Welcome to the live blog for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Draw, taking place at Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre in Qatar. This was Neeladri Bhattacharjee bringing you the pre-match buildup and minute-by-minute updates of the draw.
10:55 pm: Final Grouping:
10:48 pm: Ghana is drawn next, which completes Group H and will face Portugal in its opening fixture. Canada is drawn next and it completes Group F
10:45 pm: The European playoff winner is grouped alongside England, Iran, USA in Group B. Cameroon completes Group G.
10:44 pm: Ecuador completes Group A, while Saudi Arabia completes Group C. The winner of Intercontinental playoff 2 will face Spain, Germany and Japan in Group E
10:40 pm: South Korea is drawn next in and will be grouped with Portugal and Uruguay in Group H at H4. The intercontinental playoffs 1 winner will be grouped alongside France, Denmark and Tunisia.
10:39 pm: Japan will join Spain and Germany in Group E at position E4. Morocco is drawn next and is drawn with Croatia and Belgium at F3.
10:37 pm: Serbia is drawn next at G2 and will face Brazil in its opening fixture in Qatar. Tunisia is drawn next at D4 and is grouped alongside Denmark and France
10:35 pm: Senegal is drawn alongside the Netherlands in Group A, Iran is drawn with England and USA, while Poland is drawn with Argentina and Mexico
10:32 pm: Switzerland is drawn next and will be grouped with Brazil at position G3 .
10:30 pm: Croatia is drawn with Belgium at F4. Uruguay is drawn next, but it will not be grouped with Brazil due to the draw rules and is set to face Portugal
10:27 pm: USA is drawn in Group B at B3, Mexico is drawn with Argentina at C3 and Denamrk is grouped with France at D3. Germany is greouped with Spain in Group E at E3
10:24 pm: Netherlands is drawn next and goes into Group A alongside Qatar in position A4.
10:23 pm: Portugal is placed in Group H and is placed in position H1.
10:22 pm: Brazil is placed in Group G and is placed in Group G in position G1.
10:22 pm: Belgium is drawn next and is placed in Group F in position F1.
10:21 pm: Spain is drawn next and goes into Group E in position E1.
10:20 pm: France is drawn in Group D in position D1.
10:19: Argentina gets into Group C and is placed in Group C1.
10:18 pm: England is drawn next by Cafu and he gets into Group B in position B1.
10:17 pm: Qatar, as the host, is drawn first by Cafu and is put into Group A.
10:14 pm: The stage is set as the rules for the draw are laid out again.
What are the rules for the draw?
- Qatar, being the host, will join the seven best ranked sides in Pot 1 as one of the top-seeded teams.
- Eight groups of four teams each will be created with one team from each pot to form Groups A to H.
- Except Europe, no group should have more than one country from the same region.
- Europe, having 13 slots – the most in the tournament – will be allowed a minimum of one and a maximum of two teams in the same group.
10:08 pm: Former Brazil captain, Cafu arrives on stage and the only player to play in three FIFA World Cup finals and Jay-jay Okocha, a former star from Nigeria and Lothar Herbert Matthaeus, the World Cup winner with Germany in 1990.
10:07 pm: Samantha Johnson, Jermaine Jenas and Carli Lloyd enter the stage for conducting the draw.
10:00 pm: The trophy and mascot are unveiled! The 18-carat-gold trophy is unveiled with 32 countries to battle it out for a champion, starting November. Didier Deschamps, the coach who led France to glory in 2018, hands out the trophy.
The official mascot of the World Cup is also revealed: La'eeb
9:56 pm: The draw begins with tributes to footballing greats like Gerd Muller, Paolo Rossi and Diego Maradona, who have left us after giving so much to a game that has become all the more beautiful with their magic.
9:50 pm: Infantino embraces the stage and thanks the people of Qatar, His Highness and the people of the Arabian world and says this is going to be the best world cup ever. He requests leaders to end political confilcts and says that this world cup will be a world cup of unity and peace.
9:46 pm: Trinidad Cardona, Davido and Aisha get together on stage to perform the theme song for FIFA World Cup 2022, Better Together, with a message of unity and peace
9:42 pm: Sherihan, an Egyptian atress and singer and a special guest at the Draw open the show, which promises to be the start of the grandest International tournament of football.
9:30 pm: We are set and will begin in some time. The guests have arrived and the pots are ready!
The teams in the eight groups are set to be determined now. Brazil, Argentina, Messi, Ronaldo --- all debates will be set as the fixtures, the full world cup schedule is set to be fixed today. Tonight!
Let the draw begin!
8:45 pm: 45 Minutes for the draw to begin! Let's have a look at the teams that have qualified.
DRAW PREVIEW
The 2022 FIFA World Cup will be the first World Cup in the middle-east and the last one with 32 countries, with FIFA planning to expand the tournament to 48 nations from 2026.
When and where is the World Cup draw?
The draw is scheduled to happen on April 1 at 9:30 pm IST at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre in Qatar.
Where can you watch the World Cup draw ?
The FIFA World Cup 2022 draw will be telecast on History TV18 and will be available on the OTT platform Voot as well as Jio TV .
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ALSO READ | Who have qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2022?
Which teams have qualified?
- Host — Qatar
- UEFA — Belgium, France, England, Spain, Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Croatia, Serbia, Portugal, Poland
- CONMEBOL — Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador
- AFC — Iran, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia
- CAF — Cameron, Ghana, Senegal, Morocco, Tunisia
- CONCACAF — Canada, USA, Mexico
- OCEANIA — TBD
How does the World Cup draw work?
The 32 qualified countries will be distributed into four pots based on FIFA’s ranking as on March 31. The three slots for the sides, which are undecided, will have placeholders for the draw.
What are the rules for the draw?
- Qatar, being the host, will join the seven best ranked sides in Pot 1 as one of the top-seeded teams.
- Eight groups of four teams each will be created with one team from each pot to form Groups A to H.
- Except Europe, no group should have more than one country from the same region.
- Europe, having 13 slots – the most in the tournament – will be allowed a minimum of one and a maximum of two teams in the same group.
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When is the World Cup starting?
FIFA World Cup 2022 starts from November 21 , with the opening fixture between the host Qatar and another team from Group A. The kickoff is set at 3:30 pm IST.
The World Cup final will be played on December 18 , with the kick-off scheduled for 8:30 pm IST.
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