2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar - UEFA Qualifiers

[tyKiwanuka]

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_FIFA_World_Cup_qualification_(UEFA)#/media/File:UEFA_Euro_2016_qualifying.png

The Groups

The draw for the UEFA World Cup Qualifying stages took place in Zurich today. These are the groups:


Source: https://editorial.uefa.com/resources/0264-1108c702e548-758110ebe57c-1000/draw_result_sheet.pdf


The Format

The 10 group winners will have secured their ticket to the "Winter World Cup" in Qatar in 2022. Second placed teams will advance to the Play-Offs and fight for three additional spots. The Play-Offs will feature 12 teams with Semi-Finals and Finals. Now one could wonder: There are only 10 groups and thus only 10 second placed teams, how can 12 teams participate ? This is where the very well liked UEFA Nations League will come into play, because the two best UNL group winners, who finished outside top two in their respective WC Qualifying group from above, will get these spots (source). And these are the group winners and their overall UNL rankings, which is important as well:


Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_FIFA_World_Cup_qualification_(UEFA)

So lets say FRA & BEL Top2 in their groups, but ITA only finishes third in theirs. Then Italy would still go into PO via the UNL rule. Now it's very unlikely for the big nations to finish outside Top2, but for the smaller nations, this is a nice safety net and could also lead to nice betting opportunities. If we look at Group E and assume Belgium finishes Top2, then you have either Wales (and/or maybe Czech Republic) already having secured their PO spot and probably not caring about their last match(es) - if FRA/ITA/ESP finish Top2 in their groups as well.


Source: https://editorial.uefa.com/resources/0264-1108c702e548-758110ebe57c-1000/draw_result_sheet.pdf


The Schedule


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_FIFA_World_Cup_qualification_(UEFA)

Still some days to go, lets see, if around that time there will already be (more) spectators

Don't see any of the big teams struggling to finish in top two places in their group. If I had to pick one, it would probably be Italy with Switzerland/Northern Ireland in the group, who both can be tough to beat. Netherlands have some problems from time to time, but Turkey/Norway too weak in the end I guess. Groups F and H look pretty interesting.

Happy discussing and good luck with your bets

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[sempak]

I'm not sure yet who has drawn the most heavily. All top countries were already in poule 1. The Netherlands was missing at the last World Cup and European Championship.
They now have a nice team. Just the attack isn't that impressive at the moment. France seems to me to be the favorite for the title. Germany initially too, but that 6-0? had been a hard punch from Spain.

[LTU_btc]

World Cup qualifiers is a bit more interesting thing than EURO qualifiers simply because less teams can qualify. And I think we may see few big teams failing to qualify - ruuner-ups of each group won't qualify directly, they will have to play in playoffs.
H group teams were drawn according to colors of flags. Just look at flags of Russia, Slovenia, Slovakia and Croatia .
For us (Lithuania) group is not great, not terrible. In best scenario we can fight for 3rd place, but we can also end with 0 points in the group .

[minatour]

I believe 2022 world Cup qualifiers game will be full of surprises as some expected team won't make it to Qatar, don't be surprise if you see some favorite team failing to secure the ticket to Qatar. It will definitely be a very tight and interesting tournament to watch.

[Sithara007]

Still almost 4 months to go for the start of the qualifying tournament, so it will be a bit premature to talk about the betting odds. A total of 13 slots are available, but some of the major teams are placed in tough groups. For example, Sweden, Greece and Spain are placed in Group B (third placed team won't be able to qualify). As mentioned by the OP, group E is perhaps the toughest (Belgium, Wales, Czechia). Group H is also very strong, with Croatia, Slovakia and Russia being included in that group. Another tough group is Group J, which have Germany, Romania and Iceland.

[Lakai01]

Group H is also very strong, with Croatia, Slovakia and Russia being included in that group. Another tough group is Group J, which have Germany, Romania and Iceland.

I also find Group F very balanced and exciting. Denmark is in my opinion the worst team from pot 1, from the top 4 teams in group F (Denmark, Austria, Scotland, Isreal) each team can beat any other team:



Austria is currently playing very good soccer and has now qualified for a rank up in the Nations League. So I definitely think they can win the group.

So these will be very balanced and exciting games. I'm already looking forward to the qualification games.

[tyKiwanuka]

As mentioned by the OP, group E is perhaps the toughest (Belgium, Wales, Czechia).

I didn't say it's the toughest - that is probably Group F, if you judge by how contested the top two spots will be - but Group E could lead to an interesting scenario, since you have two high-ranked UNL group winners in there. Lets say FRA/BEL/ITA/ESP/AUT are a safe Top2 in their groups by matchday 7, then Wales and Czech Republic will have secured their PO spot already at least and might not be super interested/motivated in the remaining games no more (if they can't reach 1st place anyway no more, which can be assumed with BEL probably winning all games). Then you could see Belarus/Estonia pulling some upsets against Wales/Czech Republic

Another tough group is Group J, which have Germany, Romania and Iceland.

Group J is the poorest group actually for me. Iceland has lost a bit of its magic, Romania is struggling since a long time and North Macedonia did qualify for Euro 2020 which is a very nice accomplishment for them, but they are still a small football nation. And Armenia and Liechtenstein, well.....

[adamvp]

Some interesting groups, many interesting matches are coming, but it is hard to pick one "group of death".
It will be rather battle for second place in many groups to qualify to play-offs . For now teams from 1st seed are imho favorites in every group

[covfefe_]

Much of it are balanced group with further chances left for 2nd team. Group B is going to be one of the largest disappointment as one of Spain (not likely), Sweden or Greece would surely miss the world cup. Other groups are easy to guess unless we have some unfortunate results just like what we're seeing in some popular leagues.

