A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 6 June 2019 – 14 June 2022 |
| Teams | 206[note 1] (from 6 confederations) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 865 |
| Goals scored | 2,424 (2.8 per match) |
| Attendance | 8,974,578 (10,375 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Ali Mabkhout(14 goals) |
| Part of a series on the |
| 2022 FIFA World Cup |
|---|
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 Media related to 2022 FIFA World Cup at Wikimedia Commons |
The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification was the qualifying process which decided the 31 teams that would join hosts 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 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.[note 2] Mongolian player Norjmoogiin Tsedenbal netted the first goal, while the last one was scored by Joel Campbell of Costa Rica. In contrast to previous editions, there was no general preliminary draw, with confederations carrying out separate draws due to their differing timelines.[1][better source needed] The qualification process suffered numerous postponements from March 2020 onwards due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Qualified teams
| Team | Method of qualification |
Date of qualification |
Total times qualified |
Last time qualified |
Current consecutive appearances |
Previous best performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Qatar |
Hosts | 2 December 2010 | 1 | – | 1 | – |
 Germany |
UEFA Group J winners | 11 October 2021 | 20[a] | 2018 | 18 | Winners (1954, 1974, 1990, 2014) |
 Denmark |
UEFA Group F winners | 12 October 2021 | 6 | 2018 | 2 | Quarter-finals (1998) |
 Brazil |
CONMEBOL winners | 11 November 2021 | 22 | 2018 | 22 | Winners (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002) |
 France |
UEFA Group D winners | 13 November 2021 | 16 | 2018 | 7 | Winners (1998, 2018) |
 Belgium |
UEFA Group E winners | 13 November 2021 | 14 | 2018 | 3 | Third place (2018) |
 Serbia |
UEFA Group A winners | 14 November 2021 | 13[b] | 2018 | 2 | Fourth place (1930, 1962) |
 Spain |
UEFA Group B winners | 14 November 2021 | 16 | 2018 | 12 | Winners (2010) |
 Croatia |
UEFA Group H winners | 14 November 2021 | 6 | 2018 | 3 | Runners-up (2018) |
 Switzerland |
UEFA Group C winners | 15 November 2021 | 12 | 2018 | 5 | Quarter-finals (1934, 1938, 1954) |
 England |
UEFA Group I winners | 15 November 2021 | 16 | 2018 | 7 | Winners (1966) |
 Netherlands |
UEFA Group G winners | 16 November 2021 | 11 | 2014 | 1 | Runners-up (1974, 1978, 2010) |
 Argentina |
CONMEBOL runners up | 16 November 2021 | 18 | 2018 | 13 | Winners (1978, 1986) |
 Iran |
AFC third round group A winners | 27 January 2022 | 6 | 2018 | 3 | Group stage (1978, 1998, 2006, 2014, 2018) |
 South Korea |
AFC third round group A runners-up | 1 February 2022 | 11 | 2018 | 10 | Fourth place (2002) |
 Saudi Arabia |
AFC third round group B winners | 24 March 2022 | 6 | 2018 | 2 | Round of 16 (1994) |
 Japan |
AFC third round group B runners-up | 24 March 2022 | 7 | 2018 | 7 | Round of 16 (2002, 2010, 2018) |
 Uruguay |
CONMEBOL third place | 24 March 2022 | 14 | 2018 | 4 | Winners (1930, 1950) |
 Ecuador |
CONMEBOL fourth place | 24 March 2022 | 4 | 2014 | 1 | Round of 16 (2006) |
 Canada |
CONCACAF third round winners | 27 March 2022 | 2 | 1986 | 1 | Group stage (1986) |
 Ghana |
CAF third round winners | 29 March 2022 | 4 | 2014 | 1 | Quarter-finals (2010) |
 Senegal |
CAF third round winners | 29 March 2022 | 3 | 2018 | 2 | Quarter-finals (2002) |
 Poland |
UEFA play-offs Path B winners | 29 March 2022 | 9 | 2018 | 2 | Third place (1974, 1982) |
 Portugal |
UEFA play-offs Path C winners | 29 March 2022 | 8 | 2018 | 6 | Third place (1966) |
 Tunisia |
CAF third round winners | 29 March 2022 | 6 | 2018 | 2 | Group stage (1978, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2018) |
 Morocco |
CAF third round winners | 29 March 2022 | 6 | 2018 | 2 | Round of 16 (1986) |
 Cameroon |
CAF third round winners | 29 March 2022 | 8 | 2014 | 1 | Quarter-finals (1990) |
 United States |
CONCACAF third round third place | 30 March 2022 | 11 | 2014 | 1 | Third place (1930) |
 Mexico |
CONCACAF third round runners-up | 30 March 2022 | 17 | 2018 | 8 | Quarter-finals (1970, 1986) |
 Wales |
UEFA play-offs Path A winners | 5 June 2022 | 2 | 1958 | 1 | Quarter-finals (1958) |
 Australia |
AFC v CONMEBOL play-off winners | 13 June 2022 | 6 | 2018 | 5 | Round of 16 (2006) |
 Costa Rica |
CONCACAF v OFC play-off winners | 14 June 2022 | 6 | 2018 | 3 | Quarter-finals (2014) |
- Notes
- ^ Germany between 1950 and 1990 competed as West Germany, as a separate East German team existed then.
