2022 FIFA World Cup qualification

If Russia qualifies for the final tournament, its players will not be able to use the country name alone, flag or anthem as a result of the nation's two-year ban from world championships and Olympic Games in all sports after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) investigated the country's state-sanctioned tampering of a doping testing laboratory database.[8] WADA had initially proposed a four-year ban on 9 December 2019, after RUSADA was found non-compliant for handing over manipulated lab data to investigators.[9] 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] The ruling was appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).[11] CAS ruled on the appeal on 17 December 2020, cutting the ban from four to two years, until 16 December 2022.[12] The CAS ruling also allowed the name "Russia" to be displayed on uniforms if the words "Neutral Athlete" or "Neutral Team" have equal prominence.[8]

Confederation	Available slots in finals	Teams started	Teams eliminated	Teams can still qualify	Teams qualified	Qualifying start date	Qualifying next match date	Qualifying end date
AFC	4+1 or 5+1	45+1	33	12	0+1	6 June 2019	27 January 2022	13–14 June 2022
CAF	5	54	44	10	0	4 September 2019	March 2022	March 2022
CONCACAF	3 or 4	34	26	8	0	24 March 2021	27 January 2022	13–14 June 2022
CONMEBOL	4 or 5	10	0	8	2	8 October 2020	27 January 2022	13–14 June 2022
OFC	0 or 1	9	0	9	0	14 March 2022	14 March 2022	13–14 June 2022
UEFA	13	55	33	12	10	24 March 2021	24 March 2022	29 March 2022
Total	31+1	207+1	136	59	12+1	6 June 2019	27 January 2022	14 June 2022

In league format, the ranking of teams in each group is based on the following criteria (regulations Articles 20.4 and 20.6):[13]

1. Points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss)
2. Overall goal difference
3. Overall goals scored
4. Points in matches between tied teams
5. Goal difference in matches between tied teams
6. Goals scored in matches between tied teams
7. Away goals scored in matches between tied teams (if the tie is only between two teams in home-and-away league format)
8. 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
9. Drawing of lots by the FIFA Organising Committee

In cases where teams finishing in the same position across different groups are compared to determine which teams advance to the next stage, the criteria depend on the competition format and require the approval of FIFA (regulations Article 20.8).[13]

In knockout format, the team that has the higher aggregate score over the two legs progresses to the next round. If aggregate scores finish level, then the away goals rule is applied.[lower-alpha 1] The away goals rule is again applied after extra time.[lower-alpha 2] If no goals are scored during extra time, the tie is decided by penalty shoot-out (regulations Article 20.10).[13]

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.[14]

The qualification structure is as follows:[15]

• First round: 12 teams (ranked 35–46) played home-and-away over two legs. The six winners advanced to the second round.
• Second round: 40 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 seven group winners and the five best group runners-up advanced to the third round of FIFA World Cup qualification and also qualified for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. Qatar finished as winners in their group, so the fifth-best runners-up advanced to the third round in their stead.[3]
• Third round: The 12 teams that advanced from the second round were divided into two groups of 6 teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The top two teams of each group will qualify for the World Cup.
• Fourth round: The two third-placed teams in each group from the third round will play against each other in a single match to determine which team advances to the inter-confederation play-offs.

CAF announced on 10 July 2019 a reversion to the format used for its 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification competition.[16]

• First round: 28 teams (ranked 27–54) played home-and-away over two legs. The fourteen winners advanced to the second round.
• Second round: 40 teams (teams ranked 1–26 and fourteen first round winners) were divided into ten groups of four teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The ten group winners advanced to the third round.
• Third round: The ten teams that advanced from the second round will play home-and-away over two legs. The five winners will qualify for the World Cup.

Qualified teams

•  Algeria
•  Cameroon
•  DR Congo
•  Egypt
•  Ghana
•  Mali
•  Morocco
•  Nigeria
•  Senegal
•  Tunisia

CONCACAF initially announced on 10 July 2019 a restructured format for the qualifiers of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[17] However, on 25 June 2020, following FIFA's decision to postpone the September international window due to the pandemic, CONCACAF noted that "the challenges presented by postponements to the football calendar, and the incomplete FIFA rankings cycle in our confederation, means our current World Cup qualifying process has been compromised and will be changed."[18] On 27 July, CONCACAF announced a new qualifying format for the World Cup.[19]

• First round: CONCACAF teams ranked 6 to 35 based on the FIFA rankings of July 2020 were drawn into six groups of five and played single round-robin matches (two home and two away), the six group winners advanced to the second round.
• Second round: The six first round group winners played in a two-legged home-and-away series. The three winners advanced to the final round.
• Third round: The three second round winners joined the top five CONCACAF teams (Mexico, United States, Costa Rica, Jamaica and Honduras)[20] also based on those FIFA rankings and play home-and-away round-robin matches in one single group. The top three teams qualify for the World Cup, and the fourth-placed team advances to the inter-confederation play-offs.

The CONMEBOL Council decided on 24 January 2019 to maintain the same qualification structure used for the previous six tournaments.[21] From October 2020 to March 2022 (previously scheduled for March 2020 to November 2021, but later postponed due to the pandemic), all ten CONMEBOL teams will play in a league of home-and-away round-robin matches. The top four teams qualify for the World Cup, and the fifth-placed team advances to the inter-confederation play-offs.

Qualifying was expected to begin in September 2020,[22] but the FIFA international window in that month for the OFC was postponed due to the pandemic.[23]

Earlier in July that year, the OFC submitted a proposal to FIFA for the qualifiers in response to the pandemic, intending to organise a group stage in March and June 2021 followed by semi-finals and a final in September and October of that year.[24] After continued delays,[25][26] by September 2021 the OFC felt it was "not possible at this time to organise a qualifying competition within the Oceania region" and will now stage it in Qatar in March 2022 starting with a qualification match between the two lowest ranked teams.[27][28]

The draw for the first round (group stage) was held in Zürich, Switzerland, on 7 December 2020, 18:00 CET (UTC+1).[29] However, due to the pandemic, the draw was held as a virtual event without any representatives of member associations present. It was originally planned to be held on 29 November.[30] Earlier on 18 June, the UEFA Executive Committee approved the draw regulations for the qualifying group stage.[31] The 55 teams were seeded into six pots based on the FIFA World Rankings of November 2020, after the league phase of the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League.

The qualification format was confirmed by the UEFA Executive Committee during their meeting in Nyon, Switzerland on 4 December 2019.[32][33] The qualification will depend, in part, on results from the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League, although to a lesser degree than UEFA Euro 2020. The structure maintained UEFA's usual 'group stage/playoff stage' structure, with only the specific format of the play-offs amended.[34][35]

• First round (group stage): Ten groups of either five or six teams with group winners qualifying for the World Cup finals. The four teams in the 2021 UEFA Nations League Finals (France, Belgium, Italy, and Spain) were put into the smaller groups.
• Second round (play-off stage): The ten group runners-up are joined by the best two Nations League group winners, based on the Nations League overall ranking, that finished outside the top two of their qualifying group. These twelve teams were drawn into three play-off paths, playing two rounds of single-match play-offs (semi-finals with the seeded teams to host, followed by finals, with the home teams to be drawn), with the three path winners qualifying for the World Cup.