Qatar World Cup 2022 Draw: When is it, where will it be taking place and who can England be drawn against?

The draw for the 2022 World Cup, held in Qatar, will take place on April 1st at 5pm GMT and will be available for viewing on on BBC One, Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Football.

The teams involved in the draw are as follows: Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Ecuador, England, France, Germany, Ghana, Iran, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia, Uruguay and the USA.

There are three spots still available – the first will be filled by Wales, Scotland or Ukraine from the European group. The second will be taken up by either Peru, Australia or the United Arab Emirates, with the final place being occupied by either Costa Rica or New Zealand.

Who can England be drawn against?

As England finished first in their qualifying group, the Three Lions have been given a top seeding – meaning they’ll be able to avoid most of the strongest sides in the group stage.

The other teams with a top seed are: Qatar, Brazil, Belgium, France, Argentina, Spain and Portugal. As such, all of these teams will not be able to face England until the knockout rounds commence.

All of these teams will be in Pot One. Each group of four will have one team from each pot, with Pot One being theoretically the strongest and Pot Four the weakest. Each pot contains eight different teams.

Pot Two has some strong teams, all of whom England could potentially play in the group stage. They are: Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Uruguay and the USA.

Meanwhile, Pot Three contains: Iran, Japan, Morocco, Poland, Serbia, Senegal, South Korea and Tunisia.

Finally, Pot Four will have the teams of: Cameroon, Canada, Ecuador, Saudi Arabia, Ghana and the aforementioned nations still battling in the playoffs.

This year’s World Cup sees some glaring omissions – for example, former champions Italy will not be taking part after they crashed out against a plucky North Macedonia side (who also failed to qualify). Russia will also not be present at the tournament, following their expulsion in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine.

When will the tournament begin?

The first game of the 2022 Qatar World Cup will take place on November 21st and will feature the controversial home nation. It will be the only World Cup in history to take place during the winter season, to accomodate Qatar’s prohibitively hot weather during the summer (when the World Cup is normally played).

Both the Premier League and the Championship will be taking a break during the World Cup, beginning on November 12th/13th and ending on Boxing Day, eight days after the World Cup Final.

The Round of 16 will begin on December 3rd, with the Quarter Finals taking place on the 9th and 10th of the same month. The Semi Finals will be played on December 13th and 14th – finally, the Final will fall on December 18th (a week before Christmas).