In April, Doha welcomed football royalty for another jarring clash between forgivable World Cup fever and the uneasiness with which the 2022 edition of the tournament will forever be associated. Fifa president Gianni Infantino declared it would be “the greatest World Cup ever”.
With qualifying now all but wrapped up over the course of the March international break, 32 nations have been drawn into eight pots of four. There is one remaining spot up for grabs that will be filled by either Costa Rica or New Zealand, who play each other in the inter-continental play-off.
England will be heading to Qatar among the favourites, with Gareth Southgate optimistic that “if we can get to a semi-final, we can get to a final – if we can get to a final, we can win”. The Three Lions will play Iran, USA and Wales after Rob Page’s side beat Ukraine in June’s play-off final in Cardiff.
Group E is arguably the closest thing we have to a dreaded “Group of Death” with both Spain and Germany – courtesy of Die Mannschaft’s place in Pot Two – pitted against Japan and the winner of Costa Rica and New Zealand.
As host nation, Qatar were drawn in Pot One and they will face Ecuador, Senegal and the Netherlands in Group A. Each group could have no more than one nation from each confederation (for example, Africa, or CONCACAF), with the exception of Europe, who can have a maximum of two nations in each group.
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Plenty of eyes will be on both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi for what will likely be their last chance to win a World Cup. Portugal’s reward for their play-off win over North Macedonia is a group consisting of Ghana, Uruguay and South Korea.
Argentina, meanwhile, play Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Poland. The 2018 champions France are in Group D with the winner of the inter-continental play-off between Peru and either Australia or UAE, along with Denmark and Tunisia.
Here is the draw in full:
Group A
- Qatar
- Ecuador
- Senegal
- Netherlands
Group B
- England
- Iran
- USA
- Wales
Group C
- Argentina
- Saudi Arabia
- Mexico
- Poland
Group D
- France
- Australia
- Denmark
- Tunisia
Group E
- Spain
- Inter-continental play-off 2 (Costa Rica or New Zealand)
- Germany
- Japan
Group F
- Belgium
- Canada
- Morocco
- Croatia
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Group G
- Brazil
- Serbia
- Switzerland
- Cameroon
Group H
- Portugal
- Ghana
- Uruguay
- South Korea
Key dates
- Group stages – Monday 21 November – Friday 2 December
- Round of 16 – Saturday 3 – Tuesday 6 December
- Quarter-finals: Friday 9 – Saturday 10 December
- Semi-finals: Tuesday 13 – Wednesday 14 December
- Final: Sunday 18 December
Don’t let glitzy draw blind you to barbaric World Cup
By Daniel Storey, i‘s Chief Football Writer
It is permissible to be excited about the World Cup. This is the pinnacle. Football supporters compartmentalise their lives through snapshots of where they were, what they were doing and who they were with by that four-yearly cycle. Asking them to not consume this World Cup is unreasonable because excitement and interest is not a choice.
Nor are human rights organisations expecting them to. They want fans and journalists to travel to Qatar to appreciate the context of the tournament from their point of view. Shine a light on the issues, tell the stories of those who have suffered. Repeat their points when those in charge try to shout them down. And yes, enjoy the football.
But then that encapsulates the great shame of this World Cup. Because this tournament is the pinnacle, it deserves to be pure (or as pure as is reasonably possible). If our joy, our excitement, our despair and our hope is qualified, sullied or caveated because of the wider circumstances of geopolitical and human rights issues, it is a considerable cultural tragedy as well as a literal one.
This is an extract of Daniel Storey’s column on the World Cup draw, which you can read here
Who will win the World Cup?
- Brazil: 9-2
- France: 5-1
- England: 11-2
- Argentina: 8-1
- Spain: 8-1
- Germany: 11-1
- Belgium: 12-1
- Netherlands: 12-1
- Portugal: 12-1
- Denmark: 33-1
- Croatia: 50-1
- Uruguay: 50-1
- Senegal: 80-1
- Switzerland: 80-1
- Wales: 80-1
- Mexico: 100-1
- Poland: 100-1
- Serbia: 100-1
- USA: 100-1
- Australia: 150-1
- Ecuador: 150-1
- Cameroon: 200-1
- Japan: 200-1
- South Korea: 200-1
- Tunisia: 200-1
- Ghana: 250-1
- Morocco: 250-1
- Canada: 400-1
- Iran: 500-1
- Qatar: 500-1
- Saudi Arabia: 500-1
Odds via Betfair and correct as of 1 April
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