The final draw for the World Cup 2022 FIFA tournament has been revealed. It sees Spain, Germany, and Japan drawn together in Group E, while Belgium and Croatia are drawn in Group G with Serbia and Cameroon. Portugal and Uruguay will play in Group H, alongside Ghana and Korea. Here is a breakdown of each group's teams. After this draw, we will know which teams will compete in the knockout stages.
The top seven qualifying teams will be placed in the first Pot. They will then be placed in different groups and not play each other until the knockout stage. This is particularly important for the US, which qualified as the third seed in Group A. The USA, Costa Rica, and New Zealand will play in the intercontinental play-off on June 14. This was a particularly difficult situation for Oceania, which has not held a national team competition since late 2019. Quarantine and travel restrictions caused a delay in the preliminary competition. However, it was revised for 2022.
The host nation Qatar is expected to be confirmed as the World Cup 2022. The event will be held in June or July 2022 after a 12-month build-up period. The tournament will feature 32 teams split into two groups of 16. The 32 teams will play four games each, over seven match days. The final will be played on Dec. 18, 2022, one week before Christmas. FIFA said Qatar could not be forced to share the games with another country.
The first round of the 2022 World Cup is scheduled to begin on November 21, and will conclude on December 18. The next round will be held on November 28. Portugal will play Saudi Arabia, while Argentina will play Mexico and Poland. The second round will feature the Brazilian team against Mexico and Argentina. Uruguay and Canada will play South Korea and France will face Ghana in the semi-finals. Once the playoffs are complete, the World Cup will be over in a month.
The World Cup bid for 2022 FIFA was marred by allegations of corruption. Former Vice-President Jack Warner claimed that Qatar had 'bought' the World Cup through bribery. The Asian Football Confederation president Mohammed bin Hammam had been accused of the same. Qatar officials denied all allegations and the whistleblower behind the allegations has since admitted to fabricate the accusations. Nevertheless, FIFA's investigation continues and has found that there was a "crime of corruption".
The next World Cup will take place in Qatar. It will be the first winter World Cup to be played in the Northern Hemisphere. South American World Cups are usually held in winter season. Although the exact schedule for the 2022 World Cup is yet to be finalised, FIFA has confirmed that matches will start at 1pm local time and last until 4pm UK time. The knockout matches will kick off a little earlier than usual, meaning that the Premier League will be halted for five weeks next winter.
