World Cup draw LIVE: England face USA, Iran and possibly Wales or Scotland at Qatar 2022
Follow all the latest updates as the Qatar 2022 World Cup group stage draw completed in Doha
Follow all the latest updates and reaction from Qatar 2022 as the World Cup group stage draw took place in Doha this afternoon.
England were drawn into Group B alongside USA, Iran and the winner of the three teams still alive in the European play-offs - namely Wales, Scotland and Ukraine. If Wales - who are through to the play-off final - or Scotland reach the World Cup, it will set up a tantalising Battle of Britain in Qatar.
Spain and Germany were drawn together in a standout tie in Group E, while hosts Qatar face Netherlands, the Africa Cup of Nations champions Senegal and Ecuador in Group A.
Gareth Southgate, who was in attendance at the draw, has been optimistic about England’s chances but insisted they will have to be “close to perfect” to lift the trophy later this year. The tournament will also likely represent the final chance for Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to clinch World Cup glory before the end of their careers. Ronaldo’s Portugal are in Group H with Ghana, Uruguay and South Korea, while Messi’s Argentina face Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Poland in Group C.
Follow all the latest updates after the draw below:
World Cup 2022 draw
Around 10 minutes to go until the World Cup draw.
World Cup 2022 draw
Qatar is the first country in the Middle East to be awarded the World Cup. It’s also the smallest nation to host the tournament and the first to have the competition be played over the winter months with the World Cup taking place across November and December this year.
World Cup 2022 draw
Who’s in which pot?
Pot 1 (seeded teams): Qatar, Brazil, Belgium, France, Argentina, England, Spain, Portugal.
Pot 2: Mexico, Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Uruguay, Switzerland, USA, Croatia.
Pot 3: Senegal, Iran, Japan, Morocco, Serbia, Poland, South Korea, Tunisia.
Pot 4: Cameroon, Canada, Ecuador, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Wales/Scotland/Ukraine, Costa Rica/New Zealand, UAE/Australia/Peru.
World Cup 2022 draw
Gareth Southgate has arrived at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center ahead of tonight’s draw. Who will end up in England’s group?
World Cup 2022 draw
England boss Gareth Southgate says England can win the World Cup if they get to the final. We’ll find out how hard that should be soon as the group stage draw gets underway.
He said: “We have said to the team this week, ‘if we can get to a semi-final, we can get to a final, and we did. If we can get to a final, we can win’. That’s clear.
“To do that is incredibly difficult and we’ll have to be as close to perfect as can be.
“That’s the challenge for us, not just when we get to Qatar, because we’ve got to be in the right condition, even before that. That’s what we’ve got to work towards every day we’re together.”
World Cup 2022 draw
Idris Elba and Reshmin Chowdhury are the hosts for this evening’s draw.
World Cup 2022 draw
How to watch the World Cup draw?
The draw for the group stages will be held at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center and it is due to start at 5pm.
Viewers in the UK can watch live coverage of the World Cup draw on BBC One, with coverage due to begin at 4.45pm. It will also be available to stream via the BBC iPlayer or BBC Sport website.
Alternatively, Sky Sports will also be showing the proceedings live on their Premier League and Football channels. Coverage begins at 5pm, and subscribers can also watch on Sky Go.
World Cup 2022 draw
How will the World Cup draw work?
England will discover their group stage opponents for the World Cup in Qatar this evening, with Germany or Croatia potentially standing in the Three Lions’ way early on.
Gareth Southgate’s men are in the top pot of seeds for the draw in Doha on Friday and will be drawn against come potentially difficult opponents in pot two. Any of Germany, Croatia, Mexico, Denmark and the Netherlands could end up in England’s group.
The pots will be emptied from one to four, with each team assigned to a group and given a number between one and four within that group. Hosts Qatar have already been assigned Group A and position one, and will play in the tournament’s opening game on November 21st.
Except for Europe, whenever possible FIFA will avoid drawing two sides from the same confederation together.
The allocation of venues and kick-off times will take place after the draw, with the final schedule not expected to be known until Saturday.
Elsewhere Scotland, Wales and Ukraine are treated as a single placeholder in the bottom pot of seeds, with the outcome of their play-off path not set to be decided until June following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Qatar 2022 is here – a tainted World Cup barely worthy of the name
It was a moment, in its own way, as electric as anything that has been happening in the World Cup play-offs. That was when Norwegian FA president Lise Klaveness forced everyone at Fifa Congress in Doha to confront the true cost of these games.
“In 2010, World Cups were awarded in unacceptable ways with unacceptable consequences,” she said in an impassioned call for inclusion and human rights. “The migrant workers injured, the families of those that died, must be cared for.”
Many in the room didn’t care for the discussion.
One federation head, clearly looking for his own 15 minutes of approval from the football family, insisted she should not have said that. That, apparently, is not the point. The point is all the World Cup livery, the sense of occasion in Doha.
Shortly afterwards, a package was shown with great moments from previous World Cups, the emotion echoed by that seen in Senegal, Algeria and the United States in the last few days.
That is what the World Cup is supposed to mean. That is what sportswashing projects are actually playing on.
Qatar 2022 is here – a tainted World Cup barely worthy of the name
We’re here for Friday’s group stage draw but we’re here because of off-field decisions with far-reaching consequences. So as the draw makes Qatar 2022 ‘real’, is this a real World Cup?
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