World Cup draw 2022: Final Draw Live Updates
The draw for this year's FIFA World Cup takes place in the shadow of Doha's skyscrapers on Friday, with the focus for the evening on the actual football after a build-up dominated by the many off-field issues surrounding the awarding of the tournament.
Friday's event at Doha's Exhibition and Convention Center, with former World Cup winners such as Cafu and Lothar Matthaeus among the draw assistants, will have holders France among the top seeds in Pot One.
That will be comprised of the top seven nations in the FIFA rankings as well as debutants Qatar, at 51st one of the lowest-ranked teams at the World Cup but with privileged status as hosts.
World number one nation Brazil, Belgium, Lionel Messi's Argentina, England, Spain and Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal are the other top seeds, with the latter benefiting from European champions Italy's absence.
That also means Germany, after their surprise group-stage exit at the 2018 World Cup, are the biggest name in Pot Two, which also contains the Netherlands and Croatia, runners-up four years ago. African champions Senegal, Japan and Robert Lewandowski's Poland are among the names in the third pot, and Canada will be in the fourth pot in their first appearance since 1986.
FIFA World Cup 2022 Final Draw Live Blog
England to face Iran
Iran are drawn first out of Pot 3 but cannot meet Qatar.
So they instead go into Group B alongside England and USA.
Southgate is shown making notes in the audience.
Croatia will face Belgium in another exciting clash. The Croatians have entered Group F.
Switzerland will face Brazil in Group G and Uruguay go into Group H alongside Portugal.
Here's how the Groups look
Group A: Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands
Group B: England, Iran, USA, European play-off winner
Group C: Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland
Group D: France, Inter-Continental Play-off 1 Winner, Denmark, Tunisia
Group E: Spain, Inter-Continental Play-off 2 Winner, Germany, Japan
Group F: Belgium, Canada, Morocco, Croatia
Group G: Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, Cameroon
Group H: Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, South Korea
Here's how the Groups look
Group A: Qatar, , , Netherlands
Group B: England, , USA
Group C: Argentina, , Mexico
Group D: France, , Denmark
Group E: Spain, , Germany
Group F: Belgium, , , Croatia
: Hosts Qatar drawn in Group A, England In Group B, Argentina In Group C, defending champions France in Group D, Spain in Group E, Belgium in Group F, Brazil in Group G and Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal in Group H.
-: Two-time World Cup winner from Brazil Cafu, Nigerian star Jay-Jay Okocha, Germany's Lothar Matthäus who has played the most World Cup matches ever and a winner in 1990, Qatar's Malalla, Iran's record goal scorer Ali Daei, Australian Tim Cahill among footballing legends on stage
- French national team coach Didier Deschamps is on the stage and he brings with him the World Cup trophy that his team won in 2018. Deschamps had won the trophy as captain of the French team in 1998 and was the manager in 2018.
-A video tribute being paid to football stars of the past who died recently. Argentine legend Diego Maradona, German goal machine Gerd Muller and Italian forward Paolo Rossi among those who were paid tribute
-FIFA president Gianni Infantino addresses the gathering. He makes a plea for peace and asks for an end to the conflict, without directly mentioning the Ukraine crisis that continues even today.
- Time for song and dance before the draw begins. The 2022 FIFA World Cup theme song 'Better Together' being performed by Trinidad Cardona, Davido and Aisha
-Famous Egyptian actress Sherihan is on stage and addressing the gathering
-The coverage has started and we are about to know the groupings
-We are just moments away from the start of the draw. It is a big moment for the teams participating in the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the fans who will eagerly waiting to know which teams will their nation face in the group stages