- ^ This is the third appearance of Serbia at the FIFA World Cup. However, FIFA considers Serbia as the successor team of Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro, who between them qualified on 10 occasions.
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.[2] As Qatar won their group, the fifth-best group runners-up, Lebanon, advanced to the AFC third round instead.[3] 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.[4] The reigning World Cup champions France also participated in qualifying as normal.[5]
The allocation of slots for each confederation was discussed by the FIFA Executive Committee on 30 May 2015 in Zürich after the FIFA Congress.[6] The committee decided that the same allocation used in 2006, 2010, and 2014 would be kept for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments:[7]
- AFC (Asia): 4 or 5
- CAF (Africa): 5
- CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean): 3 or 4
- CONMEBOL (South America): 4 or 5
- OFC (Oceania): 0 or 1
- UEFA (Europe): 13
- Hosts: 1
Summary of qualification
| ||||||||
| Confederation | Available slots in finals | Teams started | Teams eliminated | Teams qualified | Qualifying start date | Qualifying end date | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AFC | 4+1 or 5+1 | 45+1 | 40 | 5+1 | 6 June 2019 | 13 June 2022 | ||
| CAF | 5 | 54 | 49 | 5 | 4 September 2019 | 29 March 2022 | ||
| CONCACAF | 3 or 4 | 34 | 30 | 4 | 24 March 2021 | 14 June 2022 | ||
| CONMEBOL | 4 or 5 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 8 October 2020 | 13 June 2022 | ||
| OFC | 0 or 1 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 17 March 2022 | 14 June 2022 | ||
| UEFA | 13 | 55 | 42 | 13 | 24 March 2021 | 5 June 2022 | ||
| Total | 31+1 | 205+1 | 174 | 31+1 | 6 June 2019 | 14 June 2022 | ||
Withdrew or suspended
North Korea withdrew from the AFC second qualifying round for safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8]
Other smaller island states likewise retracted their participation during the World Cup qualification: Saint Lucia, American Samoa, Samoa, Vanuatu and Cook Islands, while Tonga withdrew after the 2022 Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai eruption and tsunami.
On 9 December 2019, the World Anti-Doping Agency initially 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.[9] 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 anthem at major international sporting events.[10] An appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport was filed,[11] but WADA's decision was upheld though reduced to a two-year ban.[12] The CAS ruling also allowed the name "Russia" to be displayed on uniforms if the words "Neutral Athlete" or "Neutral Team" had equal prominence.[13] 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.[13] On 27 February 2022, after the threat of boycotts by the Czech Republic, Poland and Sweden (the three teams alongside Russia in the UEFA second qualifying round play-off bracket) amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine,[14] 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" (RFU).[15] On 28 February, however, in accordance with a recommendation by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), FIFA suspended the participation of Russia.[16][17] Poland were subsequently given a walkover for their play-off semi-final match scheduled against Russia.[18] The Russian Football Union announced they would appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.[19] Their request for a temporary lift of the ban was rejected on 18 March.[20]
Format
The formats of the qualifying competitions depended on each confederation (see below). Each round was played in either of the following formats:[21]
- 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 (regulations Articles 20.4 and 20.6):[21]
- Points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss)
- Overall goal difference
- Overall goals scored
- Points in matches between tied teams
- Goal difference in matches between tied teams
- Goals scored in matches between tied teams
- Away goals scored in matches between tied teams (if the tie was only between two teams in home-and-away league format)
- Fair play points
- first yellow card: minus 1 point
- indirect red card (second yellow card): minus 3 points
- direct red card: minus 4 points
- yellow card and direct red card: minus 5 points
- 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 (regulations Article 20.8).[21]
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.[a] The away goals rule was again applied after extra time.[b] If no goals were scored during extra time, the tie was decided by penalty shoot-out (regulations Article 20.10).[21]
- ^ The team that scored more goals away from home over the two legs progresses. If away goals were also equal, then 30 minutes of extra time were played, divided into two 15-minute halves.
- ^ If there were goals scored during extra time and the aggregate score was still level, the visiting team qualified by virtue of more away goals scored.
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.[22]
The qualification structure was as follows:[23]
- First round: Twelve teams (ranked 35–46) played home-and-away over two legs. The six winners advanced to the second round.
- Second round: Forty teams (ranked 1–34, including Qatar as the host, and the six winners from the first round) 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. As Qatar won their group, the fifth-best runner-up advanced in their stead.[3]
- 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.