13 teams qualify for Qatar 2022

It is almost exactly one year until the opening kick-off in the 2022 Qatar World Cup, and the tournament take shape with 13 teams having officially qualified, report agencies.

The road to World Cup 2022 is well and truly under way, with the qualification stages heating up ahead of the tournament proper which takes place in December of next year.

And as the map to the finals continues, the identities of the teams participating in the tournament is steadily getting clearer.

In addition to that, the playoff brackets have almost been finalised, with a number of European teams finding out their fate over the course of the current international break.

Let's take a look which teams have qualified for World Cup 2022 so far.

Serbia, Denmark, Spain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Croatia, France, England, Belgium, Germany, Brazil, Argentina and Qatar have been qualified so far.

It will be Qatar's first appearance ever at a World Cup, although their nearest neighbours, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, have both participated before.

Qatar became the first nation to qualify for the 2022 World Cup automatically as hosts when they won the bid to host the tournament. It is their first appearance in the competition, never having qualified for the finals in the history of the World Cup.

Germany were the second team to qualify for the tournament after defeating North Macedonia in October 2021 and topping Group J.

Denmark also qualified in October after their 1-0 victory over Austria, cementing their status as Group F winners.

Brazil became the first South American nation to qualify after beating Colombia 1-0, ensuring their status as the only country to reach every World Cup finals continues.

Belgium qualified as Group E winners, while France also were confirmed as Group D winners on the same day. Croatia qualified as winners of Group H, beating Russia 1-0 in a winner-takes-all clash, while Spain topped Group B. Serbia, meanwhile, qualified at the expense of Portugal in Group A after beating Cristiano Ronaldo and Co. in the final qualifier.

England qualified on November 15 with their final qualifying game against San Marino - an emphatic 10-0 victory - which also involved Harry Kane scoring four goals. Switzerland secured automatic qualification on the same day as Group C winners, ahead of Italy.

Netherlands booked their spot in Qatar with the final play-off slot on November 16 through a 2-0 win over Norway. Argentina qualified in the evening through a draw against Brazil and a Chile defeat to Ecuador.

The draw for the tournament groups will take place on April 01, 2022, in Doha, and there will be 32 countries divided into their respective groups.

There are still 19 places yet to be finalised, although qualifying for those spots will run into June 2022.

Europe

Europe is the closest to finishing their qualifying campaign with 10 teams securing their place in the aforementioned draw.

Yet, there are some big hitters, including defending European champions Italy, who will need to progress through the playoff stage in order to qualify. Italy will be joined by Portugal, Sweden, Scotland, Russia, Wales and Austria in this miniature tournament.

South America

Brazil and Argentina are the only two teams to have officially qualified, whilst Ecuador and Colombia currently sit in the two remaining automatic places.

As things stand, Peru would go into the playoff.

Africa

There are many spots left to be claimed in the African section of qualifying, although 10 teams have already booked their place in an additional playoff.

Algeria, Tunisia, Nigeria, Cameroon, Mali, Egypt, Ghana, Senegal, Morocco and DR Congo will all battle it out to determine the five qualifiers from the continent.

Asia

Qatar are qualified as an Asian team, whilst Iran and South Korea are close behind them with points still needed.

Lebanon are hoping to bring some much needed relief to their country with qualification, and they sit fourth behind the United Arab Emirates.