2022 FIFA World Cup qualification


The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification was the qualifying process that decided the 31 teams that would join hosts and debutants Qatar, who received an automatic spot, at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Parallel tournaments were organised by FIFA's six confederations. Qualification began on 6 June 2019 with several matches of the [2022 FIFA World Cup 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualification|qualification (AFC)|AFC zone], the first being between Mongolia and Brunei, and ended on 14 June 2022 with an inter-confederation play-off between Costa Rica and New Zealand. Mongolian player Norjmoogiin Tsedenbal netted the first goal.
In contrast to previous editions, there was no general preliminary draw, with confederations carrying out separate draws due to their differing timelines. The qualification process suffered numerous postponements from March 2020 onwards due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
WWW fifa.com/worldcup/qatar20...

Qualified teams

TeamMethod of
qualification		Date of
qualification		Total
times
qualified		Last
time
qualified		Current
consecutive
appearances		Previous best
performance
Hosts2 December 20101—1—
UEFA Group J winners11 October 202120201818Winners
UEFA Group F winners12 October 2021620182Quarter-finals
CONMEBOL winners11 November 202122201822Winners
UEFA Group D winners13 November 20211620187Winners
UEFA Group E winners13 November 20211420183Third place
UEFA Group A winners14 November 20211320182Fourth place
UEFA Group B winners14 November 202116201812Winners
UEFA Group H winners14 November 2021620183Runners-up
UEFA Group C winners15 November 20211220185Quarter-finals
UEFA Group I winners15 November 20211620187Winners
UEFA Group G winners16 November 20211120141Runners-up
CONMEBOL runners up16 November 202118201813Winners
AFC third round group A winners27 January 2022620183Group stage
AFC third round group A runners-up1 February 202211201810Fourth place
AFC third round group B winners24 March 2022620182Round of 16
AFC third round group B runners-up24 March 2022720187Round of 16
CONMEBOL third place24 March 20221420184Winners
CONMEBOL fourth place24 March 2022420141Round of 16
[2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF)|CONCACAF third round|CONCACAF third round] winners27 March 2022219861Group stage
[2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)|CAF third round|CAF third round] winners29 March 2022420141Quarter-finals
CAF third round winners29 March 2022320182Quarter-finals
UEFA play-offs Path B winners29 March 2022920182Third place
UEFA play-offs Path C winners29 March 2022820186Third place
CAF third round winners29 March 2022620182Group stage
CAF third round winners29 March 2022620182Round of 16
CAF third round winners29 March 2022820141Quarter-finals
CONCACAF third round third place30 March 20221120141Third place
CONCACAF third round runners-up30 March 20221720188Quarter-finals
UEFA play-offs Path A winners5 June 2022219581Quarter-finals
AFC v CONMEBOL play-off winners13 June 2022620185Round of 16
[2022 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF–OFC play-off)|CONCACAF v Oceania Football Confederation|OFC play-off] winners14 June 2022620183Quarter-finals

'''Notes'''

Qualification process

All FIFA member associations, of which there were 211, were eligible to enter qualification. Qatar, as hosts, qualified automatically for the tournament. However, Qatar was obliged by the AFC to participate in the Asian qualifying stage as the first two rounds also acted as qualification for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. As Qatar won their group, the fifth-best group runners-up, Lebanon, advanced to the AFC third round instead. For the first time after the initial two tournaments of 1930 and 1934, the World Cup would be hosted by a country whose national team had never played a finals match before. The reigning World Cup champions France also participated in qualifying as normal.
The allocation of slots for each confederation was discussed by the FIFA Executive Committee on 30 May 2015 in Zürich, Switzerland after the FIFA Congress. The committee decided that the same allocation used in 2006, 2010, and 2014 would be kept for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments:

Withdrew or suspended

On 9 December 2019, the World Anti-Doping Agency handed Russia a four-year ban from all major international sporting events, after RUSADA was found non-compliant for handing over manipulated lab data to investigators. However, the Russia national team could still enter qualification, as the ban only applied to the World Cup proper as a world championship. The WADA ruling allowed athletes who were not involved in doping or the coverup to compete, but prohibited the use of the Russian flag and [National National anthem of Russia|anthem of Russia|anthem] at major international sporting events. An appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport was filed, but WADA's decision was upheld though reduced to a two-year ban. The CAS ruling also allowed the name "Russia" to be displayed on uniforms if the words "Neutral Athlete" or "Neutral Team" had equal prominence. If Russia had qualified for the tournament, its players would not have been able to use their country's name alone, flag or anthem at the World Cup, as a result of the nation's two-year ban from world championships and Olympic Games in all sports.
On 27 February 2022, after the threat of boycotts by the Czech Republic, Poland and Sweden amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, FIFA prohibited the Russia national team from playing home matches in Russia; the team would have to play matches behind closed doors at neutral sites. In addition, the team would have been prohibited from competing under the name, flag, or national anthem of Russia, and had to compete under the name "Football Union of Russia". On 28 February, however, FIFA suspended the participation of Russia. Poland were subsequently given a walkover for their play-off semi-final match scheduled against Russia. The Russian Football Union announced they would appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Their request for a temporary lift of the ban was rejected on 18 March.

Format

The formats of the qualifying competitions depended on each confederation . Each round was played in either of the following formats:
  • League format, in which more than two teams formed groups to play home-and-away round-robin matches, or in exceptions permitted by the FIFA Organising Committee, single round-robin matches hosted by one of the participating teams or on neutral territory.
  • Knockout format, in which two teams played home-and-away two-legged matches or single-legged matches.

