The top two finishers in each group qualify for a 16-team single-elimination bracket-style knockout stage. In the 2022 World Cup, with 48 teams involved, the format will necessitate change. As such, FIFA confirmed that the group stage will be reworked to feature 16 groups of three teams each.
Full Answer
What is FIFA World Cup qualification?
FIFA World Cup qualification. The FIFA World Cup qualification is the process that a national association football team goes through to qualify for the FIFA World Cup finals.
How do you qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup?
The qualification process for the 2022 FIFA World Cup began in June 2019. The FIFA World Cup will begin on November 21, 2022, with 209 teams fighting to secure 31 of 32 qualifying spots in the World Cup finals via the World Cup qualifiers. Qatar, the host of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, have secured automatic qualification.
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.
How many teams qualify for the 2021 FIFA World Cup?
On 26 November 2021, the 12 teams will be drawn into three play-off paths for one-off semi-finals and a final. The three path winners qualify for the World Cup.
How does Round of 16 work in World Cup?
The top two teams from each group (sixteen in total) will advance to the knockout stage to compete in a single-elimination style tournament. A third place play-off will also be played between the two losing teams of the semi-finals.
How does World Cup qualifying work?
The top two teams of each group qualified for the World Cup, and the two third-placed teams advanced to the fourth round. Fourth round: Two third-placed teams in each third round group played against each other in a single match, the winners advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs.
Who will host 2026 FIFA World Cup?
Iconic NYC landmarks lit up with messages of celebration. The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) announced that New York and New Jersey have been selected as hosts for the 2026 FIFA World Cup following the cities' joint bid for the job.
Does host country automatically qualify for World Cup?
Since the first FIFA World Cup in 1930, the host nation has qualified for the tournament automatically.
How many teams qualify for World Cup from each group?
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.
How many teams make it to the World Cup?
32 nationalThe current final tournament has been used since 1998 and features 32 national teams competing over the course of a month in the host nations. There are two stages: the group stage followed by the knockout stage. In the group stage, teams compete within eight groups of four teams each.
What cities got the 2026 World Cup?
The cities officially selected to host World Cup matches in the U.S. are: New York/New Jersey (MetLife Stadium); Los Angeles (SoFi Stadium); Dallas (AT&T Stadium); San Francisco Bay Area (Levi's Stadium); Miami (Hard Rock Stadium); Atlanta (Mercedes-Benz Stadium); Seattle (Lumen Field); Houston (NRG Stadium); ...
Where will the World Cup final be in 2026?
6 days agoThe 2026 World Cup will be the third time Mexico has hosted the event, making it the first country to do so. It was previously the host of the 1970 and 1986 World Cups. The United States will be hosting it for a second time (1994 and 2026).
How many times has the us hosted the World Cup?
Only the 2002 FIFA World Cup had more than one host, being split between Japan and South Korea, and in 2026 there will be three hosts: the United States, Canada, and Mexico....List of hosts.YearHost nation(s)Continent1994United StatesNorth America1998FranceEurope2002Japan South KoreaAsia2006GermanyEurope21 more rows
How will 48 World Cup work?
On January 10, 2017, the FIFA Council chose the fourth option and voted unanimously to expand to a 48-team tournament. The tournament will open with a group stage consisting of 16 groups of three teams, with the top two teams progressing from each group to a knockout tournament starting with a round of 32 teams.
Who qualified for the World Cup?
Which teams have qualified for the World Cup?No.Nation (FIFA Ranking)Date qualified3Denmark (11)Oct. 12, 20214Brazil (1)Nov. 11, 20215France (3)Nov. 13, 20216Belgium (2)Nov. 13, 202128 more rows
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
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).
How many teams qualified for the World Cup?
While the number of teams which qualified for the finals has increased steadily, from 16 between 1934 and 1978, to 24 between 1982 and 1994, and finally to 32 starting from 1998, the qualification format has been basically the same throughout the history of the World Cup. The teams have been grouped continentally, and they competed for a fixed number of places, with one or two places awarded to the winners of intercontinental play-offs.
What is the first appearance in qualification?
First appearance in qualification by team. 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. Year.
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 happens if teams are equal in a play-off?
Where teams are still equal, then a play-off on neutral ground, with extra time and penalties if necessary will be played if FIFA deems such a play-off able to be fitted within the coordinated international match calendar. If this is not deemed feasible, then the result will be determined by fair play points and then the drawing of lots.
How many zones are there in FIFA?
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 the finals allocated to each of the zones, based on the numbers and relative strengths of the confederations' teams.
How many places are there in the World Cup?
Currently, 32 places are available in the final tournament until 2022. One of them is reserved for the host nation, but if two or more nations co-host the competition, each is awarded a place.
How many teams are in Round 3 of the World Cup?
Round Three (final group round): The remaining 12 nations were drawn into two groups of six teams. Group winners and runners-up will qualify for the World Cup.
How many groups of five are there in FIFA 2021?
The format had to be reworked again, as follows: Round One: Nations ranked 6-35 in the FIFA World Ranking were drawn into six groups of five. Each team played every other team in their group only once, in March and June 2021. The six group winners progressed.
How many teams are in the Asian Cup 2023?
Round Two: The six winners from the first round joined the other 34 Asian nations, drawn into eight groups of five teams -- also played as qualifiers for the 2023 Asian Cup finals (for this reason World Cup hosts Qatar took part).
When will the 2022 World Cup start?
Qualifying for the 2022 World Cup began on June 6, 2019, when minor nations from the Asian confederation played their first round of matches. Mongolia's Norjmoogiin Tsedenbal scored the very first goal in qualifying in a 2-0 win over Brunei Darussalam.
How many nations advanced to round 3?
The 12 nations shown in bold advanced to round three.
How many routes are there in the World Cup?
There will be three routes, each with four teams featuring a semifinal and a final for a place at the World Cup.
Which countries advanced to the 2023 Asian Cup?
Round Two: The six winners from the first round joined the other 34 Asian nations, drawn into eight groups of five teams -- also played as qualifiers for the 2023 Asian Cup finals (for this reason World Cup hosts Qatar will take part).
How many teams will be in the 2021 World Cup?
Teams will be split into ten groups of five or six (the four teams who reached the 2021 UEFA Nations League finals – Belgium, France, Italy, Spain – will be in the smaller groups). The ten group winners qualify for the World Cup.
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Overview
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)
Europe
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 intercontinental playoff against the winners of the AFC playoff, A...
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 Playoff team: Australia 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 winne…
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…
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.