2022 FIFA World Cup qualification

If Russia qualifies for the final tournament, its players will not be able to use the country name alone, flag or anthem as a result of the nation's two-year ban from world championships and Olympic Games in all sports after World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) investigated the country's state-sanctioned tampering of a doping testing laboratory database.[9] WADA had initially proposed a four-year ban on 9 December 2019, after RUSADA was found non-compliant for handing over manipulated lab data to investigators.[10] The WADA ruling allowed athletes who were not involved in doping or the coverup to compete, but prohibited the use of the Russian flag and anthem at major international sporting events.[11] The ruling was appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).[12] CAS ruled on the appeal on 17 December 2020, cutting the ban from four to two years, until 16 December 2022.[13] The CAS ruling also allowed the name "Russia" to be displayed on uniforms if the words "Neutral Athlete" or "Neutral Team" have equal prominence.[9]

Confederation	Available slots in finals	Teams started	Teams eliminated	Teams still playing	Teams qualified	Qualifying start date	Qualifying next match date	Qualifying end date
AFC	4 or 5 +1	45+1	11	34[lower-alpha 1]	0+1	6 June 2019	25 March 2021	June 2022
CAF	5	54	14	40	0	4 September 2019	31 May 2021	November 2021
CONCACAF	3 or 4	35	0	35	0	24 March 2021	24 March 2021	June 2022
CONMEBOL	4 or 5	10	0	10	0	8 October 2020	25 March 2021	June 2022
OFC	0 or 1	11	0	11	0	June 2021	June 2021	June 2022
UEFA	13	55	0	55	0	24 March 2021	24 March 2021	29 March 2022
Total	31+1	210+1	25	185	0+1	6 June 2019	24 March 2021	June 2022

In league format, the ranking of teams in each group is based on the following criteria (regulations Articles 20.4 and 20.6):[14]

1. Points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss)
2. Overall goal difference
3. Overall goals scored
4. Points in matches between tied teams
5. Goal difference in matches between tied teams
6. Goals scored in matches between tied teams
7. Away goals scored in matches between tied teams (if the tie is only between two teams in home-and-away league format)
8. Fair play points
   • first yellow card: minus 1 point
   • indirect red card (second yellow card): minus 3 points
   • direct red card: minus 4 points
   • yellow card and direct red card: minus 5 points
9. Drawing of lots by the FIFA Organising Committee

In cases where teams finishing in the same position across different groups are compared for determining which teams advance to the next stage, the criteria are dependent on the competition format and require the approval of FIFA (regulations Article 20.8).[14]

In knockout format, the team that has the higher aggregate score over the two legs progresses to the next round. In the event that aggregate scores finish level, the away goals rule is applied; i.e., the team that scored more goals away from home over the two legs progresses. If away goals are also equal, then thirty minutes of extra time are played, divided into two fifteen-minutes halves. The away goals rule is again applied after extra time; i.e., if there are goals scored during extra time and the aggregate score is still level, the visiting team qualifies by virtue of more away goals scored. If no goals are scored during extra time, the tie is decided by penalty shoot-out (regulations Article 20.10).[14]

The opening two rounds of qualifying also serve as qualification for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. Therefore, Qatar, the 2022 FIFA World Cup host, only participates in these first two rounds of qualifying.[15]

The qualification structure is as follows:[16]

• First round: 12 teams (ranked 35–46) played home-and-away over two legs. The six winners advanced to the second round.
• Second round: 40 teams (ranked 1–34, including Qatar as the host, and the 6 winners from the first round) were divided into eight groups of five teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The eight group winners and the four best group runners-up advance to the third round of FIFA World Cup qualification and also qualify for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. If Qatar finish as winners in their group or as one of the four best runners-up, the fifth-best runners-up will go to the third round in their stead.[4]
• Third round: The 12 teams that advance from the second round will be divided into two groups of 6 teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The top two teams of each group will qualify for the World Cup, and the third-placed teams will play against each other in a single match. The winner will advance to the inter-confederation play-offs, playing a team from a confederation to be determined.

