The World Cup Is a Feeling, One That Money Cant Buy The New York Times
Egypt, Panama, Colombia, Peru, Iceland and Sweden, all of whom qualified for the 2018 World Cup, also did not qualify for the 2022 tournament. FIFA's six continental confederations organise their own qualifying competitions. All FIFA member associations, of which there are currently 211, were eligible to enter qualification. Qatar, as hosts, qualified automatically for the tournament. Saint Lucia initially entered qualification but withdrew from it before their first match. North Korea withdrew from the qualifying round due to safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Tonga withdrew after the 2022 Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai eruption and tsunami. Due to COVID-19 outbreaks in their squads, Vanuatu and Cook Islands also withdrew because of the travel restrictions. For the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, the final tournament is rotated between confederations, allowing only countries from the chosen confederation to bid to host the tournament. Each group plays a round-robin tou...