FIFA Men's World Cup

2022 FIFA World Cup Draw: How does it work? When is it?

Updated Mar. 31, 2022 10:19 p.m. ET

Thirty-two teams, including host Qatar, will compete in the FIFA Men's World Cup beginning Nov. 21.

But before that can happen, the qualifying teams have to be sorted into eight groups. Each group will have four teams that play each other round-robin style. The top two teams from each group advance to the knockout stage and continue on to battle for the World Cup.

But before we get to that point, the draw has to happen. That's what decides which teams go into which group. It's a unique process that's crucial to setting up the tournament.

Here's everything you need to know about the World Cup Draw.

When is the World Cup Draw?

The draw will be held on Friday at noon ET at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center in Qatar.

Can I watch it?

Yes! You can watch the draw live on FS1, FOXSports.com or the FOX Sports App.

How does the draw work?

The 29 qualified teams will be allocated into four pots based on where they reside in the FIFA Men’s World Ranking. One team from each of the four pots will be drawn into each of the eight groups.

As the host nation, Qatar will receive position A1 in Pot 1, where they will be joined by the seven highest-ranked qualified teams.

Pot 2 will contain the qualified teams that are ranked eight to 15, Pot 3 will contain qualified teams ranked 16 to 23, and Pot 4 will include the qualified teams ranked 24 to 28, in addition to three placeholders representing the two winners of the intercontinental playoffs (played in June), and the remaining UEFA playoff winner (also played in June).

Why do they sort the teams into pots?

No two teams from any pot can end up in the same group, which in theory should make the groups even in terms of talent. For example, since the top-seven ranked qualified teams will all be in the same Pot 1, each will be placed in a different group, meaning they can't meet until the knockout round.

Also, Qatar is put into Pot 1 so that the host team can have what should be a slightly easier path, with none of the top-seven teams in their group.

Which teams will be in each pot?

Glad you asked! Here they are:

Pot 1: Qatar (host country), Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, England, France, Portugal and Spain.

Pot 2: United States, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Uruguay and Mexico.

Pot 3: Senegal, Japan, Iran, Serbia, Morocco, South Korea, Poland, Tunisia.

Pot 4: Canada, Cameroon, Ecuador, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Peru/Australia/UAE, Costa Rica/New Zealand, Wales/Scotland/Ukraine.

Any other rules about the draw?

FIFA prefers to not have any two teams from the same qualifying zones (Asia, Africa, CONCACAF, South America, Oceana, Europe) end up in the same group.

The exception is Europe, which qualifies 13 teams. Because there are so many, each group will have at least one team from Europe, but none will have more than two.

Any other exclusions to know about?

Due to its invasion of Ukraine, Russia was removed from qualifying by FIFA.