THE countdown to the 2022 World Cup continues.
It may feel like a long time until the finals in around two years’ time, but qualifying is already underway in South America – and now it’s time for European nations, including England, to discover their fates.
- Start time: 5pm GMT
- TV channel: UEFA website
- England in POT 1 with Belgium, France, Spain and Germany
- Wales in POT 2, Ireland, Scotland and Northern Ireland in POT 3
Follow ALL the action with our live blog below…
ENGLAND’S WORSE CASE SCENARIO
This is the worst case scenario for England:
Switzerland, Russia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Armenia, Moldova.
ENGLAND’S BEST CASE SCENARIO
This could be one of the best case scenario’s for England’s qualifying group:
Romania, Finland, Luxembourg, Andorra, San Marino.
WORLD CUP KEY DATES
The World Cup kicks off on November 21 and the group stage process ends on December 2.
The round of 16 will take place between December 3 & 6.
Quarter finals will take place on December 9 & 10.
Semi finals between December 13 & 14.
And finally, the World Cup final will take place on December 18.
Let’s hope the boys match their 2018 World Cup run, if not better!
POT LUCK
POT 1: Belgium, France, England, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands.
POT 2: Switzerland, Wales, Poland, Sweden, Austria, Ukraine, Serbia, Turkey, Slovakia, Romania.
POT 3: Russia, Hungary, Republic of Ireland, Czech Republic, Norway, Northern Ireland, Iceland, Scotland, Greece, Finland.
POT 4: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, Bulgaria, Israel, Belarus, Georgia, Luxembourg.
POT 5: Armenia, Cyprus, Faroe Islands, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Kosovo, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Latvia, Andorra.
POT 6: Malta, Moldova, Liechtenstein, Gibraltar, San Marino.
WORLD CUP QUALIFYING KEY DATES
Matchday 1 – 24–25 March 2021
Matchday 2 – 27–28 March 2021
Matchday 3 – 30–31 March 2021
Matchday 4 – 1–2 September 2021
Matchday 5 – 4–5 September 2021
Matchday 6 – 7–8 September 2021
Matchday 7 – 8–9 October 2021
Matchday 8 – 11–12 October 2021
Matchday 9 – 11–13 November 2021
Matchday 10 – 14–16 November 2021Play-off dates
Play-off semi finals – 24-25 March 2022
Play-off finals – 28-29 March 2022TEAMS THAT CANNOT BE DRAWN TOGETHER
For non-sporting reasons, these teams cannot be drawn together.
Armenia & Azerbaijan
Gibraltar & Spain
Kosovo & Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kosovo & Russia
Kosovo & Serbia
Ukraine & RussiaWHO GOES THROUGH?
The ten group winners will qualify for the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
The ten group runners-up will compete in the play-offs which take place in March 2022.
And they will be joined by the two best group winners of the 2020/21 UEFA Nations League that have neither qualified directly for the final tournament as European Qualifiers group winners, or entered the play-offs already as European Qualifiers group runners-up.
The 12 countries in the play-offs will be drawn into three play-off paths for one-off semi’s and final.
The three path winners qualify for the World Cup.
HOW DOES THE DRAW WORK?
Teams will be drawn into ten groups of FIVE or SIX.
And the teams who reached the 2021 UEFA Nations League finals will be in the smaller groups (Belgium, Spain, Italy and France).
The World Cup qualifying draw will be taking place from Zurich
GOOD AFTERNOON
And welcome to the live blog for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers!
The road to the 2022 Qatar World Cup begins, but up first is the qualifiers and today the European teams find out who they’ll be slugging it out with to reach tournament.
The qualifying process starts in March 2021 and it should be all decided by November 2021.
And the play-offs for the runners up will be played in March 2022.
For the first time ever, the World Cup will be played in the Winter of 2022 to provide a cooler playing climate with temperatures going as high as 40°C in the summer.
England could draw Ireland, Scotland, Northern Ireland or Republic of Ireland as there are no restrictions on the teams facing each other.
Luckily for Gareth Southgate’s men, they’ll avoid the big boys with all of them joining England in Pot 1.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
