It is crunch time on the road to Qatar 2022 but with the European slots nearly done and dusted, there are still several spaces left for nations across the globe.
The qualification picture for next year’s World Cup in Qatar is starting to emerge with 17 of the 32 finalists now known.
But while Portugal and Italy are heading for the nervy and newly-designed European play-offs, which established footballing nations are also sweating over their place at next winter’s showpiece event?
We take a look at the state of play involving the other confederations…
Hosts
Qualified: Qatar
West Indies win toss and bowl in third Test LIVE!
Transfer Centre LIVE! Barca set GBP60m fee for Raphinha
Man Utd ‘must convince’ Ten Hag | ‘Sizeable leap’ for Ajax boss
Defoe announces retirement from football | ‘It’s the right time’
F1 set for thrilling street fight as Ferrari lead chasing pack
Chelsea ticket sales allowed | Boston Celtics owner Pagliuca is latest suitor
World Cup play-offs: Portugal, Wales, Italy face crucial semi-finals
Europe – UEFA (13 places total)
Qualified: Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland.
To be decided: A 12-team play-off tournament next March will determine Europe’s final three qualifiers.
Scotland and Wales could face off for a place at the World Cup should they defeat Ukraine and Austria in their respective play-off semi-finals.
Both nations were drawn in Path A, with Scotland facing Ukraine at Hampden Park and Wales welcoming Austria to Cardiff.
Italy and Portugal were drawn in Path C, meaning they could face one another in the final game and now cannot both qualify for next year’s tournament in Qatar.
When are the play-offs in Europe?
Path A
Scotland vs Ukraine – Thursday, March 24 (7.45pm kick-off) – Postponed until June
Wales vs Austria – Thursday, March 24 (7.45pm kick-off) – live on Sky Sports
Path B
Russia vs Poland – Thursday, March 24 (5.00pm kick-off) – Cancelled: Poland given bye
Sweden vs Czech Republic – Thursday, March 24 (7.45pm kick-off) – live on Sky Sports
Path C
Italy vs North Macedonia – Thursday, March 24 (7.45pm kick-off) – live on Sky Sports
Portugal vs Turkey – Thursday, March 24 (7.45pm kick-off) – live on Sky Sports
Play-off finals: Tuesday, March 29 – live on Sky Sports
South America – CONMEBOL (4/5 places)
Qualified: Argentina, Brazil.
Brazil top the 10-team South American qualifying section with 39 points and Argentina have 35, 10 clear of third-placed Ecuador.
The World Cup qualifier between Brazil and Argentina in September that was suspended just minutes after kick-off when health officials ran on to the pitch must be replayed – although both nations have qualified.
The top four teams qualify automatically, and the fifth-placed side go into an inter-regional play-off.
To be decided: There are two rounds of fixtures remaining in South America’s 10-team qualifying competition, from which the top four qualify automatically.
The fifth-placed side will get another chance in the intercontinental play-offs*.
Ecuador and Uruguay currently occupy the remaining two automatic spots with Peru in fifth but Colombia and Chile are all still in contention.
*The intercontinental play-offs will see one side from Asia, South America, North/Central America/Caribbean and Oceania play two-legged ties to determine the last two berths. They will take place in June 2022.
Asia – AFC (4/5 places)
The top two finishers in both of Asia’s qualifying groups advance automatically to Qatar 2022 while the teams in third spot will progress to a series of play-offs.
The top two in each group automatically qualify with the two third-placed sides facing each other for the right to play in the intercontinental play-offs.
Qualified: Iran, South Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia.
Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu credited his team’s positive outlook for the last-gasp 2-0 win over Australia on Thursday which took them to this year’s World Cup finals.
A draw in Sydney, which looked likely with the score level at 0-0 after 89 minutes, would have left Japan needing only a point at home against Vietnam next Tuesday to secure their spot in Qatar.
Japan continued to attack, however, and got their reward when winger Kaoru Mitoma, brought on as a substitute in the 84th minute, scored twice in the dying minutes to earn them a spot at a seventh successive edition of the finals.
“I was only focused on winning, we weren’t going to go for a draw and we didn’t go defensive when the game was under control in the second half,” Moriyasu said.
“Putting on Mitoma was part of those tactics but it wasn’t my tactics that won the game, it was the players who did the job.
“And not just the players on the pitch. The subs, and even the players who weren’t on the bench, they all had the same mindset and that was the key reason why we got the result tonight.”
The third round of the Asian qualifying campaign did not start auspiciously for Japan and Moriyasu was under huge pressure when they lost two of their first three matches.
A 2-1 home win over Australia last October got them back on track, however, and Thursday’s victory was their sixth in a row.
Japan’s first win over the Socceroos in Australia since 1998 also secured Saudi Arabia’s passage to Qatar and condemned Australia to a tricky path through two play-offs if they are also to make the finals for the fifth time in a row.
In Group A, South Korea defeated Iran 2-0 in Seoul on Thursday.
Heung-Min Son scored the opener just before half-time and Young-Gwon Kim added a second after the restart as South Korea moved to the top of Group A with one match remaining.
Both sides had already qualified for Qatar 2022.
