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World Cup 2022 European Qualifiers: Who has qualified for Qatar? Group tables, standings, fixtures, dates

World Cup qualifying reaches business end - see our group-by-group state of play; watch games live on Sky Sports and follow via our dedicated live blogs, plus watch in-game clips and free match highlights on Sky Sports' digital platforms

Tuesday 16 November 2021 23:14, UK

It's crunch time on the road to Qatar 2022 for European nations - who has qualified and who is in position to reach next year's World Cup finals?

The winners of each group automatically qualify for the tournament, which runs from November 21 to December 18, 2022, and three more teams will seal their place at the end of the play-offs in March.

Who has qualified?

What are the groups?

Group A: Portugal, Serbia, Republic of Ireland, Luxembourg, Azerbaijan
Group B: Spain, Sweden, Greece, Georgia, Kosovo
Group C: Italy, Switzerland, Northern Ireland, Bulgaria, Lithuania
Group D: France, Ukraine, Finland, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Kazakhstan
Group E: Belgium, Wales, Czech Republic, Belarus, Estonia
Group F: Denmark, Austria, Scotland, Israel, Faroe Islands, Moldova
Group G: Netherlands, Turkey, Norway, Montenegro, Latvia, Gibraltar
Group H: Croatia, Slovakia, Russia, Slovenia, Cyprus, Malta
Group I: England, Poland, Hungary, Albania, Andorra, San Marino
Group J: Germany, Romania, Iceland, North Macedonia, Armenia, Liechtenstein

Group A - Ronaldo's Portugal into play-offs

It was a dramatic final game between Portugal and Serbia as the pair battled it out for top spot. A late Aleksandar Mitrovic strike saw Serbia through as Group A winners, condemning Portugal to a spot in the play-offs.

The Republic of Ireland finished as the best of the remainder of the group, beating Luxembourg in their final game to secure third spot. Their opponents finished joint on nine points, while Azerbaijan ended in final place.

Group B - Spain secure top spot

Spain left it late to assure their place as Group B winners, with Alvaro Morata's late goal proving enough to beat Sweden 1-0. Janne Andersson's side finished in second and will compete in the play-offs.

Greece, Georgia and Kosovo finished in the same respective order, with Greece and Kosovo drawing 1-1 in Sunday's final group game.

Group C - Italy fall into play-offs, Switzerland win group

In a dramatic and largely unexpected twist on Monday night, Italy's failure to win at Northern Ireland means Roberto Mancini's side are still yet to claim a place at next year's tournament.

Instead, the Euro 2020 winners will have to progress through the play-offs if they are to qualify for Qatar 2022.

Courtesy of their 4-0 thrashing of Bulgaria, it's Switzerland who are through as group winners.

Group D - France qualify as winners

France secured their qualification as Group D winners with an 8-0 thrashing of Kazakhstan.

The fight for second spot goes down to the final games on Tuesday though with Finland and Ukraine in with a shout. Ukraine head to Bosnia needing to win to stand any chance of overturning the gap to Finland, who host France.

Remaining fixtures:
November 16: Finland vs France - kick-off 7.45pm
November 16: Bosnia & Herzegovina vs Ukraine - kick-off 7.45pm

Group E - Belgium through, Wales into play-offs

Belgium sit at the top of the group and have qualified for Qatar.

Wales moved into second spot with a win over Belarus. They know a draw in their final game with Belgium will be enough for the runners-up berth to hold off Czech Republic, who need to beat Estonia to stand any chance of catching Wales.

However, Spain's 1-0 away win in Greece means Wales have at least a play-off semi-final place for the World Cup via their Nations League standings.

Wales were ranked fifth via the Nations League - but now Spain, France, Italy and Belgium will all either win their qualifying group or come second, which would secure a play-off spot.

If Wales fail to finish second in Group E, they will still be in the play-offs as an unseeded team, playing away.

Remaining fixtures:
November 16: Wales vs Belgium - kick-off 7.45pm
November 16: Czech Republic vs Estonia - kick-off 7.45pm

Group F - Scotland seeded for the play-offs

Denmark became the second European team to book their place at the 2022 World Cup as their 1-0 win over Austria last time continued their perfect record in Group F.

Scotland secured second spot - and a play-off place - with a 2-0 win over Moldova in their penultimate group game.

