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2022 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)
European Qualifiers
Tournament details
Dates24 March 2021 – 29 March 2022
Teams55 (from 1 confederation)
2018
2026

The European section of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification will act as qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, to be held in Qatar, for national teams which are members of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). A total of 13 slots in the final tournament are available for UEFA teams.

Entrants[]

All 55 FIFA-affiliated national teams from UEFA will enter qualification. On 9 December 2019, the World Anti-Doping Agency handed Russia a four-year ban from all major sporting events, after RUSADA was found non-compliant for handing over manipulating lab data to investigators. However, the Russia national team could still enter qualification, as the ban only applies to the final tournament to decide the world champions. If Russia were to qualify, Russian footballers could still potentially compete at the tournament, pending a decision from FIFA. However, a team representing Russia which uses the Russian flag and anthem cannot participate under the WADA decision.

Format[]

The qualification format was confirmed by the UEFA Executive Committee during their meeting in Nyon, Switzerland on 4 December 2019, pending validation from FIFA. 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 will maintain UEFA's usual 'group stage/playoff stage' structure, with only the specific format of the play-offs amended.

  • Group stage: 10 groups of 5 or 6 teams (with the 4 teams that make the 2021 UEFA Nations League Finals put into the smaller groups) with group winners qualifying for the World Cup finals.
  • Play-off stage: The 10 group runners-up would be joined by the best 2 Nations League group winners based on the Nations League overall ranking which have not yet directly qualified or reached the play-offs. These 12 teams will be drawn into three play-off paths, playing two rounds of single-match play-offs (semi-finals and finals, with the home team to be drawn), with the 3 path winners qualifying for the World Cup.

The UEFA Executive Committee also approved the use of the video assistant referee system for the qualifiers, subject to the approval of FIFA.

Schedule[]

Below is the schedule of the European qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

In March 2020, UEFA announced that the two matchdays planned to take place in June 2021 would be moved following the rescheduling of UEFA Euro 2020 to June and July 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To allow for the completion of the qualifying group stage in November 2021 as scheduled, UEFA announced on 24 September 2020 that the March and September 2021 windows in the FIFA International Match Calendar were expanded from two to three matchdays. The changes to the International Match Calendar for March and September 2021, which extended each window by one day, were approved by the FIFA Council on 4 December 2020.

Stage Matchday Dates
Qualifying group stage Matchday 1 24–25 March 2021
Matchday 2 27–28 March 2021
Matchday 3 30–31 March 2021
Matchday 4 1–2 September 2021
Matchday 5 4–5 September 2021
Matchday 6 6–7 September 2021
Matchday 7 8–9 October 2021
Matchday 8 11–12 October 2021
Matchday 9 11–13 November 2021
Matchday 10 14–16 November 2021
Play-offs Semi-finals 24–25 March 2022
Finals 28–29 March 2022

First round[]

Seeding[]

The draw for the first round (group stage) was held as a virtual event (due to the COVID-19 pandemic) in Zürich, Switzerland on 7 December 2020, 18:00 CET (UTC+1).

The 55 teams were seeded into six pots based on the FIFA World Rankings of November 2020, after the conclusion of the league phase of the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League. Pots 1 to 5 contained ten teams, while Pot 6 contained five teams. The teams were drawn into ten groups: five groups of five teams (Groups A–E) and five groups of six teams (Groups F–J). The draw started with Pot 1 and completed with Pot 6, from where a team was drawn and assigned to the first available group in alphabetical order. Therefore, each six-team group contains one team from each of the six pots, while each five-team group contains one team from each of the first five pots.

The following restrictions were applied with computer assistance:

  • Nations League finalists: The four teams participating in the 2021 UEFA Nations League Finals (Belgium, France, Italy and Spain) were drawn into a group with five teams (Groups A–E). Additionally, a group could contain a maximum of one Nations League finalist, but all four teams were in the same pot for the draw.
  • Prohibited clashes: For political reasons, matches between following pairs of teams were considered prohibited clashes, unable to be drawn into the same group: Kosovo / Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo / Serbia, Kosovo / Russia, Russia / Ukraine. (Armenia / Azerbaijan and Gibraltar / Spain were also identified as prohibited clashes, but the teams in the former pair were in the same pot for the draw, while the teams in the latter pair were restricted to different-sized groups based on draw pots and conditions.)
  • Winter venues: A maximum of two teams whose venues are identified as having high or medium risk of severe winter conditions could be placed in each group: Belarus, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Russia, Ukraine.
    • The two "hard winter venues" (Faroe Islands and Iceland) generally cannot host games in March or November, and therefore could not be drawn together; the others shall play as few home matches as possible in March and November.
  • Excessive travel: A maximum of one pair of teams identified with excessive travel distance in relation to other countries could be placed in each group:
    • Azerbaijan: with Iceland, Gibraltar, Portugal.
    • Iceland: with Armenia, Cyprus, Georgia, Israel.
    • Kazakhstan: with England, France, Gibraltar, Iceland, Malta, Northern Ireland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Spain, Wales. (Andorra and Faroe Islands were also identified with Kazakhstan for excessive travel distance, but the teams were in the same pot for the draw.)

