FIFA World Cup 2022 Group Stage Draw: Live Streaming, Date, Time in IST, Teams, Format - All You Need to Know

Bengaluru, March 28: The group stage draw for the 22nd edition of the FIFA World Cup (Qatar 2022) will take place at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center in Doha, Qatar on Friday (April 1).

A total of 32 teams will make it to the final stage of the FIFA World Cup 2022 following their respective continental confederations qualification rounds. However, Qatar as hosts directly qualify for the group stages.

29 teams have been confirmed so far with the remaining three - the intercontinental play-off winners and UEFA Path A play-off winner - being decided at a later date. However, the three teams will still be part of the draw on April 1 as placeholders.

In the draw, 32 teams will be divided in four pots based on their FIFA World Rankings with hosts Qatar taking position 1 in Group A, while the 7 best ranked teams will join Qatar in Pot 1.

Pot 2 will contain the teams ranked 8 to 15, while the next best eight teams (16-23) will be placed in pot 3. Pot 4 will contain the three placeholder teams along with the lowest ranked (24-28) teams.

Teams from the same confederation cannot be drawn into the same group except for UEFA teams, for which there can be at least one and no more than two per group.

Now, let's take a look at the teams that have qualified for the group stage draw alongside the timing and telecast information:

Teams qualified for Qatar 2022 (As of March 31)

1. Argentina

2. Belgium

3. Brazil

4. Canada

5. Cameroon

6. Croatia

7. Denmark

8. Ecuador

9. England

10. France

11. Germany

12. Ghana

13. Iran

14. Japan

15. Mexico

16. Morocco

17. Netherlands

18. Poland

19. Portugal

20. Qatar

21. Saudi Arabia

22. Senegal

23. Serbia

24. South Korea

25. Spain

26. Switzerland

27. Tunisia

28. Uruguay

29. USA

POTS BASED ON MARCH 31 FIFA RANKING

What time will the Qatar 2022 Group Stage Draw start?

The draw will start at 7 PM Local Time (9:30 PM IST) on Friday (April 1).

Where and how to watch the Qatar 2022 Group Stage Draw?

Viacom 18 have attained the rights to broadcast the event in India. History TV18 HD will telecast the draw live in India with VOOTSelect live streaming the event for premium subscribers. The broadcast will start at 9:30 PM IST.

Additionally, FIFA will be live streaming the Qatar 2022 group stage draw on all its platforms, including official website, YouTube and social media channels.

When will Qatar 2022 start and when is the final scheduled to take place?

The World Cup is scheduled to start on November 21, 2022 and will conclude with the final on December 18, 2022.