CAF announced on 10 July 2019 a reversion to the format used for its 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification competition.[17]

• First round: 28 teams (ranked 27–54) played home-and-away over two legs. The 14 winners advanced to the second round.
• Second round: 40 teams (teams ranked 1–26 and 14 first round winners) will be divided into 10 groups of four teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The 10 group winners will advance to the third round.
• Third round: The 10 teams that advance from the second round will play home-and-away over two legs. The five winners will qualify for the World Cup.

CONCACAF initially announced on 10 July 2019 a restructured format for the qualifiers of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[18] However, on 25 June 2020, following FIFA's decision to postpone the September international window due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CONCACAF noted that "the challenges presented by postponements to the football calendar, and the incomplete FIFA rankings cycle in our confederation, means our current World Cup qualifying process has been compromised and will be changed."[19] On 27 July 2020, CONCACAF announced a new qualifying format for the World Cup.[20]

• First round: CONCACAF teams ranked 6 to 35 based on the FIFA rankings of July 2020 were drawn into six groups of five and will play single round-robin matches (two home and two away), with group winners qualifying for the second round.
• Second round: The six first round group winners will play in a two-legged home-and-away series. The three winners will advance to the final round.
• Third round: The three second round winners will join the top five CONCACAF teams (Mexico, United States, Costa Rica, Jamaica and Honduras[21]) also based on the FIFA rankings of July 2020 and play home-and-away round-robin matches in one single group. The top three teams qualify for the World Cup, and the fourth-placed team advances to the inter-confederation play-offs.

The CONMEBOL Council decided on 24 January 2019 to maintain the same qualification structure used for the previous six tournaments.[22] From October 2020 to June 2022 (previously scheduled March 2020 to November 2021, but later postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic), all of ten CONMEBOL teams will play in a league of home-and-away round-robin matches. The top four teams qualify for the World Cup, and the fifth-placed team advances to the inter-confederation play-offs.

Qualifying was expected to begin in September 2020,[23] but the FIFA international window in that month for the OFC was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[24]

On 28 July 2020, the OFC announced that they had submitted a proposal to FIFA for the qualifiers in response to the pandemic.[25]

The OFC also announced on 5 November 2020 that the qualifying process, which would originally start in March 2021, was delayed until June.[26] The OFC will discuss with its member associations and FIFA about the new schedule.

• First round: The 11 OFC teams will be split into two groups based on their FIFA Ranking, and play round-robin matches in June and late 2021 at centralized locations. The top two teams of each group advance to the second round.
• Second round: The four teams will play knockout two-legged home-and-away matches, with the semi-finals in TBD and the final in TBD. The winner advances to the inter-confederation play-offs.

The draw for the first round (group stage) was held in Zürich, Switzerland on 7 December 2020, 18:00 CET (UTC+1).[27] However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the draw was held as a virtual event without any representatives of member associations present. It was originally planned to be held on 29 November.[28] On 18 June 2020, the UEFA Executive Committee approved the draw regulations for the qualifying group stage.[29] The 55 teams were seeded into six pots based on the FIFA World Rankings of November 2020, after the league phase of the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League.

The qualification format was confirmed by the UEFA Executive Committee during their meeting in Nyon, Switzerland on 4 December 2019.[30][31] The qualification will depend, in part, on results from the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League, although to a lesser degree than UEFA Euro 2020. The structure maintained UEFA's usual 'group stage/playoff stage' structure, with only the specific format of the play-offs amended.[32]

• First round (group stage): 10 groups of 5 or 6 teams with group winners qualifying for the World Cup finals. The 4 teams in the 2021 UEFA Nations League Finals (France, Belgium, Italy and Spain) will be put into the smaller groups.
• Second round (play-off stage): The 10 group runners-up would be joined by the best 2 Nations League group winners, based on the Nations League overall ranking, that finished outside the top two of their qualifying group. These 12 teams will be drawn into three play-off paths, playing two rounds of single-match play-offs (semi-finals and finals, with the home teams to be drawn), with the 3 path winners qualifying for the World Cup.