2022 FIFA World Cup qualification

2022 FIFA World Cup qualification

Tournament details
Dates	6 June 2019 – 14 June 2022
Teams	206[note 1] (from 6 confederations)
Tournament statistics
Matches played	865
Goals scored	2,424 (2.8 per match)
Attendance	8,974,578 (10,375 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Ali Mabkhout (14 goals)
← 2018 2026 →

Part of a series on the
2022 FIFA World Cup
Hosting Bids Australia Indonesia Japan Qatar South Korea United States Broadcasting rights Venues Al-Bayt Stadium Al-Rayyan Stadium Al-Thumama Stadium Al-Wakrah Stadium Education City Stadium Khalifa International Stadium Lusail Stadium Stadium 974 map Opening ceremony
Qualification Overview Africa first round second round third round Asia first round second round third round fourth round Europe Nations League Group stage Group A Group B Group C Group D Group E Group F Group G Group H Group I Group J second round North and Central America first round second round third round Oceania South America Inter-confederation play-offs Australia vs Peru Costa Rica vs New Zealand Seeding
Matches Group stage Group A Group B Group C Group D Group E Group F Group G Group H Knockout stage Battle of Lusail Final
Controversies Overview Allegations of corruption and bribery "FIFA's Dirty Secrets" Garcia Report 2015 FIFA corruption case European Parliament corruption scandal Criticisms of Qatar's suitability to host Human rights issues Death of Marc Bennett Kafala system LGBT issues in Group B LGBT rights in Qatar OneLove Qatar diplomatic crisis
People Gianni Infantino Antonio Mateu Lahoz Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani Grant Wahl Squads Officials
Promotional and related media Adidas Al Rihla FIFA 23 downloadable content Music FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Official Soundtrack "Hayya Hayya (Better Together)" "Three Lions (It's Coming Home for Christmas)" "Tukoh Taka" "World Cup"
Media related to 2022 FIFA World Cup Preview warning: Commons link does not match Wikidata – please check at Wikimedia Commons
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The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification was the qualifying process which decided the 31 teams that would join hosts Qatar, who received an automatic spot, at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Parallel tournaments were organised by FIFA's six confederations. Qualification began on 6 June 2019 with several matches of the AFC zone, the first being between Mongolia and Brunei, and ended on 14 June 2022 with an inter-confederation play-off between Costa Rica and New Zealand.^{[note 2]} Mongolian player Norjmoogiin Tsedenbal netted the first goal, while the last one was scored by Joel Campbell of Costa Rica. In contrast to previous editions, there was no general preliminary draw, with confederations carrying out separate draws due to their differing timelines.^{[1][better source needed]} The qualification process suffered numerous postponements from March 2020 onwards due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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