The 2022 World Cup is still more than half a year away, but we’ve already been given a glimpse at what awaits us in the tournament. The draw, which took place today, decided the makeup of the eight groups and which team will face which in the group stage. The first two teams in every group will then advance to the round of 16.
Despite the fact that there are still three spots to be decided, the bigger teams – and names, already know who they will be playing. Messi’s Argentina will face Mexico in the group stage, while Neymar’s Brazil has a complicated group with Serbia, Switzerland and Cameroon, all three very solid teams. Meanwhile, Ecuador gets to play the inaugural game against hosts Qatar and Uruguay has a shot in a group that looks accessible on paper, but could turn complicated fast, particularly considering how much time there’s still left.
The groups are as follows:
- Group A: Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands
- Group B: England, Iran, United States, Wales/Scotland/Ukraine
- Group C: Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland
- Group D: France, Peru/Australia/UAE, Denmark, Tunisia
- Group E: Spain, Costa Rica/New Zealand, Germany, Japan
- Group F: Belgium, Canada, Morocco, Croatia
- Group G: Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, Cameroon
- Group H: Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, South Korea
The aforementioned playoffs will decide a member of group B between Wales, Scotland and Ukraine, a member of group D between Peru, Australia and the UAE, and a member of group E, between Costa Rica and New Zealand. All playoff matches will be played in June, with the final European matches being delayed because of the war in Ukraine.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup will take place in Qatar from November 21st to December 18th.