With a favourable draw, Mexico can get out of the group stage and get eliminated in the Round of 16.
Mexico and the USA have higher aspirations than Canada so probably expect to AT LEAST get to the Round of 16? Canada would be thrilled to get to the Round of 16 even if they then got eliminated.
Barring an incredible comeback by Solomon Islands, it’ll be New Zealand playing CONCACAF’s #4 for a spot in Qatar.
Final pots:
A - Qatar (A1), Brazil, Belgium, France, Argentina, England, Spain, Portugal
B - Netherlands, Denmark, Mexico, Germany, USA, Switzerland, Uruguay, Croatia
C - Senegal, Iran, Japan, Morocco, Serbia, Poland, South Korea, Tunisia
D - Canada, Cameroon, Ecuador, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, UEFA Path A, Peru / Australia/UAE, Costa Rica / New Zealand
Qualified - 29
Hosts - Qatar
UEFA - Germany, Denmark, France, Belgium, Croatia, Spain, Serbia, England, Switzerland, Netherlands, Portugal, Poland
CONMEBOL - Brasil, Argentina, Ecuador, Uruguay
AFC - Iran, South Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia
CONCACAF - Canada, United States, Mexico
CAF - Ghana, Senegal, Tunisia, Morocco, Cameroon
Slots Remaining - 3
UEFA - 1
Wales vs Scotland/Ukraine winner (played in June)
CONMEBOL / AFC Playoff - 1
Peru vs UAE/Australia winner (Jun 13 or Jun 14)
CONCACAF / OFC Playoff - 1
Costa Rica vs New Zealand (Jun 13 or Jun 14)
Unfortunate for the UEFA team since Wales would likely be in pot B and Ukraine pot C had the qualifier not been delayed. Makes that a selection no one will want in their group for a potential group of death. (Peru and Costa Rica are also pot C teams had they qualified normally)
Again: Pots are NUMBERED; Groups are LETTERED.
I think this is the first time where the draw for groups has been held before all the qualified teams were known. Why the draw has to be held on April 1 when it’s still some 8 months before the tournament starts and 2.5 months before the final matches, … I know, FIFA being FIFA and they set a date, and they’re not moving it come hell or high water.
For people planning to go?
So most teams to know who they are playing?
Usually it’s after the November window for a summer WC. That’s seven or eight months.
There are four teams vying for two spots in the same pot. So, easy.
FA Cup often holds draws before replays are played. So, not unprecedented in the soccer world.
I’m assuming that the CONCACAF/OFC playoff cannot be in US/Mex/Can group in case Costa Rica wins? Same thing with CONMEBOL/AFC playoff for their federations?
A reason for doing it this early is so that the teams/fans/etc can start planning travel/tickets.
But Qatar is about the size of Connecticut, so its travel isn’t as big of an issue. In fact the longest distance between any 2 stadiums is about 40 miles. And we won’t have to worry about playing in a Manaus-like outpost.
Makes logical sense
BTW, sounds like the WC every 2 years is dead
Yup. Those are restrictions, same as others.
Anyone know the order of the draw? Pick all from Pot 2, then all from Pot 3, then all from Pot 4?
Or, do they determine who is in Group A, then in Group B, etc.?
Ah, Google says:
Each World Cup group will contain one team from each pot. First each team in Pot 1 will be allocated a group, then each team in Pots 2, 3 and 4 to create eight groups of four. Each pot will be emptied before the next pot is drawn.
So, at some point in the Pot 4 drawings, I’m guessing that the three TBDs (the third is a Euro team) will have to be forced into pots before an issue arises.
For example, if Groups G and H have two Euro teams, AND the Euro playoff team is one of the last two in Pot 4, that would be bad.
So, I’m guessing that the Euro playoff team will be placed in the first non-two-Euro-team group automatically. (“First Group” defined alphabetically.)
And, I’m guessing that the CONCACAF/Oceana team will be placed in the first non-CONCACAF Group.
And, I’m guessing that the CONMEBOL/Asia team will be placed in the first non-CONMEBOL/Asia Group.
Which of these automatics is first? Google might not provide.
Draw procedures (i can’t copy/paste from the doc)
Draw all from Pot 1, then Pot 2, then Pot 3, then Pot 4
Beginning Nov. 21 and ending Nov. 28, throughout the first two rounds of the group stage, there will be four games per day in four standalone windows, at 1 p.m., 4, 7 and 10 Qatar time — which is 5 a.m., 8, 11 and 2 p.m. ET. (The U.S. east coast is eight hours behind Qatar in the fall and winter.)
The final group matches, the Round of 16 and the quarterfinals will kick off at either 11 a.m. ET or 2 p.m. ET. The semifinals are at 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Dec. 13 and Wednesday, Dec. 14. The final is at 11 a.m. ET on Sunday, Dec. 18.
Group stage kickoff times will be assigned after the draw. FIFA typically tries to accommodate major markets and maximize TV viewership at home, so unless the USMNT draws Japan or Korea, its games will likely start at 11 a.m. or 2 p.m. ET, not 5 a.m. or 8.
If work will interfere with your weekday viewing, take solace in this: One of the first two U.S. games will take place on either Thanksgiving (Groups G and H), Black Friday (Groups A and B) or that weekend (Groups C, D, E and F).
World Cup 2022: Start date, schedule, teams, USMNT outlook - Yahoo Sports)
(Maxwell Smart voice) Ninja’d you by that much!
I’d buy this if we knew where matches for each group were going to be played. That won’t be set until after the draw is held; other than Qatar’s opener, all of the other matches in the group stage are TBD. If waiting to June is really going to be that big of a deal for planning travel/tickets/lodging, … it’s not like we’re talking “we could be in Los Angeles … or Seattle, or Houston, or Orlando, or Boston, or Chicago.” It’s relatively speaking (using Chicago as an example), “we could be in Naperville, Evanston, Schaumburg, Batavia, Aurora or Elmhurst - or downtown Chicago” but there’s infrastructure to get between all of those places more easily, and there’s probably only certain hotels teams would be staying at [and they’ve had rooms blocked off for a while now].
It’s about a month earlier than usual.
As I already stated, the draw is usually this early. Right after November International dates for a June/July World Cup.
Blame COVID, blame Qatar for getting this WC criminally, blame FIFA for accepting said bribery.
1 Like
I get it and am not saying it has to be this early, just giving a reason for why. I agree that it makes sense to wait until all teams are qualified.
Also in the past the draw always included where the game was going to be played, but it seems like this year it does not. The master file I linked above has the stadiums/time for each game, but not assigned teams (besides the 1st game being A1/Qatar vs A2 at noon on 11/21). I will give FIFA credit for trying to maximize game times for home audiences this year though.
For 2014 in Brazil, the US knew what day, what stadium, and what time they were playing the moment the draw happened. I remember all of the groans about playing in Manaus (and the US having the longest travel of any team).
1 Like