The upcoming FIFA World Cup in Qatar will not adopt the proposed 48-team format after all. The world’s football governing body had considered affecting the changes in the tournament to be held in Qatar, but results from a feasibility study showed that doing so would not be practical.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino first made the proposal suggesting that increasing the number of participating teams from 32 to 48 would be a major step towards healing the hostilities experienced in the Middle East. The expansion plans centered on sharing matches with neighboring countries such as Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia, in order to build bridges.
Qualifiers
In 2018, France won the FIFA World Cup in Russia, but the qualifying matches for the 2022 Qatar edition are set to begin in earnest in the coming weeks. As always, it is going to be a tough call with online sports betting, with so many nations taking part in the qualifiers.
A total of 211 teams, representing six confederations are expected to begin the qualifying journey, with Qatar the only qualified nation by virtue of being the hosts. A few continental organizations are yet to finalize the plans for the qualifying process, but a special interest will be on UEFA, which has produced the majority of winners in the most recent tournaments.
There are 55 UEFA affiliates, all of whom will be expected to take part in the qualifying draw for the Qatar party.
Following the launch of the Nations League, UEFA is yet to clarify the format that will be used in vetting teams. Previously, teams were drawn in groups, with the winners securing automatic berths. However, there have been talks of using the Nations League second season to identify the entries. It will be noted that the Euro 2020 qualifiers were decided by the first edition of the Nations League, which was won by hosts Portugal.
The Netherlands conspicuously missed the 2018 edition in Russia, but you can bet with Betway they will be in Qatar. France, Germany, Italy, Croatia, Spain, England, and Belgium are other nations tipped to grace the tournament.
All eyes will be on the host continent of Asia. Syria, Australia, Iraq, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Japan, Vietnam, and Turkmenistan top their respective groups, but there will be changes going forward as we get to the second leg of matches.
South America has maintained the same qualifying procedure of a 10-nation pool, where each team takes on all others on a home and away basis. It will be interesting to see how perennial rivals Brazil and Argentina fare on this one, and you can bet on all matches with Betway.
Africa will be represented by 5 teams in the upcoming event, with the first round of matches set to commence in a few weeks. Previously, CAF has been represented by the usual suspects, namely, Nigeria, Cameroon, Algeria, Cameroon, Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal, Egypt, Ghana, and Ivory Coast. It is a chance for other national teams to step up and compete at the highest level of football, but bookies have the favorites drawn exclusively from this same lot.
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