By Samindra Kunti in Doha
April 1 – After a dramatic FIFA Congress with a courageous and powerful speech by the Norwegian FA president Lise Klaveness, attention has now shifted to the World Cup draw that will decide the group match-ups and brackets for the 32 participants.
Carli Lloyd, Jermaine Jenas and Samantha Johnson will host the draw in downtown Doha and they will be assisted by a star cast of legends, including Cafu, Lothar Matthaus, Adel Ahmed MalAllah, Ali Daei, Bora Milutinovic, Jay-Jay Okocha, Rabah Madjer and Tim Cahill.
Teams have been seeded based on the FIFA world rankings released on March 31. Hosts Qatar features as A1 in Pot 1, the highest seeded nations, which include the defending world champions France as well as Brazil and England. Portugal who only secured their place this week via the European play-offs, are also amongst the top seeds.
But with Germany and the Netherlands in the second pot, the prospect of some blockbuster group stage matches is not unlikely. Pot 3 has a mix of Asian and African teams as well as Serbia and Poland. Canada, who return to the global finals for the first time since 1986, sit in pot 4 where three finalists still have to be decided.
Two of the remaining three spots will be filled by the winners of the intercontinental play-offs on 13 or 14 June, with the final berth to be decided in a European playoff in which Wales will face play either Scotland or Ukraine.
The intercontinental plays-offs had to be rescheduled as a knock-on effect of the Covid pandemic in each continent. Scotland’s semi-final against Ukraine at Hampden Park was postponed because of the Russian invasion.
With just 29 from 32 qualified, it’s the first-ever World Cup draw in which not all finalists are known. Italy and Nigeria are among the big names to miss out.
Teams from the same continent will be kept apart – except for European countries, where a maximum of two can be in any one group.
The World Cup kicks off on 21 November and concludes with the final on 18 December at Lusail Stadium. It will be the first World Cup ever to be played in winter and the last in a 32-team format before the expansion to 48 teams in 2026.
Pot 1
Qatar, Brazil, Belgium, France, Argentina, England, Spain, Portugal.
Pot 2
Mexico, Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Uruguay, Switzerland, USA, Croatia.
Pot 3
Senegal, Iran, Japan, Morocco, Serbia, Poland, South Korea, Tunisia.
Pot 4
Cameroon, Canada, Ecuador, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Wales/Scotland/Ukraine, Costa Rica/New Zealand, UAE/Australia/Peru.
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