The path to the 2022 World Cup Final for the 32 participants will be determined on Friday.
The World Cup draw takes place on Friday in Qatar. The 32 squads will be split up into eight groups of four teams for the competition that begins on November 21.
As of Monday morning, 20 nations officially qualified for the World Cup. Five African countries, two North American nations and two European nations will join the field before the draw occurs.
All of the participants will be separated into four pots for Friday's draw. Pot 1 features host nation Qatar and the seven best teams from the FIFA world rankings.
The other three pots will be determined by the FIFA world rankings as well. The two intercontinental playoff winners and the final UEFA squad will be aligned in placeholder spots in Pot 4.
World Cup Draw Info
Date: Friday, April 1
Start Time: Noon ET
TV: Telemundo, FS1
How It Works
One team from each of the four pots will be drawn alongside each other in the eight World Cup groups.
Qatar will be the first team selected as the host nation, it will land the top position in Group A and play in the opening match on November 21.
Belgium, Brazil, France, Argentina, England and Spain are all guaranteed to be in Pot 1 based on their spots in the top 10 of the FIFA world rankings.
If Portugal wins its UEFA qualifying playoff against North Macedonia, it will complete the set of eight teams in Pot 1.
The Netherlands, Denmark, Mexico and the United States would be in contention for the eighth spot in Pot 1 if North Macedonia pulls off another upset. It beat Italy to set up the clash with Portugal on Tuesday.
The United States will likely land in Pot 2 alongside Mexico and a handful of European nations.
All non-European teams can't be drawn against teams from the same confederation. For example, the United States is not allowed to play Mexico, Canada, or the fourth-place finisher from CONCACAF if it wins the playoff against the top team from the OFC.
There will be multiple European nations in a few groups because that continent sends 13 teams to the World Cup. No more than two European teams can play in the same group.
The configuration of Pots 2, 3 and 4 will be decided once the five African participants and two from North America and Europe are decided.
The three remaining spots in the 32-team field will go to the winners of the CONCACAF vs. OFC playoff, the AFC vs. CONMEBOL playoff, and the last UEFA playoff match.
UEFA rescheduled the playoff bracket including Ukraine because of the Russian invasion of the nation. Ukraine's match with Scotland was pushed back to June. The winner of that match faces Wales for a World Cup spot.
The three unknown teams will be entered into the draw as placeholder squads from Pot 4.
The 29 qualified squads will know their opponents on Friday and will then begin preparations for the group stage, which will take place from November 21-December 2. The knockout stage begins on December 3, and the final will be played on December 18.
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