World Cup

The United States and Mexico have qualified for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, albeit in contrasting style.

The US are returning to the World Cup after the trauma of missing the 2018 tournament. The United States and Mexico have both booked tickets to this year's World Cup in Qatar in the final round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying. Costa Rica finished fourth in the standings and will face New Zealand in an intercontinental qualifier in Qatar in June for another spot at the finals.

Qatar is the next stop on the global tour of major sports events to nations led by autocratic governments who are often decried by human rights activists.

A tournament to foster unity. That calendar had to be adjusted to accommodate a World Cup being played in November and December for the first time, due to Qatar's fierce summer heat making it potentially dangerous to stage it in in the traditional June and July window. Then there's the fact that the 2010 FIFA vote that awarded the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 tournament to Qatar was fuelled by bribes, according to an investigation by the US Department of Justice.

Socceroos coach Graham Arnold has avoided the axe and will see out the remainder of Australia's World Cup campaign, which includes the dreaded play-off ...

Anything can happen in a one-off match and we've got to be positive that we can get the job done." "The board of Football Australia believed it was important that we provided a stable environment and to get on with planning for the play-off phase given the very short turn-around," Nikou said in a statement. "Our focus should be on supporting the team to make the World Cup. Why can't we make the World Cup? We've got to get through UAE and then it's another one-off game. Anything can happen in a one-off match and we've got to be positive that we can get the job done." "We've got to get behind the national team, we've got to get behind Graham," Popovic said at Thursday's announcement that Melbourne Victory will play Manchester United in July. "We're in the play-offs. "We're two games away from making a World Cup and the whole focus needs to be around supporting the national team and supporting the coach."

Every qualifier in mega guide to the World Cup draw... and who the Socceroos could face.

The winner of that match will then face Wales. The final simultaneous kick-off group stage games and knockout stage games will begin at 2am and 6am AEDT, with the final at 2am. Australia will face the UAE in a one-game playoff on June 7 (potentially June 8 AEST), for the right to face South American fifth-placers Peru a week later for a spot in Qatar. The World Cup will begin on Monday November 21, with Qatar to host the opening match of Group A at 9PM AEDT. Canada had already qualified for its first World Cup since 1986, with the USA and Mexico joining them on the final day of CONCACAF qualifying on Thursday (AEDT). The inter-confederation playoffs will be held on June 13 or 14 in Qatar, with the Asian playoff winner facing the South American fifth-place side, and the North American fourth-place side facing the Oceanic representative. The fourth pot will include the five lowest-ranked qualifiers plus placeholders for the two inter-confederation playoff winners and the remaining European playoff winner. The placeholders for the inter-confederation playoff winners (Asia v South America, North America v Oceania) will also be kept away from their confederation representatives. The 29 qualified teams will be placed into four pots based on their FIFA ranking as of March 31, with the exception of hosts Qatar, who automatically take the A1 spot in Pot 1. By the time the draw is conducted this weekend, 29 nations will have qualified, with the two inter-confederation playoff winners plus the final European qualifier (Wales, Scotland or Ukraine) to be decided in June during the international window. The World Cup draw will take place at 3am AEDT on Saturday April 2 in Doha, Qatar (7pm April 1 local time). The draw for the 2022 Qatar World Cup is set to be held this weekend, streamed on FIFA’s website early on Saturday morning Australian time - and on the plus side, the Socceroos are technically in the draw.

The first World Cup in the Middle East continues to edge closer with Qatar set to host the biggest tournament in international football at the end of the ...

Which teams will be in the World Cup draw? The World Cup group stage draw for 2022 will be held at the DECC venue in Doha, Qatar. Qatar 2022 will be historic as a first World Cup held in the Arab world and also due to the controversial decision to host the competition during winter.

The United States men's national team arrived at the Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica on Wednesday having all but qualified for the 2022 Fifa World Cup.

They pushed the ball forward and kept on the attack, but were slowed by fouls and tight defending. But the USA would never quite regain the momentum or control the pace of the match. The opening minutes of the second half saw the United States’ best chance on goal. As for the hosts, the atmosphere was celebratory and hopeful. The 35,062-seat bandbox was packed and cheering. Had lightning struck, the worst-case scenario was an intercontinental playoff with New Zealand in June.