The FIFA World Cup is one of the most anticipated event in the world. It’s the biggest stage for world football which has been going on since 1930. The first edition of the World Cup was helf in 1930 in Uruguay. 13 teams (7 from South America, 4 from Europe, and 2 from North America) competed in this tournament.
Uruguay managed to beat Argentina 4-2 in the World Cup final to be crowned as the first ever winners of the FIFA World Cup. Since then the tournament has expanded to include even more teams from across the world. The latest editionof this tournament tookplace in 2018 and included 32 teams. 5 teams from AFC federation, 5 from CAF, 3 from CONCACAF, 5 from CONMEBOL, 0 from OFC and 14 from UEFA were included.
How Many Teams Are In The World Cup?
The 2022 FIFA World Cup will also have 32 teams participating in it. All 32 teams have already been decided through various playoffs and other qualification procedures. Talks about expanding the number of participants to 48 went on for a long time and it has finally been confirmed that the 2026 FIFA World Cup will feature 48 teams. This years qualified teams includes 6 teams from AFC federation, 5 from CAF, 4 from CONCACAF, 4 from CONMEBOL, 0 from OFC and 13 from UEFA.
What Qualifies A Team For World Cup?
UEFA(Europe):
Qualification for the UEFA confederation ran from March to November 2021. 55 nations competed in 10 different groups to try and qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The 10 winners got straight qualification into the FIFA World Cup, whereas the runner ups as well as 2 best ranked teams from UEFA Nations league who were unable to qualify for the World Cup got another chance to do so via playoffs. There were 3 different routes and the winner of each qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
CONCACAF(North America, Central America, Caribbean)
Teams ranked 6-35 compete in 6 different groups of 5 people each. The 6 winners progress to the next round. The 6 winners then play home and away games in an elimination format and the 3 winners progress to the final round.
These 3 teams then join the teams ranked 1-5 and play a home game and an away game against all the teams, making it 14 matches per team. The top 3 teams after this round qualify straight for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the 4th placed team gets to play an international playoff match to determine if they will go to the World Cup.
CONMEBOL(South America)
All 10 nations play against each other home and away. The top 4 teams qualify for the FIFA World Cup whereas the 5th placed team plays an intercontinental playoff against the winner of the AFC playoffs to see who makes it through to the World Cup.
CAF(Africa)
The 28 lowest ranked teams play 2-legged ties against one another. The 14 winners then join the other 26 teams. These 40 teams are divided into 10 groups of 4 with each group winner advancing to the final round. In the final round these 10 teams go head to head in 5 different 2-legged ties with the winners qualifying for the World Cup.
AFC(Asia)
The 12 lowest ranked teams play 2-legged ties against each other. The 6 winners then join the other 34 teams. These 40 teams are then divided into 5 groups of 8 teams each. This year Qatar is the host and have already automatically qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, so 7 group winners(as Qatar was the eight) along with 5 best runner ups advanced to the final round.
The 12 teams are divided into 2 groups of 6 with the winner and runner up of both groups qualifying for the World Cup. The third placed teams of both groups face off against each other with the winner qualifying for the intercontinental playoffs.
OFC(Oceania)
The 2 lowest ranked teams playoff against each other. The winner then joins the remaining 7 teams to be split into 2 groups of 4. The top 2 teams in each groups progresses to the final round. The final 4 teams play against each other in a semi-final, final format, with the winner qualifying for the intercontinental playoffs.
Intercontinental Playoffs
AFC vs CONMEBOL
CONCACAF vs OFC
FIFA World Cup Teams
Below are all the qualified FIFA World Cup teams in their respective groups:
