — 10 group stage runners-up, plus two qualifiers from UEFA Nations League play — and split them up into three four-team mini-brackets (or "paths") with the winner of each of the three paths reaching the World Cup.
What is the FIFA World Cup qualification?
The FIFA World Cup qualification is the process that a national association football team goes through to qualify for the final tournament of the FIFA World Cup. The qualification reduces the large field of eligible entrants from 211 to just 32 for the finals as of the 2022 edition (to be expanded to 48 from 2026 onwards).
What are the FIFA qualifying zones?
Qualifying tournaments are held within FIFA 's six continental zones and are organized by their respective confederations: AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North and Central America and the Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), OFC (Oceania), and UEFA (Europe). For each World Cup, FIFA decides beforehand the number of places in ...
How many teams will be eliminated from the 2023 World Cup?
A total of 24 teams eliminated from World Cup qualification in the second round compete in the third round of 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualification (which is separate from the third round of 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification), where they will be divided into six groups of four teams and compete for the remaining slots of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.
How many teams are in the first round of FIFA 2020?
The first round will have the remaining 29 teams divided into six groups of five teams.
How many matches are considered first appearances?
Only teams that played at least one match are considered for the purposes of first appearance. Teams that withdrew prior to the qualification, or that qualified to the World Cup by walkover due to other teams' withdrawals, are not considered.
How many teams are in the CAF?
The CAF qualification process reverted to the format used for the 2014 qualification. It began with one preliminary round to narrow the field of 28 entrants to 14 teams in September 2019. The group stage consists of 10 groups of four, with the group winners advancing to the two-legged, home-and-away third round.
What does "inv" mean in football?
"H" denotes an automatic spot for the host, "C" denotes an automatic spot for the defending champion, and "inv" indicates the number of teams that were invited in 1930.
What is the fourth round of the World Cup?
Fourth round: The two third-placed teams in each group from the third round will play against each other in a single match to determine which team advances to the inter-confederation play-offs, playing a team from a confederation to be determined.
Which country will host the 2022 World Cup?
The opening two rounds of qualifying also served as qualification for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. Therefore, Qatar, the 2022 FIFA World Cup host, only participated in the first two rounds of qualifying.
When is the first round of the UEFA Nations League?
The draw for the first round (group stage) was held in Zürich, Switzerland on 7 December 2020, 18:00 CET ( UTC+1 ). However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the draw was held as a virtual event without any representatives of member associations present. It was originally planned to be held on 29 November. On 18 June 2020, the UEFA Executive Committee approved the draw regulations for the qualifying group stage. The 55 teams were seeded into six pots based on the FIFA World Rankings of November 2020, after the league phase of the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League .
Did Qatar qualify for the Asian Cup?
However, Qatar was obliged by the AFC to participate in the Asian qualifying stage as the first two rounds also acted as qualification for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. Qatar won their group so the fifth-best group runners-up advanced instead.
How many teams can qualify for the FIFA World Cup?
Since 1998, 32 teams can qualify for the FIFA World Cup finals at the end of a two-year-long qualification process involving the 211 men's national football teams affiliated to FIFA.
What is the format for the FIFA World Cup qualification process?
The qualification process for the FIFA World Cup is held either in a league (home and away round-robin fixtures) or a knockout format (home and away two-legged fixtures).
How many teams qualify for the World Cup from Europe?
Thirteen teams from UEFA's 55 FIFA-affiliated members can qualify for the World Cup finals. The European qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup is a one-year affair that started in March 2021 and will conclude in March 2022.
How many teams qualify for the World Cup from Africa?
Five teams from CAF's 54 FIFA-affiliated members can qualify for the World Cup finals. The African qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup started in September 2019 and will conclude in March 2022.
How many teams qualify for the World Cup from Asia?
4.5 teams (four teams and one qualifier from the intercontinental play-off) from AFC's 46 FIFA-affiliated members can qualify for the World Cup finals. The AFC qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup began in June 2019 and will conclude in June 2022.
