World Cup 2022 Qualifying
Qualifying for the FIFA World Cup is something that a number of nations can only dream of with a selection of nations virtually guaranteed to qualify for every single tournament. Naturally, there are some exceptions, in the UEFA side of things, we have seen Serbia qualify ahead of Italy and Turkey, two nations who would have expected to qualify. For example, England's toughest opposition en route to the World Cup was Poland, a nation that hasn't made it beyond the World Cup group stage since 1986. So, qualifying for the World Cup is a lot easier for some than others but you can find out exactly how each qualifying group will go by clicking the buttons below.
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How is World Cup qualifying organised?
FIFA's six confederations come together to create parallel tournaments, starting on June 6th, 2019 which would determine which teams earned the right to compete at the World Cup in Qatar in 2022. These six confederations are: AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, OFC and UEFA. These six nations cover every country in the World and are aligned by continents, their alignments and descriptions can be found below.
AFC: World Cup Qualifying - Asia
Asian World Cup qualifying is typically dominated by two teams, Japan and Australia. However, in recent years, we've begun to see the lower-ranked nations improve to the point where they cause the Asia & Oceania giants headaches in qualifying.
Who Qualified for the World Cup from the AFC?
Qatar - Qatar qualified for the 2022 World Cup as hosts for the tournament. This didn't take up a spot for the AFC and Qatar were added as an additional spot for the AFC.
Iran - Iran qualified as winners for Group A in the third round, picking up a total of 25 points from a potential 30.
South Korea - South Korea qualified as runners-up for Group A in the third round, picking up a total of 23 points from a potential 30.
Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia qualified as winners for Group B in the third round, picking up a total of 23 points from a potential 30.
Japan - Japan qualified as runners-up for Group B in the third round, picking up a total of 22 points from a potential 30.
Who could still potentially qualify?
Australia - Australia finished third in Group B and have the opportunity to advance through the play-offs as they face the United Arab Emirates with the winner facing Peru in June.
United Arab Emirates - The UAE finished third in Group A and will face Australia on June 7th with the opportunity to face Peru six days later with the winner of that fixture advancing to the World Cup.
CAF: World Cup Qualifying - Africa
As the CAF World Cup Qualifying campaign runs in-between the African Cup of Nations, it can become one of the most exciting qualifying campaigns for neutrals. Dozens of African nations are capable of making the World Cup spots and it usually means that at least one strong nation fails to make it to the World Cup.
Who Qualified for the World Cup from the CAF?
Cameroon - Cameroon qualified for the World Cup after winning Group D and beating Algeria over two legs.
Ghana - Ghana qualified for the World Cup after winning Group G in Round 2 and beating Nigeria over two legs in the third round.
Morocco - Morocco qualified for the World Cup after winning Group I and beating DR Congo over two legs.
Senegal - Senegal qualified for the World Cup after winning Group H and beating Egypt on penalties in the third round.
Tunisia - Tunisia qualified for the World Cup after winning Group B and beating Mali in the third round.
CONCACAF: World Cup Qualifying - North America
Similarly to the Asian qualifying rounds, the CONCACAF used to be one of the most straightforward, easiest to predict qualifying campaigns of the six confederations. However, once again, the lower-ranked nations have significantly increased in quality and now teams such as the USA and Mexico have a significantly tougher time qualifying.
Who Qualified for the World Cup from the CONCACAF?
Canada - Canada qualified for only their second world cup as winners of the CONCACAF final qualifying group. They amassed a points total of 28 points.
Mexico - Mexico qualified for the World Cup in second place behind Canada. They also had 28 points but had a significantly lower goal difference than Canada.
United States of America - The USA qualified for the World Cup in the final position of qualifying with 25 points. They were tied with Costa Rica but prevailed due to a higher goal difference.
Who could still potentially qualify?
Costa Rica - Costa Rica missed out on automatic qualification on goal difference and must face New Zealand in a play-off fixture to determine which nation makes the World Cup in 2022.
CONMEBOL: World Cup Qualifying - South America
Brazil and Argentina are two of the biggest nations in the world and it comes as no surprise to see that they qualify for almost every world cup in history. However, with the likes of Uruguay, Columbia and Chile showing significant strength in recent months, we tend to see a couple of upsets when it comes to online sports betting.
