Turkey are drawn against the Netherlands and Norway, while Azerbaijan have Portugal and Republic of Ireland, and England will face Poland and Hungary in their qualification groups for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The draw for the European qualifiers was made by FIFA in Zurich earlier today, 7 December.

A total of 55 European national teams were split into ten groups, with half comprising of five teams and the other half of groups of six.

Turkey is in six-team Group G. Its World Cup opponents will be the Netherlands, Norway, Montenegro, Latvia, Gibraltar.

England are in Group I, a six-team line-up that also has Poland, Hungary, Albania, Andorra, and San Marino.

Azerbaijan, which is ranked as one of the weaker teams in Europe, is in Group A. They will be facing Portugal, Serbia, Republic ofIreland, and Luxembourg in their qualifiers.

The winners of each of the ten groups will qualify automatically for the finals in Qatar. A further three places will be fought out between the 10 group runners-up.

Two further places are up for grabs via the UEFA Nations League, open to the two highest-ranked teams who have not already qualified or finished in a runners-up spot.

The European qualifiers will be played between March and November 2021, with play-offs scheduled for March 2022.

Dates for Qatar 2022 World Cup

For the first time in its history, the World Cup tournament will be played in November and December of 2022 to avoid the severe summer heat in the Middle East.

The games for the Qatar World Cup will run from 21 November to 18 December 2022. The draw for the finals will take place in April 2022.

European Qualifier Groups for Qatar 2022 World Cup

Group A: Portugal, Serbia, Ireland, Luxembourg, Azerbaijan

Group B: Spain, Sweden, Greece, Georgia, Kosovo

Group C: Italy, Switzerland, Northern Ireland, Bulgaria, Lithuania

Group D: France, Ukraine, Finland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kazakhstan

Group E: Belgium, Wales, Czech Republic, Belarus, Estonia

Group F: Denmark, Austria, Scotland, Israel, Faroe Islands, Moldova

Group G: Netherlands, Turkey, Norway, Montenegro, Latvia, Gibraltar

Group H: Croatia, Slovakia, Russia, Slovenia, South Cyprus, Malta

Group I: England, Poland, Hungary, Albania, Andorra, San Marino

Group J: Germany, Romania, Iceland, North Macedonia, Armenia, Liechtenstein

 

Main photo, top, of Turkish national football team in FIFA 2018 World Cup qualifying game against Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, 02 Sep. 2017. Photo © Vlad1988 / Shutterstock