WORLD CUP 2022. The 2022 World Cup to be played in Qatar in November will take place without Russia, excluded from all competitions until further notice.
[Mis à jour le 25 février 2022 à 15h30] Economic sanctions, but not only. If for some, sanctions in the world of sport are derisory in times of war, Russia is increasingly isolated in this sector. After losing the Champions League final to France, Russia was officially excluded from the next World Cup in Qatar scheduled for November 2022, but also from all UEFA competitions such as the Europa League or again the Women’s Euro. Poland, which was due to face it in the March play-offs, is directly qualified for the final of Path B. “Following the first decisions adopted by the FIFA Council and the UEFA Executive Committee, which envisaged the adoption of additional measures, FIFA and UEFA decided today (Monday) together that all Russian teams, whether national teams or clubs, will be suspended from participating in FIFA and UEFA Competitions until further notice. These decisions were adopted today by the Bureau of the FIFA Council and the UEFA Executive Committee, respectively the highest decision-making bodies of the two institutions on such urgent matters.”the statement said.
A total of 32 teams, including 13 European, will participate in the 2022 World Cup. With Qatar already assured of its participation as the host country, 31 other countries must therefore obtain their qualification in the coming weeks, through the qualifiers organized on each continent. Here are the countries guaranteed to participate in the competition:
- Qatar (host country)
- Germany
- Denmark
- Brazil
- France
- Belgium
- Serbia
- Spain
- Croatia
- Swiss
- England
- Netherlands
- Argentina
- Iran
End of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in the Europe zone with Italy and Portugal having to go through the play-offs to validate their tickets for Qatar. The list of teams for Europe:
- Scotland
- Italy
- North Macedonia
- Portugal
- Poland
- Russia
- Sweden
- Austria
- Turkey
- Ukraine
- Wales
- Czech Republic
The list of teams for Africa:
- mali
- Egypt
- Morocco
- Senegal
- Ghana
- DR Congo
- Algeria
- Cameroon
- Nigeria
- Tunisia
Change of format for the dams. They will have to face two teams to win a ticket. Twelve play-offs will be on the starting line on March 24 and 25 with the ten best runners-up from each pool as well as the two best group winners from the last Nations League.
Twelve teams will be split between three lanes. The six best-performing teams in the group stage will be seeded and will have the advantage of receiving the semi-finals which will be drawn on Friday 26 November in Zurich. The two winners of each path will meet in the final (also on a dry match) on March 28 and 29, 2022. The countries which will receive in the three finals will be decided during the draw.
The World Cup play-off draw:
The draw for path A:
- Scotland – Ukraine
- Wales – Austria
The draw for path B
- Russia – Poland
- Sweden – Czech Republic
The draw for path C
- Italy – North Macedonia
- Portugal – Turkey
Draw of dams in Africa:
- Democratic Republic of Congo – Morocco
- Cameroon – Algeria
- Mali – Tunisia
- Egypt – Senegal
- Ghana – Nigeria
Europe will have 13 qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup. Qualifying is organized by UEFA in a single round, with a series of home and away matches in ten groups, followed by play-offs. The top ten from each group will qualify directly for Qatar and the runners-up ten will advance to the play-offs, where they will be joined by the two 2020-21 Nations League group winners. These play-offs will deliver the 3 additional qualifiers. The composition of the ten qualifying groups was determined by draw last December:
• Groups:
- Group A: Portugal, Serbia, Ireland, Luxembourg, Azerbaijan.
- Group B: Spain, Sweden, Greece, Georgia, Kosovo.
- Group C: Italy, Switzerland, Northern Ireland, Bulgaria, Lithuania.
- Group D: FranceUkraine, Finland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kazakhstan.
- Group E: Belgium, Wales, Czech Republic, Belarus, Estonia.
- Group F: Denmark, Austria, Scotland, Israel, Faroe Islands, Moldova.
- Group G: Netherlands, Turkey, Norway, Montenegro, Latvia, Gibraltar.
- Group H: Croatia, Slovakia, Russia, Slovenia, Cyprus, Malta.
- Group I: England, Poland, Hungary, Albania, Andorra, San Marino.
- Group J: Germany, Romania, Iceland, North Macedonia, Armenia, Liechtenstein.
• Ranking :
Africa will have 5 qualifiers. The playoffs are organized in three rounds. The second is underway and the first of each group will qualify for the third final round.
Asia will have 5 or 6 qualifiers. Qatar, the host country, is already qualified but participates in the meetings which also count as a qualifying round for the Asian Cup 2023 in China. The playoffs are organized in 4 rounds. For the current third round, the first two of each group will be directly qualified for the World Cup. The two third-place finishers face each other in the fourth round for a place in the inter-confederation play-offs.
Australia is competing in the World Cup qualifiers in Asia. Oceania for its part will have 1 or 0 qualified. Qualifications are underway to secure a place for the inter-confederation play-offs.
North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF) will have 3 or 4 qualifiers. After several phases, a final round is underway in a single group. The first three will qualify for the World Cup and the fourth can participate in the inter-confederation play-offs.
South America (CONMEBOL) will have 4 or 5 qualifiers. The qualifications are organized in a single qualifying group with home and away matches. The first four are directly qualified for the World Cup, the fifth for the inter-confederation play-offs.
It was in December 2010 that Qatar was named host country of this World Cup, being preferred to the four other candidates: Australia, Japan, South Korea and the United States. A controversial choice which has continued, over the years, to give rise to controversy against a backdrop of accusations of corruption at the time of appointment, of slavery on the construction sites of the stadiums, and on the climate of the country. Given the high heat recorded in summer (the period when the competition is usually played), sometimes with peaks of 50°C, this 2022 World Cup has also had to be postponed to new dates.
To cope with these climatic constraints, FIFA has indeed decided to organize this World Cup in winter, for the first time in its history. The date of the opening match has thus been set for November 21, 2022, while the grand final will take place on December 18, 2022, Qatar’s national day.
Latest news around the 2022 World Cup
The group stage of the 2022 World Cup will take place from November 21 to December 2. The first two of each group will qualify for the round of 16, scheduled for December 3, 4, 5 and 6. It will then be time for the quarter-finals, scheduled for December 9 and 10, then the semi-finals, on December 13 and 14. The match for third place will take place on December 17 and the final on Sunday December 18, one week before Christmas.