Orange is one of the group leaders in the draw for the World Cup qualifying tournament for European national teams, as are Belgium, France, England, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Croatia, Denmark and Germany. Those teams avoid each other in the group. This can be a big advantage because the 2022 World Cup only has room for thirteen European teams. Only the ten group winners will qualify directly, the ten numbers 2 will compete in the play-offs with two countries from the Nations League for three remaining tickets.
It is very important to become a group winner, because second place offers no certainty. During the draw, starting at 6 p.m., the Dutch team will be linked to a country team from pot 2, pot 3, pot 4, pot 5 and possibly pot 6. Spain, Belgium, Italy and France will end up in a group of five because they will be in October next year. still to play the win of the second edition of the Nations League.
Political tensions
The austere draw also has limitations. Armenia and Azerbaijan will not be in one group, due to political tensions. Gibraltar and Spain, Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Serbia, Kosovo and Russia and Ukraine and Russia also differ.
It can be extremely cold in Belarus, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Russia. To prevent many duels from being canceled, a maximum of two of these countries can end up in a pool. FIFA also takes long travel distances into account. Especially Iceland, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Israel are not on the route for many teams.
The World Cup qualifying tournament for European countries starts at the end of March with two rounds. The last group matches will be played next year from 14 to 16 November. On March 29, 2022, it will be announced which three national teams have qualified via the play-offs. The World Cup in Qatar starts on November 21, 2022 and the final is scheduled for December 18. The global final battle has 32 participants and has only 28 match days.
World Cup qualification draw for Europe:
Pot 1: Belgium, France, England, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Croatia, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands.
Pot 2: Switzerland, Wales, Poland, Sweden, Austria, Ukraine, Serbia, Turkey, Slovakia and Romania.
Pot 3: Russia, Hungary, Ireland, Czech Republic, Norway, Northern Ireland, Iceland, Scotland, Greece and Finland.
Pot 4: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, Bulgaria, Israel, Belarus, Georgia and Luxembourg.
Pot 5: Armenia, Cyprus, Faroe Islands, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Kosovo, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Latvia and Andorra.
Pot 6: Malta, Moldova, Liechtenstein, Gibraltar and San Marino.
