29 of the 32 teams have already qualified for the 2022 World Cup; Wales and Scotland can still make the finals in Qatar; Costa Rica, New Zealand and Peru also among the countries set for a play-off to reach the World Cup; Australia and the United Arab Emirates also in contention
Thursday 14 April 2022 15:18, UK
It is crunch time on the road to Qatar 2022 but with the European slots nearly done and dusted, there are still several spaces left for nations across the globe.
The qualification picture for next year's World Cup in Qatar is starting to emerge with 29 of the 32 finalists now known.
But after Italy's shock defeat in their play-off to North Macedonia meant the European champions will not be in Qatar later this year, which other established footballing nations are sweating over their place?
We take a look at the state of play involving the other confederations...
Qualified: Senegal, Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco, Tunisia
Qualified: Qatar
Qualified: Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, Portugal, Poland.
To be decided: Wales face either Scotland or Ukraine in the third play-off on June 5 in Cardiff
Path A
Scotland vs Ukraine - Wednesday June 1, Hampden Park
Qualified: Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Ecuador.
Play Off: Peru.
Uruguay and Ecuador secured their spots at the World Cup finals, joining Brazil and Argentina as the automatic qualifiers from the South American group.
Brazil made history in their final qualifier, beating Bolivia 4-0 to take them onto 45 points - beating Argentina's record of 43 points set during qualification for the 2002 World Cup.
They finish top of the CONMEBOL table, followed by Argentina. Uruguay secured third spot thanks to a 2-0 win against Chile, followed by Ecuador.
Peru's 2-0 victory against Paraguay saw them clinch fifth place, sending them to the intercontinental play-offs in June*. Colombia and Chile were also in contention heading into the final match, but were beaten to the knockout spot.
The World Cup qualifier between Brazil and Argentina in September that was suspended just minutes after kick-off when health officials ran on to the pitch must be replayed - although both nations have qualified.
*The intercontinental play-offs will see one side from Asia, South America, North/Central America/Caribbean and Oceania play two-legged ties to determine the last two berths. They will take place in June 2022.
The top two finishers in both of Asia's qualifying groups advance automatically to Qatar 2022 while the teams in third spot will progress to a series of play-offs.
Qualified: Iran, South Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia.
Iran and South Korea have progressed automatically from Group A while Japan and Saudi Arabia will also be in Qatar after finishing in the top two positions in Group B.
Australia will face United Arab Emirates in the fourth round of AFC qualification in June for the right to meet Peru in the intercontinental play-offs.*
*The intercontinental play-offs will see one side from Asia, South America, North/Central America/Caribbean and Oceania play two-legged ties to determine the last two berths. They will take place in June 2022.
Qualified: Canada, USA, Mexico.
Play-off: Costa Rica.
Canada qualified for the World Cup finals for just the second time after beating Jamaica 4-0 to book their ticket to Qatar and end 36 years of failure and heartache.
They finished top of the CONCACAF group on goal difference, despite losing 1-0 to Panama in their final game, level on 28 points with second-place Mexico. They were 2-0 winners against El Salvador to book their spot in Qatar.
Despite losing 2-0 to Costa Rica, the USA finished third in the group to secure their automatic path to the 2022 World Cup. Costa Rica will now face New Zealand in an intercontinental play-off in June for their place in Qatar.
Qualified: None.
To be decided: Oceania had not been able to hold national-team competitions since late 2019 due to the impact of Covid-19. Due to lingering travel and quarantine restrictions, March 2022 presented the first - and indeed last - opportunity for the preliminary competition to take place.
The format, dates and draw procedures for the OFC preliminary competition for the FIFA World Cup 2022 have been revised.
FIFA changed the format after the Cook Islands and Vanuatu withdrew due to cases of COVID-19 that affected their national teams.
Both the Cook Islands and Vanuatu were in Group A but FIFA said all matches involving the two teams "shall be deemed to have not taken place".
That left the other two teams in the group, Solomon Islands and Tahiti, to play their group fixture, which was considered a single play-off match to determine the winner and runner-up of Group A. Solomon Islands won 2-1.
They then faced New Zealand for the intercontinental play-off spot, with the All Whites winning 5-0. They will now face Costa Rica in June for a spot at the 2022 World Cup.
World Cup seeds (Pot One):
Pot Two (Guaranteed):
Pot Three (Guaranteed):
Pot Four (Guaranteed):
UEFA and Intercontinental play-offs:
So who could England face?
Worst-case scenario: England, Germany, Senegal, Canada.
Best-case scenario: England, USA, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia.
The 2022 World Cup in Qatar will feature 32 teams in eight groups of four.
Four matches will be played each day during the group stage, which will run over a 12-day period and see winners and runners-up progress to the round of 16.
Matches will only be assigned to particular venues after the finals draw, so organisers can choose optimal kick-off times to suit television audiences in different countries, as well as supporters in Qatar.
Group stage: November 21- December 2
Round of 16: December 3-6
Quarter-finals: December 9/10
Semi-finals: December 13/14
Final: December 18
FIFA has confirmed the first two rounds of matches will kick off at 1pm, 4pm, 7pm and 10pm local time (10am, 1pm, 4pm and 7pm in the United Kingdom).
Kick-off times in the final round of group games and knock-out round matches will be at 6pm and 10pm local time (3pm and 7pm UK time).
The final is scheduled to kick off at 6pm local time (3pm UK time).
The Premier League has confirmed key dates for the 2022/23 campaign, with the season adjusted to accommodate a World Cup that takes place in the middle of the domestic calendar.
The season will start a week earlier than normal on August 6 2022, with 16 matchdays taking place up to the weekend of November 12/13, before the tournament kicks off on November 21.
The Premier League will resume on Boxing Day following the World Cup final, which takes place on December 18.
The final match round of the 2022/23 season will be played on May 28 2023.
