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The draw for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar is almost upon us.
We already know 29 of the 32 teams that will take their place in Qatar in November, with two intercontinental play-off matches set to take place in June. And in Europe one of Wales, Scotland or Ukraine will book their place at the tournament, too.
Qatar, whose hosting of the World Cup is controversial for the reasons described in this article, will play in the opening match of the tournament on November 21, with the final scheduled to take place less than one month later, on December 18.
But, before then, here is everything you need to know about today’s draw.
When and where is the draw?
The draw is scheduled to take place at 17.00 (midday, Eastern time) at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center in Qatar.
How can I watch?
In the United Kingdom, the entire show will be available on the BBC Red Button and iPlayer. BBC One will show it from 16.45-18.00 BST with the final half an hour on BBC Two.
Television coverage in the United States will be on FS1 and Telemundo starting at 11:30, Eastern time.
The Athletic will also provide minute-by-minute coverage.
How will the draw work?
There are four pots for the draw on Friday. They are based on the FIFA world rankings, which will be updated on Thursday. However, Qatar are guaranteed to be in pot one as they are the hosts, which itself has raised many concerns.
They will also be drawn into Group A.
The other teams in the first pot will be the other seven highest-ranked sides. Pot two will include the next eight highest-ranked sides, with pot three including the next eight after that.
However, pot oven is interesting. There will be five places in there defined by rank. Two of the other three will be used as a placeholder for the intercontinental play-offs. The last spot will go to the winner of the play-off between Wales and either Scotland or Ukraine, whose semi-final has been delayed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
There is also a geographical restriction on each group. Each continent can only have one representative per group, aside from Europe, which can have two as it supplies 13 of the 32 competitors.
Who is in each pot?
Pot 1 consists of the host nation, Qatar, and the countries at the top of FIFA’s world rankings. Those countries are: Brazil, Argentina, Belgium, France, England, Spain and Portugal.
Pot 2 consists of the United States, Mexico, the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Croatia and Uruguay.
Pot 3 is Serbia, Poland, Senegal, Morocco, Tunisia, Iran, Japan and South Korea.
Pot 4 holds Canada, Ghana, Cameroon, Ecuador and Saudi Arabia. Three teams are yet to qualify for Qatar 2022, as explained above. These currently vacant slots will also be attributed to pot 4.
Who is doing the draw?
Eight former players and managers will be conducting the draw, including World Cup winners Cafu, of Brazil, and Lothar Matthaus, of Germany.
The others will be Jay-Jay Okocha, Tim Cahill, Adel Ahmed MalAllah, Ali Daei, Bora Milutinovic and Rabah Madjer.
Who is going to win the World Cup?
The favorites are Brazil, France, England and Spain.
Who is missing?
European champions Italy are the most notable absentees after their play-off defeat by North Macedonia.
Russia also miss out after being removed from the UEFA play-offs following their country’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine.
Norway failed to qualify, meaning Erling Haaland will not be at the tournament, while Mohamed Salah and Egypt will not be there either, after losing to Senegal on penalties.
(Photo: Getty Images)