Teams were allocated to seeding pots as follows (November 2020 FIFA Rankings shown in second column).

Pot 1
Team Rank
Belgium Belgium 1
Flag of France France 2
England England 4
Flag of Portugal Portugal 5
Flag of Spain Spain 6
Flag of Italy Italy 10
Croatia Croatia 11
Flag of Denmark Denmark 12
Germany Germany 13
Netherlands Netherlands 14
Pot 2
Team Rank
Switzerland rectangle Switzerland 16
Flag of Wales Wales 18
Flag of Poland Poland 19
Flag of Sweden Good one Sweden 20
Flag of Austria Austria 23
Flag of Ukraine Ukraine 24
Flag of Serbia Serbia 30
Flag of Turkey Turkey 32
Slovakia flag hi res Slovakia 33
Romania Romania 37
Pot 3
Team Rank
Flag of Russia Good One Russia 39
Flag of Hungary Hungary 40
Flag of Republic Ireland Republic of Ireland 42
Flag of Czech Czech Republic 42
Flag of Norway Norway 44
Flag of Northern Ireland Northern Ireland 45
Flag of Iceland Iceland 46
Scotland Scotland 48
Flag of Greece.svg Greece 53
Flag of Finland Finland 54
Pot 4
Team Rank
Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina 55
Flag of Slovenia Slovenia 62
Flag of Montenegro Montenegro 63
Flag of Macedonia North Macedonia 65
Flag of Albania Albania 66
Flag of Bulgaria Bulgaria 68
Flag of Israel Israel 87
Belarus Flag Belarus 88
Flag of Georgia Georgia 89
Luxembourg Luxembourg 98
Pot 5
Team Rank
Flag of Armenia Armenia 99
Flag of Cyprus Cyprus 100
Faroe Islands Faroe Islands 107
Flag of Azerbaijan Azerbaijan 109
Flag of Estonia Estonia 109
Flag of Kosovo Kosovo 117
Flag of Kazakhstan Kazakhstan 122
Flag of Lithuania Lithuania 129
Latvia Latvia 136
Flag of Andorra Andorra 151
Pot 6
Team Rank
Malta Malta 176
Flag of Moldova Moldova 177
Liechtenstein Liechtenstein 181
Flag of Gibraltar Gibraltar 195
San Marino San Marino 210

Groups[]

The fixture list was confirmed by UEFA on 8 December 2020, the day following the draw. Qatar are partnered with the five-team Group A, which enables the 2022 World Cup hosts to play centralised friendlies against these countries on their "spare" match dates. However, these friendlies do not count in the qualifying group standings.

Group A[]

Main article:2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group A
Team Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Notes
Flag of Serbia Serbia 8 6 2 0 18 9 +9 20 Qualification to 2022 FIFA World Cup
Flag of Portugal Portugal 8 5 2 1 17 6 +11 17 Advance to second round
Flag of Republic Ireland Republic of Ireland 8 2 3 3 11 8 +3 9
Luxembourg Luxembourg 8 3 0 5 8 18 −10 9
Flag of Azerbaijan Azerbaijan 8 0 1 7 5 18 −13 1

Group B[]

Main article:2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group B
Team Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Notes
Flag of Spain Spain 8 6 1 1 15 5 +10 19 Qualification to 2022 FIFA World Cup
Flag of Sweden Good one Sweden 8 5 0 3 12 6 +6 15 Advance to second round
Flag of Greece.svg Greece 8 2 4 2 8 8 0 10
Flag of Georgia Georgia 8 2 1 5 6 12 −6 7
Flag of Kosovo Kosovo 8 1 2 5 5 15 −10 5

Group C[]

Main article:2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group C
Team Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Notes
Switzerland rectangle Switzerland 8 5 3 0 15 2 +13 18 Qualification to 2022 FIFA World Cup
Flag of Italy Italy 8 4 4 0 13 2 +11 16 Advance to second round
Flag of Northern Ireland Northern Ireland 8 2 3 3 6 7 −1 9
Flag of Bulgaria Bulgaria 8 2 2 4 6 14 −8 8
Flag of Lithuania Lithuania 8 1 0 7 4 19 −15 3

Group D[]