[Vishnu.Reang]

Much of it are balanced group with further chances left for 2nd team. Group B is going to be one of the largest disappointment as one of Spain (not likely), Sweden or Greece would surely miss the world cup. Other groups are easy to guess unless we have some unfortunate results just like what we're seeing in some popular leagues.

Greece is one of my favorite teams and it will be sad if they fail to qualify. Things are also looking tough for Iceland, unless they manage to beat either Romania or Germany. Also, Russia may struggle to qualify from the Group H, where Croatia and Slovakia are the favorites. And this is one of the reasons why I think the format for the 2026 World Cup is better. 48 teams will be participating during the 2026 edition, including 16 from UEFA.

[adamvp]

Russia aren't such good as few seassons earlier, they have many problems, including Artiom's Dzyuba- their capitan - issue, they performed very bad in last UEFA Nations League etc..  I think their  appearance in 2018 World Cup was their best in next 10years.

[alegotardo]

These qualifiers are almost a world cup .... 55 teams competing for only 13 places, is that great event that the whole world (in fact, only those who like football) stops to watch, because from here we will already have an idea of what to expect for the great championship.

In my opinion, that almost all groups were very well distributed, now for France it is easy to guarantee your place... Ukraine, Finland, Bosnia and Kazakhstan in your group.

[adamvp]

But it is little difference comparing to previous  qualifiers, when it was less groups with  6 or even 7 teams, among which  2 worldclass teams in almost every group. Now we have  one top team a group, but it could change  because many teams have big potential and maybe they start to unleash it in this qualifiers!

[cygan]

and it has almost become a tradition that in the qualifying games for the world cup and european championschip, poland and england find themselves in one group.
up to now there have been 17 matches between the two nations (12 wc-qualifiers, 1 wc game, 4 ec-qualifiers)



a second victory for poland against england is definitely to be considered next year

[Altryist]

 

I really like the National Team of Ukraine, but I think that France will take first place in Group D. I don't like long-term bets, but here the outcome is so obvious that you can place a bet if someone makes long-term forecasts. For France, the group is very simple, I even think that it has a chance to win all the matches in the group.

[nasipadang]

I really like the National Team of Ukraine, but I think that France will take first place in Group D. I don't like long-term bets, but here the outcome is so obvious that you can place a bet if someone makes long-term predictions. For France, the group is very simple, I even think that it has a chance to win all the matches in the group.

France will always be the favorite with this team. Should qualify without any difficulties. I just don't think they are really much better now as teams like Brazil and Belgium.
England, Germany and Spain are also all close by. Argentina has a very strong team on an individual basis but as a collective they always fail.

[Febo]

I wonder how many times they will mix flags. Some sport casino should set that bet up.   Also how many points will Cyprus and Malta have?

[Altryist]

France will always be the favorite with this team. Should qualify without any difficulties. I just don't think they are really much better now as teams like Brazil and Belgium.
England, Germany and Spain are also all close by. Argentina has a very strong team on an individual basis but as a collective they always fail.

Of course, France is always the favorite, but very often it happens that there are two top teams in the group, like France and Portugal, Germany and Spain, but here the French team has no serious rivals.

Germany now has some difficulties in the team, the conflict between the head coach and the top players is still ongoing and this significantly affects the results. In Spain, there is a new generation joining the team and this makes the national team's play a little unstable, but I think everything will change for the better soon. England is a phenomenon for me, because at the group stage it can go through without a single defeat, but at the playoffs it crashes at early stages.

[Sithara007]

These qualifiers are almost a world cup .... 55 teams competing for only 13 places, is that great event that the whole world (in fact, only those who like football) stops to watch, because from here we will already have an idea of what to expect for the great championship.

In my opinion, that almost all groups were very well distributed, now for France it is easy to guarantee your place... Ukraine, Finland, Bosnia and Kazakhstan in your group.

Yes.. for the 2022 tournament, 13 of the teams from UEFA are going to qualify. For the 2026 edition, it is going to be 16. But still I have to say that the European teams got a rough deal for 2026. Currently they are having 13 qualification slots out of 32 (40.6%). And this will be reduced to 33.3%. In understand that FIFA want more Asian and African teams in the tournament, to make it diverse. But they need to ensure the quality as well. For example, during the 2018 edition the worst performance came from teams such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

[alegotardo]

Yes.. for the 2022 tournament, 13 of the teams from UEFA are going to qualify. For the 2026 edition, it is going to be 16. But still I have to say that the European teams got a rough deal for 2026. Currently they are having 13 qualification slots out of 32 (40.6%). And this will be reduced to 33.3%. In understand that FIFA want more Asian and African teams in the tournament, to make it diverse. But they need to ensure the quality as well. For example, during the 2018 edition the worst performance came from teams such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

I agree with you.
It's very good that FIFA tries to diversify its tournament in order to give a chance to more teams around the world, but we are talking about a tournament among the best in the world.

I believe that there should be a kind of score for each continent (I don't know how it could be calculated) and the higher it is, the more teams should be qualified for the world cup.
Of course, keeping a minimum number according to the size of the continent and/or the number of countries, so that it isn't too unfair and break this diversity that FIFA... because, if select only the best in the world, the world cup will be a tournament between Europeans and Brazil