Written by Emma Berger
The World Cup in Qatar is yet to begin but is already one of the most talked-about tournaments ever. The 22nd edition FIFA World Cup will host 32 nations with host nation Qatar automatically qualifying. The World Cup qualifiers are currently in full swing with only 31 spaces available and at this moment 13 countries have already secured a spot in the tournament.
1. Qualifiers Asia
2. Qualifiers South America
3. Qualifiers Europe
4. Qualifiers Oceania
5. Qualifiers Africa
6. Qualifiers North and Central America
Qatar 2022 details
The World Cup 2022 will take place from 21st November to 18th December 2022. A nice time of the year to play football in Qatar! In November it can reach 29 degrees which is better than the 40 degree summers, this is why the tournament will start in November.
Besides the great World Championship event, Qatar is a great vacation or citytrip destination. Doha is the capital and this vibrant and modern city has an impressive skyline in which a number of striking architectural features stand out. Other places like Lusail, situated a little further north, are also growing ambitiously. Everything is being prepared for 2022 when the FIFA World Cup will be held here in Qatar.
Below we sum up all 15 current qualifiers with you:
Apart from Qatar, who qualified automatically as hosts, a total of 4.5 slots are available for AFC teams. Read more about the qualifiers:
Qatar is the only country that has directly qualified for the World Cup and did not have to play any matches to qualify as they are the hosts. It is the first time for Qatar to call themselves World Cup qualifiers, because they have never participated in a World Cup before. They are the only country so far to make a debut at the World Cup 2022 and we are excited to see them play their first match in the world tournament!
So far, Iran has participated in 4 World Cups. The country never progressed beyond the group stage. In total, Iran won only 2 matches in a World Cup. At the continental level, the country is a lot more successful. The country has won the Asian Cup championships three times. Iran has qualified for the World Cup in Qatar by finishing among the best two countries in their qualifying group.
South Korea is the most successful Asian football team in world cup history. The Republic of Korea has participated in ten FIFA World Cup tournaments, which is the highest number of any Asian country. In 2002, South Korea hosted the World Cup together with Japan. In this year, the country finished 4th after reaching the semi-finals. This is also the best performance of an Asian team. South Korea’s most important player at the moment is premier league star, Heung-Min Son.
In 1998, Japan participated in the World Cup finals for the first time. All matches were lost. The only goal for Japan was scored by Masashi Nakayama. Since then, Japan has participated in every tournament. In 2002 as one of the two host countries of the tournament. It reached the eighth final, a feat repeated in 2010 and 2018.
How successful the country was in Asian tournaments, how unfortunate it was in World Cup qualifying groups. For the 1986 World Cup, Saudi Arabia was eliminated in the first round. For the 1990 World Cup, Saudi Arabia did survive the first round, but that was it. Will they advance in the tournament this time?
There will be an additional international break in January 2022, in order to complete qualifying in full in the existing format. Despite this, two countries are already sure of a place at the world’s largest football tournament. Read more about the qualifiers:
‘Os Canarinhos’, or the Canaries, were the first South American country to join the World Cup qualifiers. Brazil is the only country that has always managed to qualify for Copa Mundial de Fútbol, also known as the FIFA World Cup. In the 21 previous editions they have taken part in, they have won it five times in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002. No other country has won the World Cup more often.
The country of superstar Messi qualified for Qatar 2022 five days after Brazil. Last year they won the Copa América for the first time since 1993. This was Lionell Messi’s first trophy with Argentina. The country is competing in the World Championship for the 17th time and has won it twice before. In 1978 they won in injury time against the Netherlands and in 1986 Diego Maradona led the country to the world title, a football legend that will always be remembered.
Image source: Unknown author, Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The European Qualifiers group stage for the 2022 FIFA World Cup concluded on 16 November. Ten teams won their groups to secure World Cup qualification. Read more about the qualifiers:
With players such as de Bruyne, Courtois, Hazard and Carrasco, the Belgians have been at the top of world football for years. It isn’t surprising that they are currently number 1 in the FIFA rankings and were able to add themselves to the list of World Cup qualifiers fairly easily. In Qatar, Belgium will take part for the 14th time. Their best result was in 2018 when they finished third.
The losing finalist of the 2018 World Cup managed to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar in a blood-curdling match against Russia. The winner of that match would become the group winner and through an own goal in the 81st minute, lucky Croatia won the match and sent Russia to the play-offs. This World Cup will be Croatia’s 6th time competing.
The Danes were almost unbeaten in their qualification for the World Championship. In the last match it went wrong and they lost 2-0 to Scotland. The defeat did not matter though as Denmark were already certain of qualifying. Denmark have participated five times before but have never gotten further than the quarter finals.
The losing finalist of EURO 2020 joined the list of World Cup qualifiers without defeat. The Three Lions won the 1966 World Cup but after that, success has never followed for England. The country where football once originated is yearning for new success and they will be playing in Qatar for the 16th time.
In a group with Ukraine as its biggest rival, France managed to qualify easily. The reigning World Champions will be competing in Qatar for the 16th time. Apart from winning the World Cup in 2018, they also won it in 1998 when they were the host nation with a stunning final game against Brazil winning 3-0.
Die Mannschaft were the first country to add itself to the list of World Cup 2022 qualifiers. It is remarkable that Germany were surprised and defeated by Northern Macedonia at home during the qualifying round. Apart from that loss, Germany have managed to qualify without any mistakes. Germany have competed 19 times and won the football World Championship four times in 1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014.
The Dutch are the last to add themselves to the list of World Cup qualifiers. In the beginning it was exciting to be in the group with Norway and Turkey, until the last round. Norway ended up third and Turkey went to the play-offs. The Netherlands have reached the finals of the World Cup twice but never managed to win. They will be playing in the world football tournament for the 11th time.
In Group A, there was enormous tension between Serbia and Portugal and in the last round of matches the countries played against each other. They both had 17 points in the group and in case of a draw, Portugal would qualify. Serbia had to win to qualify. In the very last minute of the match, Serbia scored the winning goal and qualified for the World Cup for the third time. This just shows how much the World Cup means to each and every team.
The 2010 World Champion will be competing for their 15th time in Qatar. In the past two World Cups, Spain have disappointed and were eliminated in the group stage and the first round of 16. Spain qualified easily but lost a World Cup qualifier for the first time since 1993, losing 2-1 against Sweden.
A surprising name in the list of World Cup qualifiers as everyone expected Italy, the reigning European Champions in Group C to be the winners. Italy drew their last two matches and now they are at the mercy of the play-offs. For Switzerland it is the 12th time that they will be participating.
Image source France: globalite, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Image source Spain: Anthony Stanley, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Image source the Netherlands: Dan Kamminga from Haarlem, Netherlands, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Currently no team has yet qualified for Qatar 2022…
Currently no team has yet qualified for Qatar 2022…
Currently no team has yet qualified for Qatar 2022…
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