How many teams qualify for the World Cup from CONCACAF?
3.5 teams (three teams and one qualifier from the intercontinental play-off) from CONCACAF's 35 FIFA-affiliated members can qualify for the World Cup finals. The CONCACAF qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup began in March 2021 and will conclude in June 2022.
How many teams qualify for the World Cup from CONMEBOL?
4.5 teams (four teams and one qualifier from the intercontinental play-off) from CONMEBOL's 10 FIFA-affiliated members can qualify for the World Cup finals. The CONMEBOL qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup began in October 2020 and will conclude in March 2022.
South America
- • South American qualifying home page Qualified teams: Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Uruguay Playoff team: Peru As in recent qualifying competitions, all 10 nations play each other home and away. The top four nations qualify directly to the finals. The fifth-place team will go into an interc…
North America, Central America, Caribbean
- • CONCACAF qualifying home page Qualified teams: Canada, Mexico, United States Playoff team: Costa Rica CONCACAF has 35 FIFA-affiliated nations, most of them very minor in world football. A revamped qualification process was confirmed for the 2022 edition, which was due to begin in September 2020 and run to September 2021. However, this was abandoned due to the coronavir…
Africa
- • African qualifying home page Qualified teams: Cameroon, Morocco, Senegal, Ghana, Tunisia There are 54 FIFA-affiliated nations. Round One: The 28 lowest ranked nations played two-legged ties, played in September 2019, with the full list of results available here. Round Two: The 14 winners from the first round were joined by the other 26 African nations. Those 40 teams were s…
Asia
- • Asia qualifying home page Qualified teams: IR Iran, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Japan The first two rounds of qualifying were completed exactly the same as four years ago. Round One: The 12 lowest ranked nations played two-legged ties in June 2019. Guam, Macau, Mongolia, Timor-Leste, Bangladesh and Cambodia advanced. Round Two: The six winners from the first round joined th…
Oceania
- • Oceania qualifying home page Nine of the 11 FIFA-affiliated national teams were due to take part in qualifying, which will finally be played March 17-30, 2022, in Qatar. Round One: Tonga and Cook Islands -- the two lowest-ranked OFC teams in the FIFA World Ranking -- were due to play a single elimination match. However, Tonga withdrew and Cook Islands received a bye. Round Two: Tea…
Intercontinental Playoffs
- June 13: Australia or United Arab Emirates (AFC) vs. Peru (CONMEBOL) June 14: Costa Rica (CONCACAF) vs. New Zealand (OFC)
Overview
The FIFA World Cup qualification is the process that a national association football team goes through to qualify for the final tournament of the FIFA World Cup. The qualification reduces the field of eligible entrants from 211 to 32 for the finals as of the 2022 edition (to be expanded to 48 from 2026 onwards).
Qualifying tournaments are held within FIFA's six continental zones and are org…
History
Over many years, the World Cup's qualification has evolved, from having no qualification at all in 1930, when the tournament was invitational and only 13 teams entered, to the current three-year process. The first World Cup qualifying match was played on 11 June 1933 when Sweden defeated Estonia 6–2 in Stockholm. The first ever goal in a World Cup qualifying match was scored 7 minutes into the game: it was scored according to some sources by Swedish captain K…
Qualification tournament rules
Qualification tournaments generally consist of a number of stages, made up of groups or knock-out ties.
In all group tournaments, three points are awarded for a win, one for a draw, and none for a loss. FIFA has set the order of the tie-breakers for teams that finish level on points:
1. goal difference in all group matches
See also
• National team appearances in the FIFA World Cup
• UEFA European Championship qualifying
• AFC Asian Cup qualification
• FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
External links
• History of the FIFA World Cup preliminary competition (by year). Published by FIFA in November 2009; archived from the original by Wayback Machine on 23 October 2013.
