2022 FIFA World Cup qualification — qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup
A global qualification process determined 31 of 32 teams for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, spanning three years and six confederations.
Key Facts
- Teams qualified
- 31 (plus hosts Qatar)
- Qualification start
- 6 June 2019
- Qualification end
- 14 June 2022
- First match
- Mongolia vs Brunei
- First goal scorer
- Norjmoogiin Tsedenbal (Mongolia)
- COVID-19 postponements
- From March 2020 onwards
By the Numbers
Cause → Event → Consequence
FIFA requires all national teams except the host nation to compete in confederation-based qualifying tournaments to earn one of the limited places at the World Cup. Qatar, as host, received an automatic berth, leaving 31 spots to be contested across six confederations beginning in June 2019.
Six FIFA confederations organized parallel qualifying tournaments, starting with an AFC match between Mongolia and Brunei on 6 June 2019. The process was repeatedly disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic from March 2020 and concluded on 14 June 2022 with an inter-confederation play-off between Costa Rica and New Zealand.
Thirty-one nations secured berths at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Costa Rica defeated New Zealand in the final play-off to claim the last available spot, completing the tournament field after a qualification cycle prolonged by pandemic-related postponements.