Who Qualified for the World Cup from the CONMEBOL?
Argentina - Argentina qualified for the 2022 World Cup in second place in the group stage, despite being unbeaten they still drew 6 of their 17 games on their way to qualifying.
Brazil - Brazil qualified for the 2022 World Cup after winning the Group stage, they went unbeaten in the group winning 45 points from a possible 51. They still have one game left to play against Argentina but both sides are requesting the game be deemed void as it doesn't affect the standings.
Ecuador - Ecuador qualified for the 2022 World Cup in the final qualifying spot of the Group Stage. They collected 24 points but their spot at the World Cup contains controversy with various nations claiming that Ecuador fielded an ineligible player during the qualifying process.
Uruguay - Uruguay qualified for the 2022 World Cup, finishing third in the Group Stage behind only Argentina and Brazil. A feat that they managed despite scoring less goals than 9th placed Bolivia.
Who could still potentially qualify?
Peru - Peru needs to win just one more game to qualify for the World Cup. They face the winner of UAE Vs Australia in June.
OFC: World Cup Qualifying - Oceania
In the OFC, the team that wins the qualifying stages isn't guaranteed a spot in the World Cup. As the average team ranking is so low, teams from Oceania must win an additional play-off against the playoff team from CONCACAF to qualify.
Who could still potentially qualify?
New Zealand - As New Zealand won the qualifying stages of Oceania, they will advance to a play-off fixture against Costa Rica where the winner will advance to the World Cup.
UEFA: World Cup Qualifying - Europe
UEFA's qualifiers contain some of the biggest teams in the world, including current World Champions France and European champions Italy. However, only one of these teams would progress to this year's World Cup.
Who Qualified for the World Cup from UEFA?
Belgium - Belgium qualified from Group E as winners after they bested teams such as Wales and the Czech Republic.
Croatia - Croatia qualified from Group H as winners after they bested teams such as Russia and Slovenia.
Denmark - Denmark qualified from Group F as winners after they bested teams such as Scotland and Austria.
England - England qualified from Group I as winners after they bested teams such as Poland and Albania.
France - France qualified from Group D as winners after they bested teams such as Ukraine and Finland.
Germany - Germany were the first European nation to qualify for the World Cup as they won Group J, besting North Macedonia and Romania.
Netherlands - Netherlands qualified from Group G as winners after they bested teams such as Turkey and Norway.
Poland - After finishing second to England in Group I, Poland qualified through the playoffs as they bested Sweden following Russia's disqualification.
Portugal - After finishing second to Serbia in Group A, Portugal qualified through the playoffs as they bested North Macedonia and Turkey in a path that also included Italy.
Serbia - Serbia qualified from Group A as winners after they bested teams such as Portugal and the Republic Of Ireland.
Spain - Spain qualified from Group B as winners after they bested teams such as Sweden and Greece.
Switzerland - Switzerland qualified from Group C after they bested teams such as Italy and Northern Ireland.
Who could still possibly qualify?
Scotland - Due to the situation in Ukraine, Scotland have been unable to play their fixture against the Ukraine national team. This game is scheduled to take place on June 1st.
Ukraine - Ukraine have been unable to play any fixtures due to complications with Russia. They are due to face Scotland on June 1st.
Wales - Wales are set to face the winner of Scotland Vs Ukraine with the winner advancing from Path A to the World Cup. The winner of this path will face England, USA and Iran in the group stages.
Read more about the UEFA Qualifiers
Which major nations failed to qualify for 2022 World Cup?
Chile - Chile's aging squad was bolstered by Ben Bereton-Diaz but unfortunately this wasn't enough for them to qualify, finishing in 7th place, winning just one of their final five games.
Columbia - Columbia were expected to progress from the qualifying stage in South America or at least lose out to high ranked opposition. Instead, their qualifying campaign was disappointing and summed up by a 6-1 defeat to Ecuador.
Egypt - Despite being the bookies' favourite to qualify in Africa, Egypt found their final qualification game against Senegal, one step too far as they lost out on penalties. This means that Mohamed Salah will not feature at this year's World Cup.
Italy - After finishing second behind Switzerland in the group stage, Italy faced off against North Macedonia in Path C of the play-off. Italy were defeated due to a 90th-minute strike from Aleksandar Trajkovski.