Tiebreakers

In league format, the ranking of teams in each group was based on the following criteria :
  1. Points
  2. Overall goal difference
  3. Overall goals scored
  4. Points in matches between tied teams
  5. Goal difference in matches between tied teams
  6. Goals scored in matches between tied teams
  7. Away goals scored in matches between tied teams
  8. Fair play points
  9. * first yellow card: minus 1 point
  10. * indirect red card : minus 3 points
  11. * direct red card: minus 4 points
  12. * yellow card and direct red card: minus 5 points
  13. Drawing of lots by the FIFA Organising Committee
In cases when teams finishing in the same position across different groups were compared to determine which teams advanced to the next stage, the criteria depended on the competition format and required the approval of FIFA.
In knockout format, the team that had the higher aggregate score over the two legs progressed to the next round. If aggregate scores finish level, then the away goals rule was applied. The away goals rule was again applied after extra time. If no goals were scored during extra time, the tie was decided by penalty shoot-out.

Confederation qualification

AFC

The opening two rounds of qualifying also served as qualification for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. Therefore, Qatar, the 2022 FIFA World Cup host, only participated in the first two rounds of qualifying.
The qualification structure was as follows:
  • First round: Twelve teams played home-and-away over two legs. The six winners advanced to the second round.
  • Second round: Forty teams were divided into eight groups of five teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The eight group winners and the four best group runners-up were set to advance to the third round and AFC Asian Cup. As Qatar won their group, the fifth-best runner-up advanced in their stead.
  • Third round: Twelve teams that had advanced from the second round were divided into two groups of six teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. 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: One third-placed team in each third round group played against each other in a single match, the winners advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs.

CAF

CAF announced on 10 July 2019 a reversion to the format used for its 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification competition.
  • First round: Twenty-eight teams played home-and-away over two legs. The fourteen winners advanced to the second round.
  • Second round: Forty teams were divided into ten groups of four teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The ten group winners advanced to the third round.
  • Third round: Ten teams that had advanced from the second round played home-and-away over two legs. The five winners qualified for the World Cup, and no teams advance to the intercontinental playoffs.

CONCACAF

CONCACAF initially announced on 10 July 2019 a restructured format for the qualifiers of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. However, on 25 June 2020, following FIFA's decision to postpone the September international window because of the pandemic, CONCACAF noted that "the challenges presented by postponements to the football calendar, and the incomplete FIFA rankings cycle in our confederation, means our current World Cup qualifying process has been compromised and will be changed." On 27 July, CONCACAF announced a new qualifying format for the World Cup.
  • First round: Thirty CONCACAF teams, ranked 6 to 35 based on the FIFA rankings of July 2020, were drawn into six groups of five and played single round-robin matches, the six group winners advanced to the second round.
  • Second round: Six first round group winners played in a two-legged home-and-away series. The three winners advanced to the third round.
  • Third round: Eight teams, three second-round winners and the top five CONCACAF teams also based on those FIFA rankings, played home-and-away round-robin matches in one single group. The top three teams qualified for the World Cup and the fourth-placed team advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs.

CONMEBOL

The CONMEBOL Council decided on 24 January 2019 to maintain the same qualification structure used for the previous six tournaments. From October 2020 to March 2022, all ten CONMEBOL teams played in a league of home-and-away round-robin matches. The top four teams qualified for the World Cup and the fifth-placed team advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs.

OFC

Qualifying was expected to begin in September 2020, but the FIFA international window in that month for the OFC was postponed by the pandemic.
Earlier in July that year, the OFC submitted a proposal to FIFA for the qualifiers in response to the pandemic, intending to organise a group stage in March and June 2021 followed by semi-finals and a final in September and October of that year. After continued delays, by September 2021 the OFC felt it was "not possible at this time to organise a qualifying competition within the Oceania region" and it was instead staged in Qatar in March 2022.
The qualifying stage was to be a single match on 13 March 2022 between the two lowest-ranked participating OFC nations in the FIFA World Rankings, with the winner advancing to the group stage. Then eight remaining teams were drawn into two groups of four, playing single leg round-robin. The top two teams from each group advanced to a single leg knockout stage. The final winner advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs.

UEFA

The draw for the first round was held in Zürich, Switzerland, on 7 December 2020, 18:00 CET. However, because of the pandemic, the draw was held as a virtual event without any representatives of member associations present. It was originally planned to be held on 29 November. Earlier on 18 June, the UEFA Executive Committee approved the draw regulations for the qualifying group stage. The 55 teams were seeded into six pots based on the FIFA Men's World Rankings of November 2020, after the league phase of the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League.
The qualification format was confirmed by the UEFA Executive Committee during their meeting in Nyon, Switzerland, on 4 December 2019. The qualification depended, in part, on results from the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League, although to a lesser degree than UEFA Euro 2020. The structure maintained UEFA's usual 'group stage/playoff stage' structure, with only the specific format of the play-offs amended.First round : Ten groups of either five or six teams with group winners qualifying for the World Cup finals. The four teams in the 2021 UEFA Nations League Finals were put into the smaller groups.Second round : Twelve teams were drawn into three play-off paths, playing two rounds of single-match play-offs, with the three path winners qualifying for the World Cup.

Inter-confederation play-offs

There were two inter-confederation play-offs to determine the final two qualification spots for the finals. They were played in Qatar on 13–14 June 2022.

Top goalscorers

Below are goalscorer lists for all confederations and the inter-confederation play-offs:
  • AFC
  • CAF
  • CONCACAF
  • CONMEBOL
  • OFC
  • UEFA
  • Inter-confederation play-offs