International Football
World Cup 2022 qualification: Who will be in Qatar and who has missed out
With one year to go until the 2022 World Cup gets under way in Qatar, several nations have now booked their place – while others must face a nervous wait.
A dramatic final round of fixtures in European qualifying drew to a close on Tuesday, with reigning world champions France and Gareth Southgate’s England among those to secure their spots.
However, there will be some big names in Europe’s play-off deciders in March – plus there’s plenty still yet to be decided around the rest of the world.
Who has secured their place at the 2022 World Cup? Belgium Croatia Denmark England France Germany Netherlands Serbia Spain Switzerland Brazil Qatar (hosts)
Who has qualified from Europe?
European Championship runners-up England qualified for the 2022 World Cup as one of 10 group winners, sealing top spot in style by thrashing San Marino 10-0 in their final Group I game on Friday.
Also heading to the World Cup are 2018 winners France, while Belgium, Denmark and Germany all safely navigated their groups as well.
It was not all straightforward for Europe’s heavyweights, however.
There were some crucial top-of-the-table deciders in the final round of fixtures, with Serbia scoring a 90th-minute winner to pip Portugal to first place, and both Spain and Croatia netting late on to edge their respective closest challengers Sweden and Russia.
In a thrilling conclusion to qualifying, Switzerland also took full advantage of Italy’s draw against Northern Ireland to take Group C on Monday, while on Tuesday the Netherlands emerged victorious from a closely contested Group G.
Who is in play-offs, when are they and how do they work?
Joining those 10 group winners in Qatar will be three other European nations, who will come from the 10 runners-up and two Nations League teams in the play-offs.
Wales and Scotland must go via this route but they will be joined by some surprising names.
Scotland’s superb closing victory over Denmark ensured they will be one of the six seeded sides granted a home draw for the play-offs, which take place next March, while Wales earned a precious draw against the world’s number one ranked side Belgium to secure a home draw of their own.
European champions Italy and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal,as well as Sweden and Russia, join Scotland and Wales as the seeded play-off nations.
World Cup 2022 qualifying: European play-offs Seeded nations: Unseeded nations: Portugal Turkey Scotland Poland Italy North Macedonia Russia Ukraine Sweden Austria Wales Czech Republic
They could face Poland, who finished six points behind Euro 2020 finalists England, North Macedonia, Turkey and Ukraine – who all sealed runners-up spots – plus the Czech Republic and Austria courtesy of their Nations League performances.
The play-offs will begin with six single-leg semi-final matches played between 24 and 25 March 2022.
The six semi-finals are split into three paths, leading to three play-off finals – also decided by a single match – which will take place between 28 and 29 March.
Who has qualified from the rest of the world?
That’s just Europe. What about the rest of the world?
Brazil became the first South American nation to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, doing so with six qualifiers to play following a 1-0 win over Colombia on Friday.
Brazil coach Tite’s side have dropped just two points from 12 games and are nine points clear of second-placed Argentina, who they face on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Ecuador are four points clear of Chile, Colombia and Uruguay in the race to guarantee qualification with a top-four finish.
The United States, Mexico and Canada occupy the top three automatic qualification places in the race to decide which North American, Central American and the Caribbean nations will be present in Qatar, though Panama are within striking distance at two points behind Canada.
In Asia, where qualifying will resume in January, 16 points from a possible 18 ensure Saudi Arabia top a difficult Group B – which also includes Japan, in second, and third-placed Australia.
Over in Group A the top two have a significant margin with Iran, who have also dropped just two points, leading South Korea. Meanwhile, Qatar automatically qualify as hosts.
Finally, in Africa, five qualification places will be decided by five two-legged play-off matches due to take place in March.
Mohamed Salah’s Egypt will be one of the sides involved, as will Algeria, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal and Tunisia.
-BBC
Brazil will round off their 2025 calendar with two friendly matches in Europe next month, taking on Senegal and Tunisia as part of their preparations for the 2026 World Cup, the Brazilian FA (CBF) announced on Thursday.
The five-time world champions, managed by Carlo Ancelotti, will face Senegal on November 15 at Emirates Stadium in London and, three days later, they will meet Tunisia in Lille, France.
The CBF announced that these fixtures were designed to “provide the team with valuable experience against African opposition” ahead of next year’s tournament in North America.
After the conclusion of the South American qualifiers, the choice of opponents follows October’s encounters against Asian teams, which saw Brazil beat South Korea 5-0 but suffer a stunning first defeat to Japan.
With coach Ancelotti facing limited preparation time after arriving in May from Real Madrid, the matches form part of a broader plan to expose Brazil to a variety of playing styles in preparation for next year’s the World Cup.
Looking ahead to March 2026, the CBF has indicated that Brazil’s next set of friendlies will likely be against top-level European nations, with the U.S. as the expected venue.
Ancelotti has been steadily implementing his vision for the squad and has emphasised the importance of adapting to diverse tactical challenges, particularly against teams from other continents.
CBF sources indicated that the plan for the three remaining international breaks would be to make final observations regarding players and tactical adjustments in November, lock in the starting line-up in March and strengthen ties with Brazilian fans with a final friendly at Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana before departing for the tournament.
The upcoming friendlies against Senegal and Tunisia will provide an opportunity to test Brazil’s readiness against two of Africa’s strongest sides.
Senegal boast a formidable squad featuring Sadio Mane, Nicolas Jackson and Kalidou Koulibaly. They shocked Brazil 4-2 in their last encounter, a friendly played in Lisbon two years ago.
Tunisia, meanwhile, are known for their defensive organisation and have consistently performed well in African competitions.
Back in September they were the second African team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup with two games to spare.
-Reuters
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Well-travelled Portuguese coach Paulo Duarte has been named as Guinea’s new coach, less than a month before their next round of World Cup qualifiers.
Duarte, 56, has twice previously coached Burkina Faso and taken charge of Gabon and Togo, while also coaching at clubs in Portugal, France, Tunisia, Angola and Saudi Arabia.
Guinea’s football federation gave no contract details when they made the announcement on Monday, but said they would be looking for Duarte to “restructure their national team”.
Guinea trail leaders Algeria by eight points in their World Cup qualifying group with four games remaining, leaving them with only a slim chance of qualification.
They play Somalia away on September 5 and then Algeria at home on September 8 in their next two qualifiers although a stadium ban means Guinea have moved their home game to Casablanca, Morocco.
-Reuters
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Veteran coach Louis van Gaal says he has been cured of cancer and is keen for a return to the higher levels of the game.
The 73-year-old announced three years ago that he was suffering from prostate cancer, but told a Dutch television talk show, “I’m no longer bothered by cancer.”
When he announced his illness, Van Gaal was the coach of the Dutch national team, but he has not worked since the last World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
“Two years ago, I had a few operations. It was all bad then. But it all worked out in the end. I have check-ups every few months, and that’s going well. I’m getting fitter and fitter,” he said.
Van Gaal, whose career has included stints at Ajax Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, reiterated a lack of interest in returning to club management but said becoming the national coach of a top-tier country could tempt him back.
He now serves as a special advisor to Ajax.
-Reuters
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