What are the World Cup 2022 groups?

A total of 32 teams have been broken down into eight groups with the top two progressing to the knockouts.

world cup draw qatar [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]
The World Cup draw took place in Doha earlier this year [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]

The FIFA World Cup 2022 will kick off on November 20.

Hosts Qatar will take on Ecuador in the opening game at Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor.

The 32 teams have been broken down into eight groups with the top two from each group qualifying for the knockouts.

The groups are determined by a complex FIFA process. A ranking system assigns the host nation and the seven strongest teams to different groups. To guarantee a geographical spread, FIFA defines six qualifying zones: Africa, Asia, Europe, North and Central America, and the Caribbean, Oceania and South America.

No two teams from the same zone – except Europe – can be in the same group, while no more than two European teams can be in the same group.

Here are the groups:

Group A

  • Netherlands
  • Senegal
  • Ecuador
  • Qatar

Group B

  • England
  • USA
  • Iran
  • Wales

Qatar football World Cup 2022 - GROUPSGroup C

  • Argentina
  • Mexico
  • Poland
  • Saudi Arabia

Group D

  • France
  • Denmark
  • Tunisia
  • Australia

Group E

  • Spain
  • Germany
  • Japan
  • Costa Rica

Group F

  • Belgium
  • Croatia
  • Morocco
  • Canada

Group G

  • Brazil
  • Switzerland
  • Serbia
  • Cameroon

Group H

  • Portugal
  • Ghana
  • Uruguay
  • South Korea

Qatar 2022 football World Cup Match Schedule

Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies