What time is World Cup 2022 draw – TV channel and England’s potential opponents

The final phase of World Cup qualification drew to a close this week and 29 of 32 teams have now secured their place in Qatar ahead of the tournament which takes place at the end of this year.

Following the first international break of the year, the final phases of qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar have drawn to a close and 29 of 32 nations have now secured their place at this year’s tournament.

And now all eyes and the attention of the world turns to Friday, when the final draw for the 2022 World Cup will be made and each team will find out who they will face in the group stage, which begins in November.

Here is all you need to know about the draw for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar including when it takes place, how you can watch it, how the draw works and which countries have already qualified.

When is the draw for the 2022 FIFA World Cup?

The draw for the group stage of the 2022 World Cup will take place at 5pm (BST) on Friday, April 1 at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center in Doha, Qatar.

At the time of the draw, only 29 of the 32 nations involved will be known, with two inter-confederation play-offs set to be held in June, along with Scotland’s postponed UEFA play-off semi-final with Ukraine, before the winner will face Wales in the final.

How to watch

The draw will typically be broadcast live on FIFA’s website, but for UK viewers it will be televised on BBC 1, while it can also be accessed via iPlayer and the iPlayer app. Coverage will begin at 4:45pm.

Who is your favourite to win the 2022 World Cup in Qatar? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

Who’s involved

Qatar have automatically qualified as hosts, before UEFA group winners Germany, Denmark, France, Belgium, Croatia, Spain, Serbia, England, Switzerland and the Netherlands followed suit, while Poland and Portugal qualified through the play-offs this week. The winner of Scotland and Ukraine’s semi-final will contest with Wales for the final spot in June.

From South America, Brazil and Argentina qualified in November, before Ecuador and Uruguay confirmed their places in the recent international break, while Peru advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs in June. From North America, Canada, Mexico and the United States have all qualified from their region, while Costa Rica finished in fourth to advance to the inter-confederation play-offs.

As for Asia, Iran and South Korea qualified in January, before Japan and Saudi Arabia joined them last week, leaving the UAE and Australia to compete for a spot in the inter-confederation play-offs, while in Africa, Senegal, Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco and Tunisia have ensured they will be at Qatar 2022.

How the draw works

This will be the final edition of the 32-team format, before it expands to 48 in 2026, meaning that the usual structure of eight groups of four teams will be used in Qatar. The pots for the draw will be decided by the current FIFA rankings, with the hosts and the top seven ranked teams going into Pot A.

Pot B will contain the next eight best ranked teams, and so on for Pot C and Pot D, although Pot D will include the two winners of the inter-continental play-offs, along with the winner of the remaining UEFA play-off. Europe is the only continent in which more than one of its nations can be drawn in the same group, with a maximum of two allowed.

The inter-continental play-offs in June will see one of United Arab Emirates and Australia face Peru, while Costa Rica will face New Zealand for the final two spots at the World Cup.

When does the group stage take place?

The group stage for the 2022 World Cup takes place from November 21, 2022 – December 2, 2022. The first match will feature the hosts, Qatar, and another team from Group A. The game will kick off at 1pm local time (10am BST).

Tournament odds

2022 World Cup winner odds from Betfred

• Brazil – 5/1

• France – 11/2

• England – 7/1

• Spain – 15/2

• Germany – 9/1

• Argentina – 11/1

• Belgium – 11/1

• Portugal – 14/1

• Netherlands – 16/1