But, potentially crucially, Steve Clarke's side will be seeded for the play-offs after beating the Danes 2-0 at Hampden Park in the final round of group games.

Group G - Netherlands closing in

Three teams can still finish top of Group G with one game to spare.

Netherlands need just a point from their final game at home to Norway on Tuesday to finish top of the pile. However, if Norway were to beat Netherlands and Turkey win in Montenegro, then the Dutch would finish third in the group and miss out on another major tournament.

Turkey and Norway are both level on points with 18, two behind Netherlands.

Remaining fixtures:
November 16: Gibraltar vs Latvia - kick-off 7.45pm
November 16: Montenegro vs Turkey - kick-off 7.45pm
November 16: Netherlands vs Norway - kick-off 7.45pm

Group H - Croatia edge Russia to qualify

Croatia edged Russia 1-0 in their final World Cup Qualifier to nick first place and a spot in Qatar. Fedor Kudryashov's late own goal saw the 2018 runners-up through by a point, while Russia will go into the play-offs in March.

Slovakia and Slovenia both finished level on 14 points - Slovakia in third on goal difference - while Cyprus and Malta finished with five points apiece.

Group I - England through to Qatar

England are through to the World Cup after a thumping 10-0 win over minnows San Marino.

England progress as group winners while Poland enter the play-offs despite a 1-2 defeat to Hungary in their final qualifying game.

Group J - Germany through, N Macedonia into play-offs

Germany became the first European team to qualify for the 2022 World Cup by crushing North Macedonia 4-0 away in October to secure top spot in Group J with two games to spare. They followed this up with a 9-0 thrashing of Lichtenstein and 4-1 win away to Armenia in their final qualifier.

North Macedonia clinched second place with a 3-1 win over Iceland, securing themselves a spot in March's play-offs. Romania finished in third by one point.

Armenia, Iceland and Lichtenstein finished in fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.

World Cup 2022 Euro Qualifiers: All you need to know

How many European nations qualify?

A total of 13 slots in the final tournament are available for UEFA teams. The 55 teams have been split into five groups of five and five groups of six.

The winners of the 10 groups will qualify automatically for the finals, which for the first time will be played in November and December of 2022 to avoid the punishing summer heat in the Middle East.

What happens if you finish second in your group?

A further three places will be fought out between the 10 group runners-up and the two highest-ranked teams from the Nations League who have not already qualified or finished in a runners-up spot.

These 12 teams will be divided into three play-off paths, each featuring four countries, to determine the final three European berths. The format will consist of two knockout rounds from which the three additional teams qualify.

What is the World Cup format and schedule?

The 2022 World Cup in Qatar will feature 32 teams in eight groups of four.

Four matches will be played each day during the group stage, which will run over a 12-day period and see winners and runners-up progress to the round of 16.

Matches will only be assigned to particular venues after the finals draw, so organisers can choose optimal kick-off times to suit television audiences in different countries, as well as supporters out in Qatar.

The finals draw is scheduled to take place in April 2022, after the March window for international fixtures.

Unlike at Euro 2020, there will be a third-place play-off game on December 17.

Group stage: November 21- December 2
Round of 16: December 3-6
Quarter-finals: December 9/10
Semi-finals: December 13/14
Final: December 18

When will the matches kick off?

FIFA has confirmed the first two rounds of matches will kick off at 1pm, 4pm, 7pm and 10pm local time (10am, 1pm, 4pm and 7pm in the United Kingdom).

Kick-off times in the final round of group games and knock-out round matches will be at 6pm and 10pm local time (3pm and 7pm UK time).

The final is scheduled to kick off at 6pm local time (3pm UK time)

What are the venues?

The group games will take place across eight stadia: Al Bayt Stadium, Khalifa International Stadium, Al Thumama Stadium, Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, Lusail Stadium, Ras Abu Aboud Stadium, Education City Stadium, Al Janoub Stadium.

What happens to the Premier League in 2022/23?

The Premier League has confirmed key dates for the 2022/23 campaign, with the season adjusted to accommodate a World Cup that takes place in the middle of the domestic calendar.

The season will start a week earlier than normal on August 6 2022, with 16 matchdays taking place up to the weekend of November 12/13, before the tournament kicks off on November 21.

The Premier League will resume on Boxing Day following the World Cup final, which takes place on December 18.

The final match round of the 2022/23 season will be played on May 28 2023.