*The intercontinental play-offs will see one side from Asia, South America, North/Central America/Caribbean and Oceania play two-legged ties to determine the last two berths. They will take place in June 2022.
Africa – CAF (five places)
All 54 FIFA-affiliated football associations from CAF entered qualification and the second round has now finished.
Among the nations to have failed to progress from the second round are Togo, South Africa, Gabon and Ivory Coast.
For Ivory Coast, their failure to reach Qatar is being viewed back home as a disaster given their wealth of talent. The country made the 2006, 2010 and 2014 World Cups, before failing to qualify in 2018.
Qualified: None.
To be decided: The third round will take place in March, when the 10 teams will be drawn into five two-legged ties with the aggregate winners representing Africa in Qatar. The two-legged ties will be played between March 25-29:
Egypt vs SenegalCameroon vs AlgeriaGhana vs NigeriaDR Congo vs MoroccoMali vs Tunisia
North/Central America & Caribbean – CONCACAF (3/4 places)
Qualified: None
To be decided: There is still plenty to play for with six rounds of fixtures remaining in the eight-team final qualifying group. The top three sides qualify automatically with fourth place heading to the intercontinental play-offs.
Canada reclaimed top spot in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying with a 2-0 win over Honduras in the most recent round of matches, after the United States briefly led the standings thanks to their 1-0 win over El Salvador.
Mexico trailed 1-0 to Jamaica with less than 10 minutes left before Henry Martin and Alexis Vega scored from close range to snatch victory in Kingston.
Canada top the table on 19 points, one ahead of the United States, with Mexico third on 17 points.
The top three sides qualify automatically for the World Cup in Qatar, with the fourth-placed team, currently Panama on 14 points, going into an intercontinental playoff.
*The intercontinental play-offs will see one side from Asia, South America, North/Central America/Caribbean and Oceania play two-legged ties to determine the last two berths. They will take place in June 2022.
Oceania – OFC (0/1 place)
Qualified: None
To be decided: Oceania had not been able to hold national-team competitions since late 2019 due to the impact of COVID-19. Due to lingering travel and quarantine restrictions, March 2022 presented the first – and indeed last – opportunity for the preliminary competition to take place.
The format, dates and draw procedures for the OFC preliminary competition for the FIFA World Cup 2022 have been revised.
FIFA changed the format after the Cook Islands and Vanuatu withdrew due to cases of COVID-19 that affected their national teams.
Both the Cook Islands and Vanuatu were in Group A but FIFA said all matches involving the two teams “shall be deemed to have not taken place”.
That leaves the other two teams in the group, Solomon Islands and Tahiti, to play their group fixture on Thursday, which will be considered a single playoff match to determine the winner and runner-up of Group A.
If the match ends in a draw, they will play extra time and go to penalties if needed.
New Zealand have already advanced from Group B, with Papua New Guinea and Fiji – level on three points each – fighting for the second spot when they face each other.
Oceania, which does not have an automatic spot at the World Cup, is staging a mini-tournament in Doha to decide which team advances to an intercontinental playoff for a place at the finals.
The winners of the March 17-30 competition will face the fourth-placed team from the CONCACAF region, which features sides from North and Central America and the Caribbean.
*The intercontinental play-offs will see one side from Asia, South America, North/Central America/Caribbean and Oceania play two-legged ties to determine the last two berths. They will take place in June 2022.
What is the World Cup format and schedule?
The 2022 World Cup in Qatar will feature 32 teams in eight groups of four.
Four matches will be played each day during the group stage, which will run over a 12-day period and see winners and runners-up progress to the round of 16.
Matches will only be assigned to particular venues after the finals draw, so organisers can choose optimal kick-off times to suit television audiences in different countries, as well as supporters in Qatar.
The finals draw is scheduled to take place in April 2022, after the March window for international fixtures.
Unlike at Euro 2020, there will be a third-place play-off game on December 17.
Group stage: November 21- December 2
Round of 16: December 3-6
Quarter-finals: December 9/10
Semi-finals: December 13/14
Final: December 18
When will the matches kick off?
FIFA has confirmed the first two rounds of matches will kick off at 1pm, 4pm, 7pm and 10pm local time (10am, 1pm, 4pm and 7pm in the United Kingdom).
Kick-off times in the final round of group games and knock-out round matches will be at 6pm and 10pm local time (3pm and 7pm UK time).
The final is scheduled to kick off at 6pm local time (3pm UK time)
What are the venues?
The group games will take place across eight stadia: Al Bayt Stadium, Khalifa International Stadium, Al Thumama Stadium, Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, Lusail Stadium, Ras Abu Aboud Stadium, Education City Stadium and Al Janoub Stadium.
What happens to the Premier League in 2022/23?
The Premier League has confirmed key dates for the 2022/23 campaign, with the season adjusted to accommodate a World Cup that takes place in the middle of the domestic calendar.
The season will start a week earlier than normal on August 6 2022, with 16 matchdays taking place up to the weekend of November 12/13, before the tournament kicks off on November 21.
The Premier League will resume on Boxing Day following the World Cup final, which takes place on December 18.
The final match round of the 2022/23 season will be played on May 28 2023.