What time is the World Cup 2022 draw and how does it work?

The 2022 World Cup finals draw is taking place in Qatar on Friday, with England waiting to find out who their opponents could be.

The Three Lions could face four-time winners Germany in the group stage, while Scotland and Wales will be in the draw but not necessarily at the main event – they still need to qualify.

With potentially two nations of the UK flying out to Qatar for the tournament this winter, all eyes will be on the four pots that will determine who faces who at 5pm UK time.

Here’s how it works and what you can expect.

How will the draw work?

Thirty-two teams will be drawn into eight groups of four, with teams divided into four pots based on their position in the FIFA world rankings published on Thursday.

Pot one will include the top ranked teams, while pot four holds the lowest-seeded. Teams in the same pot cannot be drawn together in the same group.

Where are England?

Gareth Southgate’s men are in pot one with the six other highest-ranked nations, plus hosts Qatar.

Who will they want to avoid?

The Netherlands, Germany and England’s 2018 World Cup conquerors Croatia are among the trickiest tests in pot two.

What about Scotland and Wales?

The conclusion of the play-off path featuring Scotland, Wales and Ukraine has been delayed to June because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

To overcome this in the draw, the three teams will be treated as one draw ‘placeholder’ and have been allocated to pot four alongside the lowest-ranked countries.

Are there any other places still to be determined?

Yes, the winners of the intercontinental play-offs which take place in June. Peru will take on either Australia or the United Arab Emirates, plus Costa Rica face New Zealand.

Are there any other draw rules to be aware of?

Qatar will be placed into Group A from pot one, with the other top seeds assigned to groups B through to H in turn.

Once placed in a group, they will be assigned a number in the group between one and four.

Qatar are automatically designated as A1, and will feature in the opening match of the tournament on November 21.

The pots will be emptied in turn, from pot one all the way down to pot four.

Can teams from the same continent be drawn together?

FIFA says that whenever possible teams from the same confederation will not be drawn together at the group stage, with the exception of Europe where each group can contain a maximum of two teams from the continent.

Anything else?

The match schedule will not be confirmed until after the group draw has taken place, to afford scope to provide suitable kick-off times for television audiences in the countries involved or for spectators in Qatar.

When does it all get started?

The finals get under way on November 21, and finish on December 18.

There will be up to four matches a day in the group stage. Matches at the group stage will kick off at 10am, 1pm, 4pm and 7pm UK time.