The qualifying procedure for the 2022 FIFA World Cup was held to determine the 31 teams who would join hosts Qatar (who were granted an automatic berth) in Qatar for the tournament.
The six FIFA confederations each ran their championships simultaneously. The qualifying round kicked out on June 6, 2019, with various AFC zone matches, the first of which was between Mongolia and Brunei, and concluded on June 14, 2022, with a playoff between Costa Rica and New Zealand from the competing confederations.
The first officially noted goal was scored by Norjmoogiin Tsedenbal of Mongolia, and the final by Joel Campbell of Costa Rica. There was no centralised preliminary draw as in prior iterations; instead, confederations held their drawings at different times. From March 2020 forward, the certification procedure was repeatedly delayed because of the widespread COVID-19 epidemic.
Procedure for Eligibility For FIFA World Cup Qualifiers
All of FIFA’s now 211 member associations might have competed in the qualifying round, and Qatar automatically qualified for the tournament being the host. The first two rounds of Asian qualifying also served as qualification for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, so Qatar was obligated to compete.
Since Qatar won their group, the runners-up from the fifth-best group qualified for the AFC round of 16 after the first two editions in 1930 and 1934, a country whose national team has never competed in a final match of the World Cup, France, the current World Cup winners, competed in qualification as they usually would have.
Seven teams dropped out. Saint Lucia had initially qualified for CONCACAF but withdrew before the tournament began. Concerned about the spread of the deadly COVID-19 virus, North Korea also pulled out of the AFC second qualifying round.
Tonga pulled out following the 2022 Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption and tsunami, while American Samoa and Samoa did the same before the OFC qualifying draw. Vanuatu and the Cook Islands withdrew from the OFC qualifiers in Doha due to COVID-19 outbreaks in their respective teams.
On May 30 2015, after the FIFA Congress in Zürich, the FIFA Executive Committee addressed the distribution of berths for each confederation. For the games in 2018 and 2022, the committee agreed to maintain the same distribution as in 2006, 2010, and 2014.
Russia’s And FIFA’s Present Situation
Following RUSADA’s non-compliance for providing investigators with falsified lab data on December 9, 2019, the World Anti-Doping Agency first banned Russia from all major international sports events for four years. Athletes who were not implicated in doping or the coverup were allowed to participate by the WADA verdict. Since the ban only affects participation in the World Cup as a championship tournament, the Russian national team is free to compete in qualifying.
WADA’s ruling was appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, where it was affirmed, but with a reduced penalty of two years. The Sport Court of Arbitration upheld the practice of displaying the name “Russia” on uniforms provided that the terms “Neutral Athlete” or “Neutral Team” were also prominently displayed. Still, all major international competitions banned the Russian flag and anthem.
Due to Russia’s two-year suspension from all international championships and the Olympic Games, even if the country’s teams had qualified, the athletes could not compete under the country’s name alone, flag, or anthem at the World Cup.
FIFA banned the Russian national football team from playing home matches in Russia on February 27, 2022, after the Czech Republic, Poland, and Sweden threatened to boycott games in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Instead, the squad was forced to play matches in secret at neutral locations.
The squad also would not have been allowed to use the Russian flag or national song in competition and would have been forced to use the moniker “Football Union of Russia” (RFU). FIFA, however, stopped Russia’s participation on February 28 after the IOC’s recommendation.
However, they were handed a walkover when Poland was supposed to face Russia in a semi-final playoff game. They asked for the prohibition to be lifted temporarily on March 18; their plea was denied. It was stated that the Russian Football Union would file an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Format Of FIFA World Cup Qualifier
The qualification tournaments varied in format according to the confederation hosting them. It’s possible to play each round in one of two ways:
- Single round-robin games hosted by one of the competing teams or on a neutral territory are permissible under the league format, as are exceptions allowed by the FIFA Organising Committee.
- Matches between two teams are playing in a knockout style, with either one team travelling to play the other at their home field or each team playing at their opponent’s home field.
FIFA world cup qualifier by the FIFA Committee
Teams that tie for first place in their respective groups will be compared to each other based on criteria determined by the framework of the tournament and will need FIFA’s consent.
To advance in a knockout tournament, a team must have a more excellent total score from both legs. If both teams score the same goal amount, the away goals rule is used to choose a winner. In the event of a scoreless draw after 120 minutes of play, the game is decided by a penalty shootout. After the extra time, the away goals rule is used again.
The side that scored more goals away from home advances throughout the two legs. If both teams’ away goals totals are tied, 30 minutes of extra time will be played.
When the aggregate score is tied after extra time, the side that won the road game advances to the next round if they score more goals.
Final Words
These are all the details you need to know about the FIFA World cup qualifier and everything related to it. All the essential information about this championship has been provided above for your better understanding.
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