April 1, 2022 - The 2022 World Cup draw was held in Doha tonight, revealing Croatia in Group F against Belgium, Morocco, and Canada. 

The draw for the World Cup groups was held today in Doha which started at 18:00 Croatia time. 

Croatia was in the second strongest group (Pot 2) based on the FIFA ranking from March 31. The only thing known apart from the ranking was that the host Qatar was automatically placed in Group A.

The rule is that there can be no more than two European teams in one group, and as for other continents, two teams from Asia, Africa, South America, or North and Central America cannot end up in the same group.

Croatia needed at least one draw at the Doha friendly tournament to secure their spot in the second pot, which they achieved already against Slovenia. 

Due to specific circumstances, this group draw was held when not all World Cup participants are known. So far, 29 national teams have qualified and three more are awaited. The list will be completed in June, after the completion of the remaining continental and intercontinental playoffs.

Another national team will come from Europe after Scotland and Ukraine meet in Glasgow. The winner of that match will play against Wales and the winner will be placed in one of the eight groups drawn today.

Peru is also will play against the winner of the Australia - United Arab Emirates match. One final playoffs pair is already known: Costa Rica - New Zealand.

2022 World Cup Pots

Pot 1: Qatar, Brazil, France, Belgium, Argentina, England, Spain, Portugal

Pot 2: Mexico, Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Uruguay, Switzerland, USA, Croatia

Pot 3: Senegal, Iran, Japan, Morocco, Serbia, Poland, South Korea, Tunisia

Pot 4: Cameroon, Ghana, Canada, Ecuador, Saudi Arabia, Wales or Scotland or Ukraine, Australia or the United Arab Emirates or Peru, Costa Rica or New Zealand

2022 World Cup draw:
Group A: Qatar, Netherlands, Senegal, Ecuador 

Group B: England, USA, Iran, Playoff winner (Wales or winner of Scotland - Ukraine)

Group C: Argentina, Mexico, Poland, Saudi Arabia

Group D: France, Denmark, Tunisia, Playoff winner (either Peru or winner of the Australia - United Arab Emirates match)

Group E: Spain, Germany, Japan, Playoff winner (Costa Rica or New Zealand)

Group F: Belgium, Croatia, Morocco, Canada 

Group G: Brazil, Switzerland, Serbia, Cameroon

Group H: Portugal, Uruguay, Korean Republic, Ghana 

Croatia opens the World Cup on November 23 against Morocco, followed by Canada on November 27, and Belgium in the last round on December 1. The exact timetables and stadiums where Croatia will play will be known later.

The World Cup in Qatar will be played from November 21 to December 18. This will be the last World Cup according to the current concept (32 national teams divided into eight groups of four). At the 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States, there will be 48 national teams.

To read more about sports in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

March 31, 2022 - The 2022 World Cup draw will be held on Friday, April 1, at 18:00 Croatia time. A look at who the Vatreni could face in the group stage. 

The last spots at the 2022 World Cup are slowly filling up. Earlier this week, we learned about seven new national teams that will compete in Qatar. Portugal and Poland have qualified from Europe, while Senegal, Ghana, Morocco, Tunisia, and Cameroon have passed through the African qualifiers.

The draw for the World Cup will be held on Friday, April 1, in Doha, and Croatia will be in the second strongest group (Pot 2), which means that Croatia will avoid some powerful national teams such as Germany, the Netherlands, Mexico, Uruguay and Denmark in Qatar.

The first strong group is the world's football superpowers - Brazil, France, Argentina, Spain, Belgium, England, and Portugal. The absolute best choice for Croatia would be to draw the host Qatar.

National teams such as the African champion Senegal, Serbia, and Poland threaten the third strong group. Finally, the last fourth strong group includes Canada, Cameroon, Ecuador, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, and three other national teams that have yet to qualify for the World Cup.

Teams from the same confederation cannot be in the same group except those from Europe because 13 European teams are at the World Cup.

The World Cup is played from November 21 to December 18 in Qatar.

