We have our group stage draw for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and as expected, there will be plenty of talking points across the eight different groups.
England were drawn against the USA and Iran in the group stage, and they could be joined by another British side since Wales, Scotland and Ukraine will do battle in June for the final spot in the group.
Lionel Messi and Argentina will have it all to do in Group C against No. 9-ranked Mexico and Robert Lewandowski's Poland. Mexico's coach is Argentine Tata Martino, who will go up against the team he once coached and a superstar he once managed, including at Barcelona.
In what could be his final World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal landed three battle-tested opponents from three different regions in Ghana (Africa), Uruguay (South America) and South Korea (Asia).
Some other takeaways:
- Spain vs. Germany in Group E;
- Host Qatar got a tough draw (African champs Senegal and the talented Dutch);
- Defending champs France landed a very manageable group;
- Things are perhaps slightly more challenging for Brazil in Group G.
And for an updated look at the complete FIFA 2022 World Cup match schedule with dates, times and stadiums, we've got you covered.
WORLD CUP DRAW BREAKDOWNS:
Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D
Group E | Group F | Group G | Group H
| Group A | A1: Qatar | A2: Ecuador | A3: Senegal | A4: Netherlands |
| Group B | B1: England | B2: Iran | B3: USA | B4: WAL/UKR/SCO |
| Group C | C1: Argentina | C2: Saudi Arabia | C3: Mexico | C4: Poland |
| Group D | D1: France | D2: AUS/UAE/PER | D3: Denmark | D4: Tunisia |
| Group E | E1: Spain | E2: CRC / NZ | E3: Germany | E4: Japan |
| Group F | F1: Belgium | F2: Canada | F3: Morocco | F4: Croatia |
| Group G | G1: Brazil | G2: Serbia | G3: Switzerland | G4: Cameroon |
| Group H | H1: Portugal | H2: Ghana | H3: Uruguay | H4: South Korea |
MORE WORLD CUP 2022:
Full draw results | TV schedule | Latest news
World Cup Draw 22 updates, highlights from Qatar
(All times ET)
1:25 p.m.: That's it. We've got the full group picture. Now it's time for overreaction and predictions!
1:11 p.m.: Pot 4 draw:
- Group A: Ecuador ("Int'l Playoff 1" originally drawn here, moved to Group D)
- Group B: Euro playoff (S. Arabia, "Int'l Playoff 2" originally drawn, both moved)
- Group C: Saudi Arabia
- Group D: Int'l Playoff 1 (Australia/UAE vs. Peru)
- Group E: Int'l Playoff 2 (Costa Rica vs. New Zealand)
- Group F: Canada (Cameroon, then Ghana originally drawn and moved)
- Group G: Cameroon
- Group H: Ghana
1:03 p.m.: Pot 3 draw:
- Group A: Senegal (A3) (Iran originally drawn, moved to Group B)
- Group B: Iran (B2)
- Group C: Poland (C4)
- Group D: Tunisia (D4) (Serbia originally drawn, moved to Group G)
- Group E: Japan (E4)
- Group F: Morocco (F3)
- Group G: Serbia (G2)
- Group H: South Korea (H4)
12:57 p.m.: Pot 2 draw:
- Group A: Netherlands (A4)
- Group B: USA (B3)
- Group C: Mexico (C3)
- Group D: Denmark (D3)
- Group E: Germany (E3)
- Group F: Croatia (F4)
- Group G: Switzerland (G3) (Uruguay originally drawn, moved to H)
- Group H: Uruguay (H3)
12:48 p.m.: Pot 1 draw:
- Group A: Qatar
- Group B: England
- Group C: Argentina
- Group D: France
- Group E: Spain
- Group F: Belgium
- Group G: Brazil
- Group H: Portugal
12:48 p.m.: We start with Pot 1. Confirmation that Qatar is going into Group A as A1.
12:45 p.m.: Just two questions to the legends. Whew. Now they're explaining how the draw works, but we already have that down in this post.
12:42 p.m.: Oh no! They are asking questions.
