World Cup 2022 Draw - When is the draw? How does it work? Which teams have qualified?

The World Cup qualifying campaign came to an end in the early hours of Thursday morning with the last games in the CONCACAF confederation. Europe, Asia, CAF, South America and Oceania have all finalised their qualifying processes over the last two days and we finally know which 32 teams (29 plus one of Wales, Scotland or Ukraine and the two remaining inter continental playoff off matches to be completed in June) will be playing in the World Cup Finals. Then it's the little matter of drawing these 32 teams into groups for the competition proper. So how does it all work? We've asked @OddsT3rrier to put pen to paper and explain it all for you.

When is World Cup 2022?

The tournament will take place between November 21 - December 18 for the first time in its 91-year history due to the heat in Qatar, where the average temperature sits at around 37 degrees in the summer. 

First-rate domestic leagues worldwide will be put on pause to accommodate the mid-season competition, and plans are in place to give participating players a week’s rest either side of the tournament. 

When is the draw and where will it take place?

The draw will be held at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center in Doha, Qatar. It will take place on April 1st at 5pm British Standard Time

How does the draw format work?

• The 32 qualified teams will be divided into four pots of eight teams. Teams are then drawn from each pot and allocated into the eight groups (named A-H) of four teams. Pot 1 is emptied first until each group has a Pot 1 team and then repeated for Pot 2, Pot 3 etc....
• FIFA's general principle is to have only one team from each qualification zone in a single group. This means that Brazil cannot be paired with Uruguay , for example. However, the principle does not apply to UEFA teams.
• Each group must have at least one, but not more than two UEFA teams. With 13 places reserved for European teams, this means five out of the eight groups will have two teams from that continent.
• Pot 1 features the host Qatar (represented by a different colour ball and automatically assigned position A1) and the seven highest qualified teams. 
• Pot 2 features the next eight best ranked qualified teams after pot 1.
• Pot 3 features the next eight best ranked qualified teams after pot 2.
• Pot 4 features the next five best ranked qualified teams after pot 3, alongside the two inter-continental play-off winners and the last UEFA play-off winner.

Which teams have qualified to date?

The following teams have already qualified for WC Qatar 2022. They are in the order they qualified in and are accompanied by their current FIFA ranking in brackets.

Hosts - Qatar(51)

Europe - Germany (12), Denmark (11), France (3), Belgium (2), Croatia (16), Spain (7), Serbia (25), England (5), Switzerland (14), Netherlands (10), Portugal (8), Poland (26)

South America - Brazil (1), Argentina (4), Ecuador (46), Uruguay (13)

Concacaf - Canada (38), USA (15), Mexico (9)

Asia - Iran (21), South Korea (29), Japan (23), Saudi Arabia (49)

Africa - Ghana (60), Senegal (20), Morocco (24), Tunisia (35), Cameroon (37)

To be finalised in June :

European play off - Wales (18) v Winner of Scotland (39) v Ukraine (27)

Inter Continental play offs  -  Peru (22) v winner of UAE (68) v Australia (42)

Costa Rica (31) v New Zealand (101)