World Cup 2022 Qatar: Which Nations Have Qualified So Far?

13 teams have already secured qualification for the 2022 World Cup, which will be held in Qatar from November 22nd up until December 18th. The Three Lions are among the several nations that have already cemented their spot, whereas others will have no choice but to go through a play-off round in order to qualify.

Nations That Have Qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar

How Remaining Nations Can Still Qualify

Europe (UEFA)

With 10 teams already confirmed, Europe only has three spots left for the World Cup in 2022. The three spots will ultimately be decided through a playoff system consisting of 12 European nations. The draw for the playoffs is scheduled for November 26th.

Africa (CAF)

So far, 10 nations have booked their slot in the third stage of qualifying, where each team will play in a two-legged tie. The 10 nations include Algeria, Nigeria, Cameroon, Tunisia, Mali, Egypt, Ghana, Senegal, Morocco, DR Congo. The five countries who emerge as the winners of each of these five two-legged games, will be present at the World Cup in Qatar.

South America (CONMEBOL)

As previously mentioned, Brazil and Argentina have already secured qualification to the Qatar World Cup in 2022. Currently, Ecuador (3rd) and Colombia (4th) are the teams sitting in the remaining automatic places. The fifth-placed team, which as things stand is Peru, will have a chance to qualify by competing in the Inter-confederation playoff. Further details on how this playoff works can be found below.

Asia (AFC)

From this region, a total of four or five teams will be able to qualify for the World Cup in 2022. A total of 12 nations have already begun the third round of qualification, where they have been split up into two groups of six. The group winner and runner-up from each group will progress to the World Cup Finals next winter.

Group A: Iran, South Korea, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon
Group B: Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, China, Oman, Vietnam

However, that isn’t where things end. the teams finishing third in each group will play in a two-legged playoff against each other. The winner of this playoff will then form part of the aforementioned Inter-confederation playoff, which will take place later next year.

North and Central America (CONCACAF)

A total of three of four nations belonging to CONCACAF will be present at the World Cup. These teams are currently in the final stage of qualifying, which involves a group consisting of eight countries. The eight involved are Canada, USA, Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, Jamaica, El Salvador, and Honduras. From these countries, the top three will receive automatic qualification, whilst fourth place will have to battle it out in the Inter-confederation playoff.

After eight games played, Canada sit in first place on 16 points, USA are just behind them in second on 15 points, Mexico are in third place with 14 points, whilst Panama currently sit in the fourth place (playoff spot), also on 14 points. It’s a tough one to call, especially with Costa Rica still keeping themselves in the mix on nine points with six games left to play.

Oceania (OFC)

It’s possible for either one or no teams at all from Oceania to qualify for the World Cup in 2022. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are still in a stage where no qualifying games have been played. It is predicted that the games should take place in March 2022, where 11 nations consisting of New Zealand, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Tahiti, Fiji, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, American Samoa, Samoa, Tonga, and Cook Islands will participate.

The countries will be split up into two groups based on their FIFA Ranking, and the top two teams from each group will move into the second round, where they will play two-legged matches in both a semi-final and a final. The winner of this final will be the final team to form part of the Inter-confederation playoffs in June 2022.

The European Playoffs: How It Works

As we mentioned earlier on, 10 out of the 13 European spots are already confirmed, with the final three spots being up for grabs through the playoff system. The nations taking part in the playoffs are all those who finished as runners-up in their respective groups (seeded teams), as well as the two best-ranked group winners from the UEFA Nations League 20/21 (non-seeded teams).

Seeded: Portugal, Scotland, Italy, Russia, Sweden, Wales
Unseeded: Turkey, Poland, North Macedonia, Ukraine, Austria, Czech Republic

The seeded teams will be drawn against the non-seeded teams, where the former will be given home advantage in their respective semi-final. The playoffs will end with three finals, consisting of the winners from each of the six semi-finals.

In any case, the playoffs are set to be extremely competitive, not least due to a World Cup qualifying spot being at stake, but also due to the high level at which these teams are capable of playing at.

The Inter-Confederation Playoffs: How It Works

The Inter-confederations playoffs are pretty straightforward. A total of four teams from AFC, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, and OFC will be drawn to play in a two-legged home and away games. The winners from each of the two ties, will claim the final spots at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.