Main article:2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group D
Team Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Notes
Flag of France France 8 5 3 0 18 3 +15 18 Qualification to 2022 FIFA World Cup
Flag of Ukraine Ukraine 8 2 6 0 11 8 +3 12 Advance to second round
Flag of Finland Finland 8 3 2 3 10 10 0 11
Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina 8 1 4 3 9 12 −3 7
Flag of Kazakhstan Kazakhstan 8 0 3 5 5 20 −15 3

Group E[]

Main article:2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group E
Team Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Notes
Belgium Belgium 8 6 2 0 25 6 +19 20 Qualification to 2022 FIFA World Cup
Flag of Wales Wales 8 4 3 1 14 9 +5 15 Advance to second round
Flag of Czech Czech Republic 8 4 2 2 14 9 +5 14
Flag of Estonia Estonia 8 1 1 6 9 21 −12 4
Belarus Flag Belarus 8 1 0 7 7 24 −17 3

Group F[]

Main article:2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group F
Team Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Notes
Flag of Denmark Denmark 10 9 0 1 30 3 +27 27 Qualification to 2022 FIFA World Cup
Scotland Scotland 10 7 2 1 17 7 +10 23 Advance to second round
Flag of Israel Israel 10 5 1 4 23 21 +2 16
Flag of Austria Austria 10 5 1 4 19 17 +2 16 Advance to play-offs via Nations League
Faroe Islands Faroe Islands 10 1 1 8 7 23 −16 4
Flag of Moldova Moldova 10 0 1 9 5 30 −25 1

Group G[]

Main article:2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group G
Team Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Notes
Netherlands Netherlands 10 7 2 1 33 8 +25 23 Qualification to 2022 FIFA World Cup
Flag of Turkey Turkey 10 6 3 1 27 16 +11 21 Advance to second round
Flag of Norway Norway 10 5 3 2 15 8 +7 18
Flag of Montenegro Montenegro 10 3 3 4 14 15 −1 12
Latvia Latvia 10 2 3 5 11 14 −3 9
Flag of Gibraltar Gibraltar 10 0 0 10 4 43 −39 0

Group H[]

Main article:2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group H
Team Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Notes
Croatia Croatia 10 7 2 1 21 4 +17 23 Qualification to 2022 FIFA World Cup
Flag of Russia Good One Russia 10 7 1 2 19 6 +13 22 Advance to play-offs, later disqualified
Slovakia flag hi res Slovakia 10 3 5 2 17 10 +7 14
Flag of Slovenia Slovenia 10 4 2 4 13 12 +1 14
Flag of Cyprus Cyprus 10 1 2 7 4 21 −17 5
Malta Malta 10 1 2 7 9 30 −21 5

Group I[]

Main article:2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group I
Team Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Notes
England England 10 8 2 0 39 3 +36 26 Qualification to 2022 FIFA World Cup
Flag of Poland Poland 10 6 2 2 30 11 +19 20 Advance to second round
Flag of Albania Albania 10 6 0 4 12 12 0 18
Flag of Hungary Hungary 10 5 2 3 19 13 +6 17
Flag of Andorra Andorra 10 2 0 8 8 24 −16 6
San Marino San Marino 10 0 0 10 1 46 −45 0

Group J[]

Main article:2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group J
Team Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Notes
Germany Germany 10 9 0 1 36 4 +32 27 Qualification to 2022 FIFA World Cup
Flag of Macedonia North Macedonia 10 5 3 2 23 11 +12 18 Advance to second round
Romania Romania 10 5 2 3 13 8 +5 17
Flag of Armenia Armenia 10 3 3 4 9 20 −11 12
Flag of Iceland Iceland 10 2 3 5 12 18 −6 9
Liechtenstein Liechtenstein 10 0 1 9 2 34 −32 1

Second round[]

Main article:2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Second Round

The ten group runners-up and the best two Nations League group winners, based on the Nations League overall ranking, which have not yet directly qualified or reached the play-offs will contest the second round. They will be separated into three play-off paths, with each path featuring two single-leg semi-finals and one single-leg final. The home teams will be determined by a draw. The semi-finals will be played on 24–25 March, and the finals on 28–29 March 2022. The winners of each path will qualify for the World Cup.

Nations League group winners[]

UNL Group winner Rank
A Flag of France France 1–4
Belgium Belgium
Flag of Italy Italy
Flag of Spain Spain
B Flag of Wales Wales 17
Flag of Austria Austria 18
Flag of Czech Czech Republic 19
Flag of Hungary Hungary 20
C Flag of Slovenia Slovenia 33
Flag of Montenegro Montenegro 34
Flag of Albania Albania 35
Flag of Armenia Armenia 36
D Flag of Gibraltar Gibraltar 49
Faroe Islands Faroe Islands 50


External links[]

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