The national teams, split into 10 groups of 5 or 6, are competing for a total of 13 places in the final tournament. Each group winner will automatically qualify for Qatar, while the runners-up will enter play-offs to determine the remaining 3 places.
Ten sides have kicked off their qualifying campaigns with back-to-back victories in their first 2 fixtures, including England, Germany, Italy, and Denmark. The Three Lions eased to a 5-0 win over San Marino on Thursday before goals from Harry Kane and Mason Mount handed them a 2-0 victory in Albania Sunday night.
Reigning world champions France were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Ukraine on Wednesday, while European champions Portugal were also left frustrated by a 2-2 stalemate in Serbia. Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo was controversially denied a last-gasp winner when his shot – which appeared to cross the line – was cleared by a defender. With no goal-line technology or video assistant referees in effect his goal was disallowed, prompting the Juventus icon to storm off the pitch at the final whistle.
The majority of the matches were played behind closed doors, but 15,000 fans each were allowed to watch Spain’s 2-1 win over Georgia in Tbilisi and Russia’s victory against Slovenia in Sochi by the same scoreline. Israel’s home clashes with Denmark and Scotland were also watched by 5,000 spectators apiece at the Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv, as was the Netherlands’ 2-0 win over Latvia at the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam.
Stéphanie Frappart and Kateryna Monzul made history in the Netherlands’ meeting with Latvia on Saturday and Austria’s 3-1 victory over the Faroe Islands on Sunday, respectively, by becoming the first female referees to officiate men’s World Cup qualifiers. Frappart – who became the first woman to referee a men’s UEFA Champions League match in December – regularly takes charge of men’s games in Ligue 1, while Monzul officiates men’s games in the Ukrainian Premier League. Monzul and Frappart also refereed the 2015 and 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup finals, respectively.
Pierluigi Collina, the chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee, said: “Although they already had some matches in important men’s competitions under their belts, officiating a FIFA World Cup qualifier for the first time is special and is something to be very proud of. They have worked very hard in recent years and these appointments are recognition for the good job that they have done.”
The 2022 FIFA World Cup will run from 21 November to 18 December. It will not only be the first World Cup held in the Middle East, but also be the first time the competition has been held in the winter rather than the summer due to the host nation’s high temperatures. The 2022 edition will also be the last time the World Cup final tournament is contested by 32 teams, before the competition is expanded to 48 nations at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Hospitality tickets for the 2022 World Cup are already on sale. For the schedule and ticket prices, check out our FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 page.