12:38 p.m.: We're 38 minutes in and they're going to introduce the FIFA legends. Please, no questions!
- Cafu
- Jay-Jay Okocha
- Lothar Matthaus
- Ali Daei
- Adel Ahmed MalAllah
- Tim Cahill
- Rabah Madjer
- Bora Milutinovic
Ali Daei looking thrilled to be at the World Cup Draw pic.twitter.com/T13ynHVCmo
— Paddy Power (@paddypower) April 1, 2022
✅ More World Cup draw appearances than MLS goals pic.twitter.com/S7wNSBihYo
— Paul Carr (@PaulCarr) April 1, 2022
12:36 p.m.: USWNT legend Carli Lloyd, ex-England international Jermaine Jenas and Samantha Johnson come on the stage. They're finally going to get the draw started (we think).
— SiriusXM FC 157 ⚽️📻 (@SiriusXMFC) April 1, 2022A #USSoccer Legend in the House!
12:35 p.m.: Still waiting! Check out how the papers made it into the balls.
— Telemundo Deportes (@TelemundoSports) April 1, 2022⚽ Así se preparó FIFA para el sorteo
🚨 Cada selección ya tiene su bombo
EN VIVO por @Telemundo y @peaco*ckTV ➡️ https://t.co/B1lJ9IKmr7
📺 Telemundo la casa de la Copa Mundial de la FIFA #Catar2022#SorteoEnTelemundo #MundialTelemundo #ElMundialLoEsTodo 🇶🇦 pic.twitter.com/WRnqy5QmEV
12:30 p.m.: OK. Looks like we're about to get down to business. Didier Deschamps, head coach of defending champions France brings out the trophy.
In case you're wondering who the other person with Deschamps is: It's the kid in the photo who was celebrating their last World Cup, only four years older.
What they're all playing for 🤩🏆 pic.twitter.com/rJmH2lv0cj
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) April 1, 2022
Que momento 🥺 pic.twitter.com/AbsIzQD6dy
— GoncaloDias17 🇺🇦 (@goncalo_diass17) April 1, 2022
12:25 p.m.: Gianni Infantino says that the Qatar World Cup will be the best one ever. He also pleaded for peace in the world and said he wants the World Cup to be one of unity.
Gianni Infantino: "This will be the best World Cup ever". #WorldCupDraw pic.twitter.com/bw5fq2PiAu
— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) April 1, 2022
12:19 p.m.: Idris Elba and Reshmin Chowdhury are the hosts of the event.
.@idriselba, a British actor, producer and musician and @ReshminTV, a British multi-lingual sports broadcaster lead the show as co-presenters for the evening #FinalDraw pic.twitter.com/THetQsyTqa
— Road to 2022 (@roadto2022en) April 1, 2022
12:15 p.m.: It's been all a show in the first 15 minutes. And there's a performance coming up.
— La Afición (@laaficion) April 1, 2022#SorteoQatar2022 | Estas son algunas de las piezas mostradas antes de la celebración del sorteo
📸 REUTERS
EN VIVO 🔴 https://t.co/xMttf*ckWDz pic.twitter.com/piuh7ussjL
12:03 p.m.: The FIFA 2022 World Cup mascot has taken over the Draw right now.
🚨 La mascotte officielle de la Coupe du monde 2022 est dévoilée ! pic.twitter.com/tYI4igwnKk
— Actu Foot (@ActuFoot_) April 1, 2022
Never change, FIFA. #WorldCupDraw pic.twitter.com/7hhPgggwj8
— Farhan Devji (@farhandevji) April 1, 2022
11:41 a.m.: There's an actual red carpet at this event. All the VIPs are there. About 2,000 folks will be at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center.
¡Qué elegante, pa! Sergio Agüero y Sofia Calzetti ya están presentes en el sorteo de #Qatar2022. pic.twitter.com/tvwqBZYr0U
— ESPN Argentina (@ESPNArgentina) April 1, 2022
Futebol brasileiro bem representado no Qatar! 🇧🇷🏆🇶🇦#lanceCOPA pic.twitter.com/PQP6dgoqYH
— LANCE! (@lancenet) April 1, 2022
9:53 a.m.: Among the 2,000 guests on hand for the draw in Qatar are the coaches, including Argentina's Lionel Scaloni who has his team on a 31-match unbeaten run. If they keep it up, they could be setting a new record in Qatar.