"I have no big wishes. Our goal is to pass the group. I want to avoid France, and it would be better to draw Asian teams than European ones. But I am optimistic, and I believe in us no matter which team we draw," coach Zlatko Dalić said after Croatia played two friendly games in Doha against Slovenia and Bulgaria, drawing to Slovenia 1:1 and beating Bulgaria 2:1. 

"Congratulations to the boys on the victory that ended our successful seven-day stay in Doha, even though it was difficult to win, much harder than expected. It is good that we returned to the game after 0:1; all in all, we must be satisfied. The main goal was "team-building," but also the result. Everything turned out well; we kept our place in the second strong group. We will certainly make a more detailed analysis of these two games and prepare for June," Dalić said. 

The 2022 World Cup draw will be held on Friday at 18:00 Croatia time on HRT's Second Program.

Source: HRT

To read more about sports in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

March 27, 2022 - Croatia has secured Pot 2 in the 2022 World Cup draw after playing 1:1 against Slovenia on Saturday. 

After drawing 1:1 against Slovenia on Saturday, the Croatia national football team secured a place in the second strongest group in the 2022 World Cup draw. 

The draw for the World Cup will be held in Doha on Friday, April 1. The 2022 World Cup will be hosted by Qatar from November 21 to December 18 this year.

The International Football Federation (FIFA) has indicated that strong draw groups will be formed according to its ranking, which will be published on March 31. Since the qualifications are still not over on all continents and because Croatia is currently 15th in the FIFA rankings, one point from two games against Slovenia and Bulgaria was enough for Zlatko Dalić's side on this mini-tour in Doha.

Thus, Croatia's goal was achieved already in the first match against Slovenia, and now Croatia can anticipate the draw a bit more relaxed. 

Croatia has thus avoided some powerful teams by securing Pot 2. 

Namely, Croatia cannot meet Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, and Uruguay. Mexico and the United States should be added if those two national teams confirm their spot at the World Cup in the remaining two CONCACAF rounds. Potential opponents from Pot 1 are Qatar, Brazil, Belgium, France, Argentina, England, Spain, and Portugal, unless North Macedonia shocks them in the remaining qualifier. 

In Pot 3, Croatia is most likely threatened by Sweden, Egypt, Japan, Iran, Serbia, Morocco, Korea, and Poland. The last group will include Ecuador and Saudi Arabia for sure. 

Thirty-two national teams will play in eight groups of four teams at the World Cup. The top seeds in the draw will be the host Qatar plus the top seven ranked national teams in the FIFA rankings, announced on March 31. It will be the last World Cup with 32 national teams, and from 2026, 48 national teams will participate. Europe will have 13 representatives in Qatar, and there can be a maximum of two national teams from the same continent in each group.

Recall, the current World Champion is France (and Croatia the 2018 finalist), while we will not watch the current European champion Italy at the World Cup this year. 

To read more about sports in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

December 7, 2020 - Croatia draws Slovenia, Slovakia, Russia, Cyprus, and Malta in Group H of the European qualifications for the 2022 World Cup.

Croatia took part in the European qualification draw for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar at 6 pm tonight in Zurich. Fifty-five national teams will participate in the European qualifiers, divided into 10 groups - five groups with five national teams and five groups with six teams each. 

The winners of each group will go directly to the World Cup, and the ten runners-up and the two teams from the Nations League will play additional qualifications.

The 2018 World Cup finalists were placed into the pot of the strongest national teams. Thus, Croatia had no chance of being drawn into a group with Belgium, France, England, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands.

The qualifying cycle for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will run from March to November 2021, and the teams will play each team in their group at home and away. The ten group winners will qualify directly for the World Cup, and the ten runners-up will try to do the same in the playoffs, which will be played from March 24 to 29, 2022.

In addition to the ten runners-up from the group stage, the playoffs will also include the two best national teams in the overall standings of the UEFA Nations League for the 2020/2021 season, which will not directly qualify for the World Cup, nor will they win the playoffs as the second-placed teams in the group. Twelve teams in the playoffs will be divided into three "pots" and will fight for the three remaining European places at the World Cup in March 2022. 

The 2022 World Cup will be held from November 21 to December 18, 2022, in five Qatari cities (Doha, Lusail, Al Khor, Al Wakrah, Al Rayyan).

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.