Mar 10, 2022
2022 FIFA World Cup draw set for April 1 on TSN
The 2022 FIFA World Cup gets one step closer on Friday, April 1 when the official World Cup draw takes place in the host nation of Qatar. TSN has full coverage of the draw, beginning at 11am et/8am pt with a one-hour pre-show, followed by the draw at noon et/9am pt. After the draw has concluded, coverage continues with a two-hour post-show at 1pm et/11am pt. A review show follows at 7pm et/4pm pt. TSN's Matt Scianitti will be live in Doha and will be gathering reaction from around the world following the draw.
TSN.ca Staff
The 2022 FIFA World Cup gets one step closer on Friday, April 1 when the official World Cup draw takes place in the host nation of Qatar.
TSN has full coverage of the draw, beginning at 11am et/8am pt with a one-hour pre-show, followed by the draw at noon et/9am pt. After the draw has concluded, coverage continues with a two-hour post-show at 1pm et/11am pt. A review show follows at 7pm et/4pm pt. TSN's Matt Scianitti will be live in Doha and will be gathering reaction from around the world following the draw.
Fifteen of the 32 teams have already qualified including hosts Qatar.
From Europe, former champions Germany, Spain, England and France have already punched their tickets to Qatar along with the Netherlands, Croatia, Serbia, Switzerland and the world's No. 1 team, Belgium.
A pair of former champions have also qualified from South America in the form of eternal rivals Brazil and Argentina.
From Asia, Iran and South Korea will also be heading to Qatar.
Qualifying resumes across the globe on Mar. 24.
Canada can qualify for Qatar as soon as that night. Atop the CONCACAF standings on 25 points with only three matches remaining, Canada needs just two points (either accrued by Canada or dropped by the fourth-place team, currently Panama) to ensure qualification. Canada visits Costa Rica on Mar. 24, returns to Toronto to play Jamaica at BMO Field on Mar. 27 and finishes up qualifying on Mar. 30 in Panama.
The top three teams from CONCACAF qualify directly for Qatar with the fourth-place team set to take on a team from the Oceania Football Confederation in a sudden-death playoff for one of the remaining berths. The United States and Mexico currently sit in second and third, respectively. Costa Rica in fifth place remains alive for direct qualification and El Salvador can still finish fourth, but Honduras and Jamaica have been eliminated.
The CONCACAF-OFC playoff is set for June 13 or 14 in Qatar. The smallest of FIFA conferences, the OFC will not send any team directly to Qatar with the playoff being the only way a team can qualify. New Zealand is the heavy favourite to emerge from the OFC.
In Europe, the second round of UEFA qualifying splits into a three bracket format with three more spots up for grabs. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has resulted in amendments to the proceedings. FIFA has kicked Russia out of the tournament, meaning that Poland, who was set to play Russia, advances to the final of their bracket in a walkover. Poland will now host the winner of the Sweden-Czech Republic match on Mar. 29 with the winner advancing to Qatar. Ukraine's match with Scotland that was originally scheduled for Mar. 24 has been postponed until June. That also means the bracket final between the winner of that match and the victor of Mar. 24's Wales vs. Austria match will also take place in June. In the final bracket, Portugal takes on Turkey and Italy meets North Macedonia with the two winners playing for a berth on Mar. 29.
In South America, the final two matchdays of CONMEBOL qualifying will be hotly contested with a number of traditional powers potentially missing out on Qatar. With Brazil and Argentina already qualified, two more teams will qualify directly by finishing in the top four. The fifth-place team will enter a playoff against an Asian Football Confederation team in June. Ecuador currently sits third on 25 points and has already been guaranteed a top-five place. Behind them on 22 points in fourth is Uruguay. Peru currently occupies the playoff spot on 21 points. On the outside looking in right now are Chile (19) and Colombia (17). Bolivia, on 15 points, can still finish fifth, but Venezuela and Paraguay have already been eliminated.
In Asia, the 12 teams that make up the second round of qualifying were split into two groups of six. The top two teams in each group directly qualify with the third-place teams in each group meeting for the chance to represent the AFC in the intercontinental playoff against a CONMEBOL side. Iran and South Korea were the class of Group A and have already booked their spots. With two matches remaining, the United Arab Emirates currently sits in third on nine points with Lebanon (six) and Iraq (five) still alive. Syria has been eliminated. Group B's fight for automatic qualification will come down to the final matches. Currently, Saudi Arabia (19) and Japan (18) occupy the top two spots with Australia in third on 15 points. The remaining three teams in the group, Oman, China and Vietnam, have already been eliminated. The meeting between the two third-place teams is set for June 7.
The Confederation of African Football will send five teams to Qatar and they will be determined in the third round of qualifying set for Mar. 25 and Mar. 29. Ten teams will face off in two-legged ties with the winners advancing directly to the World Cup. In a battle of Liverpool stars and a rematch of the Africa Cup of Nations final, Mo Salah's Egypt takes on Sadio Mane and Senegal. Cameroon meets Riyad Mahrez and Algeria. The Ayew brothers and Ghana match up against Kelechi Iheanacho and Nigeria. Paris Saint-Germain star wing-back Achraf Hakimi leads Morocco against Congo. In the final matchup, Brighton's Yves Bissouma and Mali take on Tunisia.