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It’s fair to say the hype is building for the World Cup 2022 with the qualifying process pretty much done and dusted bar a few spots that are yet to be confirmed.
England have already booked their place in Qatar and Gareth Southgate’s side could be joined by Wales or Scotland, who are on collision course in the UEFA play-offs.
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While the World Cup may still be more than seven months away, the all-important draw for the group stage is imminent as teams begin to plot their path to glory.
You’ll find all the information you need to know about the World Cup 2022 draw below.
When is the World Cup 2022 draw?
The World Cup 2022 group-stage draw will be held in Qatar on Friday, April 1 from 5pm. 29 of the 32 teams to compete will have been decided by the time the balls are plucked from the hat. Scotland’s play-off semi-final tie with Ukraine has been pushed back to June due to the Russian invasion – and Wales await the winners – while a couple of inter-confederation play-offs will decide the other two remaining qualifiers.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock then you’ll probably know by now that the World Cup 2022 has been moved to the winter due to the fact it’s really, really hot in Qatar in the summer. The tournament is scheduled to get underway on Monday, November 21 before the final at Sunday, December 18.
How can I watch the World Cup 2022 draw?
The good folks at FIFA will be live streaming the ceremony on their website. Alternatively, viewers in the UK can watch on BBC Two and Sky Sports Premier League/Football, while RTE 2 provides live coverage in Ireland.
What is the format for the World Cup 2022 draw?
Alas, the World Cup 2022 will be the final edition using the 32-team format as it’s set to increase to 48 countries for the competition in 2016.
The competing teams will be split into four pots based on FIFA rankings, with the seven highest-ranked countries and hosts Qatar in pot one. They’ll be drawn into eight groups of four teams. Each pool can have no more than one team from a single confederation, apart from Europe which can have a maximum of two. The top two teams from each group progress to the last 16.
Who are the favourites to win the World Cup 2022?
Brazil, who have already booked their place in Qatar, head Paddy Power’s World Cup 2022 Winner betting market but the Selecao have not won the competition since 2002 when the likes of Ronaldo and Rivaldo were strutting their stuff.
There has not been a repeat winner of the World Cup since 1962 so France will have to defy recent history if they are to defend the World Cup Trophy won in Russia in 2018, however, they are second in our early betting.
England reached the World Cup semi-finals in 2018 and were the runners-up at Euro 2020 so the Three Lions are, unsurprisingly, prominent in the market.
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