Lionel Scaloni, Roberto Ayala and Walter Samuel of Argentina ready for the 2022 Qatar World Cup draw! This via TyC Sports. pic.twitter.com/ddF34EAAUO
— Roy Nemer (@RoyNemer) March 31, 2022
How to watch the FIFA World Cup Draw
- Date: Friday,April 1
- Time:11:30 a.m. ET
- USA TV channel:FS1, Telemundo, Universo
- USA streaming: fuboTV, Peaco*ck
- Canada TV channel: TSN (starting at 11 a.m. ET)
- Canada streaming: TSN GO(starting at 11 a.m. ET)
USA: In the US, the draw will be broadcast on FS1 (English) and on Telemundo and Universo (Spanish). Those channels can be streamed on fuboTV, which is available to new users on a free trial.
Canada: Coverage on TSN will start at 11 a.m. ET with streaming available on TSN's GO platform.
FIFA will also be providing live coverage, with a live stream on the official FIFA Youtube channel.
Pots for World Cup Draw 2022
According to the official 2022 FIFA World Cup Draw procedure, the 32 participants (including the three still unclaimed berths) were split it up into pots based onthe FIFA World Rankings published on March 31.
- Pot 1: seven highest-ranked teams + host Qatar
- Pot 2: next eight ranked teams according to Rankings
- Pot 3: next eight ranked teams according to Rankings
- Pot 4:five lowest-ranked teams + three unclaimed spots
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
| Qatar (51)* | Mexico (9) | Senegal (20) | Cameroon (37) |
| Brazil (1) | Netherlands (10) | Iran (21) | Canada (38) |
| Belgium (2) | Denmark (11) | Japan (23) | Ecuador (46) |
| France (3) | Germany (12) | Morocco (24) | Saudi Arabia (49) |
| Argentina (4) | Uruguay (13) | Serbia (25) | Ghana (60) |
| England (5) | Switzerland (14) | Poland (26) | Intercont'l Playoff 1 |
| Spain (7) | USA (15) | South Korea (29) | Intercont'l Playoff 2 |
| Portugal (8) | Croatia (16) | Tunisia (35) | Euro Playoff |
Although there are teams in the running for those final three unclaimed berths in Pot 4 that deserve a better pot assignment based on their world ranking (like No. 18 Wales), FIFA decided for practical reasons to execute the April 1 draw with placeholders for the three open spots that were lumped into Pot 4.
The draw will start with Pot 1 and end with Pot 4. Teams are drawn one by one from the pot and are slotted sequentially into a group beginning with Group A and moving on through Group H.
Geographic restrictions: Teams from the same region cannot be drawn in the same group with the exception of Europe. Since there are 13 European teams in the draw and only eight groups (A-H), a maximum two European nations are permitted in a single group. If there's a geographic clash, the team drawn is simply moved to the next group in sequence.
After a team is selected and the group is identified, the slot within that group is determined from a different pot.Teams drawn from Pot 1 into a group will automatically occupy the first slot in a group (Ex. A1, B1, C1, etc.), but the other slots will be drawn at random.
When are final World Cup berths decided?
Three of the 32 participating nations at the World Cup will be determined two months after the draw in June via a handful of single-elimination playoffs:
- Australia vs. United Arab Emirates winner (Asia)vs. Peru (South America)
- Costa Rica (North America)vs. New Zealand (Oceania)
- Wales vs. Scotland vs. Ukraine winner (European playoff)
During the World Cup Draw, both the Asia/South America placeholder and the North America/Oceania placeholder will need to avoid all potential geographic clashes. The Wales/Scotland/Ukraine placeholder will be treated like any other European participant as far as geographic restrictions (maximum two European nations per group).