• FIFA World Cup Preliminary Competition Statistics (from FIFA.com)
• FIFA World Cup Preliminary History (from FIFA.com)
Overview
The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification is the qualifying process which will decide 31 of the 32 teams that will participate in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, joining hosts Qatar, who received an automatic spot.
Parallel tournaments are organised by FIFA's six confederations. Qualification started on 6 June 2019, when the first match played was between Mongolia and Brunei, and is set to end on 22 Sept…
Qualification process
All FIFA member associations, of which there are currently 211, were eligible to enter qualification. Qatar, as hosts, qualified automatically for the tournament. However, Qatar was obliged by the AFC to participate in the Asian qualifying stage as the first two rounds also acted as qualification for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. Qatar won their group so the fifth-best group runners-up advanced to the AFC third round instead. For the first time after the initial two tournaments of 1930 and 1934…
Format
The formats of the qualifying competitions depended on each confederation (see below). Each round might be played in either of the following formats:
• League format, in which more than two teams formed groups to play home-and-away round-robin matches, or in exceptions permitted by the FIFA Organising Committee, single round-robin matches hosted by one of the participating teams or on neutral territory.
Confederation qualification
The opening two rounds of qualifying also served as qualification for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. Therefore, Qatar, the 2022 FIFA World Cup host, only participated in the first two rounds of qualifying.
The qualification structure is as follows:
• First round: 12 teams (ranked 35–46) played home-and-away over two legs. The six winners adv…
External links
• Official FIFA World Cup website
What Is It?
How Does It Work?
- There were two stages to qualifying: Group stage Teams were split into ten groups of five or six (the four teams who reached the 2021 UEFA Nations League finals – Belgium, France, Italy, Spain – were in the smaller groups). The ten group winners qualified for the World Cup. Play-offs The three remaining World Cup berths are being determined via the...
Who Has Qualified So Far?
- Ten teams qualified after topping their qualifying groups: Belgium Croatia Denmark England France Germany Netherlands Serbia Spain Switzerland A further two teams have qualified after winning play-offs, with one last berth remaining: Poland Portugal
What Is The play-off Schedule?
- Semi-finals – Thursday 24 March 2022Path A: Wales 2-1 AustriaPath B: Sweden 1-0 Czech Republic (aet)Path C: Italy 0-1 North Macedonia, Portugal 3-1 Turkey Semi-final – Wednesday 1 June 2022 Path A: Scotland 1-3 Ukraine Finals – Tuesday 29 March 2022Path B: Poland 2-0 SwedenPath C: Portugal 2-0 North Macedonia Final – Sunday 5 June 2022 Path A: Wales vs U…
What Were The Groups?
- The groups were determined by a draw in Zurich on 7 December 2020. Group A: Portugal, Serbia*, Republic of Ireland, Luxembourg, Azerbaijan Group B: Spain*, Sweden, Greece, Georgia, Kosovo Group C: Italy, Switzerland*, Northern Ireland, Bulgaria, Lithuania Group D: France*, Ukraine, Finland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kazakhstan Group E: Belgium*, Wales, Czech Republic, Belarus…
When Did The Qualifying Matches Take place?
- Matchday 1: 24–25 March 2021 Matchday 2: 27–28 March 2021 Matchday 3: 30–31 March 2021 Matchday 4: 1–2 September 2021 Matchday 5: 4–5 September 2021 Matchday 6: 7–8 September 2021 Matchday 7: 8–9 October 2021 Matchday 8: 11–12 October 2021 Matchday 9: 11–13 November 2021 Matchday 10: 14–16 November 2021 Play-offs: 24 & 29 March 2022, 1 & 5 Jun…
When Is The 2022 World Cup?
- The 22nd finals in Qatar will be the first World Cup not held in May, June, or July; the tournament is instead scheduled for a reduced timeframe between 21 November to 18 December. The World Cup drawtook place on Friday 1 April in Doha, Qatar.