The highly-anticipated draw for the 2022 World Cup was held on Friday evening, as those nations from across the globe to have sealed their respective spots at the Qatar showpiece discovered their fates.

The procedure saw the 32 teams involved (or in this case, 29, plus those to follow) divided up into four pots, each containing the names of eight countries.

From here, pot one was drawn from first, followed by pot two, and so forth.

This, in turn, saw each nation allocated a spot in one of eight groups, labelled from A to H.

So, who got who?

2022 World Cup draw: England face potential home nations clash, Messi’s Ballon d’Or showdown & more

Group A World Ranking
Qatar
51
Ecuador
46
Senegal
20
Netherlands
10
Group B World Ranking
England
5
Iran
21
United States
15
Wales or Scotland/Ukraine
18 or 39/27

Gareth Southgate’s England will no doubt be thanking their lucky stars, after being handed what they will view as a relatively straightforward assignment, up against the United States of America, Iran and, notably, one of home nations Wales or Scotland, should either advance past Ukraine.

Elsewhere, champions France will too fancy their chances, ahead of meetings with Denmark, Tunisia and the winners of Peru’s playoff clash with Australia.

Group C World Ranking
Argentina
4
Saudi Arabia
49
Mexico
9
Poland
26
Group D World Ranking
France
3
Peru or Australia/UAE
22 or 42/68
Denmark
11
Tunisia
35

Also worth highlighting is the incoming showdown between the victor and runner-up from this year’s Ballon d’Or ceremony, with Lionel Messi’s Argentina primed to take on Robert Lewandowski and Poland, as well as Mexico and Saudi Arabia.

Elsewhere, Cristiano Ronaldo’s talent-laden Portugal will go head-to-head with Uruguay, Ghana and South Korea, whilst hosts Qatar will do well to emerge from a group featuring African champions Senegal, a resurgent Netherlands and Ecuador.

Group E World Ranking
Spain
7
Costa Rica or New Zealand
31 or 101
Germany
12
Japan
22
Group F World Ranking
Belgium
2
Canada
38
Morocco
24
Croatia
16

When is the World Cup?

The first-ever winter World Cup finals will be kicked into gear on November 21st, 2022 at 10am BST.

The tournament’s opening fixture is set to feature hosts Qatar, taking on South American outfit Ecuador, as part of Group A.

Group G World Ranking
Brazil
1
Serbia
25
Switzerland
14
Cameroon
37
Group H World Ranking
Portugal
8
Ghana
60
Uruguay
13
South Korea
29

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