January 26, 2022
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January Window Sees FIFA 2022 World Cup Qualifiers Resume

The January international window is due to start shortly, and with it, the FIFA 2022 World Cup qualifier competitions for three of the six football confederations will recommence. The qualification tournaments for Asian, North, Central American, Caribbean, and South American teams are in their final stages. By the end of the break, some of the remaining squads may have qualified; some will be one step closer to their World Cup dreams; others may be resigned to their next chance of World Cup glory in 2026.

Find out who is playing, where and when this January break:

Competition Stage

The qualification tournaments for AFC, CONCACAF and CONMEBOL each have two windows left to finalise their teams for the World Cup in Qatar this November.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) teams are currently in the midst of the third and final round of qualifiers, with just four matchdays until completion. Twelve teams, divided into two groups of six, are contesting the top four slots to win their places at the 2022 tournament. The two third-placed teams will meet again in a fourth-round in May/June to determine who goes through to the inter-confederation playoffs for another chance at qualifying. The Asian teams will play out two of their final four matches during the January break. The last bouts of the tournament will be played in March. Currently, The Standings are as follows:

Group A - Standings
TEAMPOINTSGOAL DIFFERENCE
IranPOINTS16GOAL DIFFERENCE9
South KoreaPOINTS14GOAL DIFFERENCE6
United Arab EmiratesPOINTS6GOAL DIFFERENCE-1
LebanonPOINTS5GOAL DIFFERENCE-2
IraqPOINTS4GOAL DIFFERENCE-6
SyriaPOINTS2GOAL DIFFERENCE-6
GROUP B - Standings
TEAMPOINTSGOAL DIFFERENCE
Saudi ArabiaPOINTS16GOAL DIFFERENCE6
JapanPOINTS12GOAL DIFFERENCE2
AustraliaPOINTS11GOAL DIFFERENCE5
OmanPOINTS7GOAL DIFFERENCE7
ChinaPOINTS5GOAL DIFFERENCE5
VietnamPOINTS0GOAL DIFFERENCE0

The North, Central America, and the Caribbean (CONCACAF) teams are also in their concluding round with just six matches from fourteen left to play. The third round consists of the continent's top five football teams, as of July 2020, and the three winners of the competition's earlier second round. The eight squads are playing a series of home and away round-robin matches. The top three teams will take their place at the 2022 tournament. The fourth-placed team will enter the June 2022 inter-confederation playoffs. The January window will see CONCACAF teams play three of their final six matches. The last games of the competition will be played in March. Currently, The Standings are as follows:

TEAMPOINTSGOAL DIFFERENCE
CanadaPOINTS16GOAL DIFFERENCE8
USAPOINTS15GOAL DIFFERENCE7
MexicoPOINTS14GOAL DIFFERENCE4
PanamaPOINTS14GOAL DIFFERENCE2
Costa RicaPOINTS9GOAL DIFFERENCE-1
JamaicaPOINTS7GOAL DIFFERENCE-4
El SalvadorPOINTS6GOAL DIFFERENCE-6
HondurasPOINTS3GOAL DIFFERENCE-10

The South American (CONMEBOL) teams, organised into a league playing a round-robin of eighteen home and away matches, have just four matchdays remaining. Two of CONMEBOL’s teams, Brazil and Argentina, have already won their qualification spots to Qatar on points and several games left to play. Two slots remain open for direct qualification to the 2022 tournament and one for the June playoffs. CONMEBOL teams will play two of their final four games this January window. The last matches of the competition will be played in March. Currently, The Standings are as follows:

TEAMPOINTSGOAL DIFFERENCE
Brazil (Qualified)POINTS35GOAL DIFFERENCE23
Argentina (Qualified)POINTS29GOAL DIFFERENCE14
EcuadorPOINTS23GOAL DIFFERENCE10
ColombiaPOINTS17GOAL DIFFERENCE-1
PeruPOINTS17GOAL DIFFERENCE-5
ChilePOINTS16GOAL DIFFERENCE-1
UruguayPOINTS16GOAL DIFFERENCE-7
BoliviaPOINTS15GOAL DIFFERENCE-8
ParaguayPOINTS13GOAL DIFFERENCE-9
VenezuelaPOINTS7GOAL DIFFERENCE-16

January Matchdays

The qualifier competition matches for the AFC, CONCACAF and CONMEBOL this January will be played by the following opponents, at the following venues and times, and on the following dates (times and dates given in local time in Qatar):

AFC

The January break for the AFC qualifiers begins on the 27th for Matchday 1 and will be completed on February 1st, Matchday 2:

GROUP A
OPPONENTSVENUEDATE/TIME (local time Qatar)
Lebanon vs South KoreaVENUESaida International Stadium, LebanonDATE/TIME (local time Qatar)January 27th/15:00
Iran vs IraqVENUEAzadi Stadium, IranDATE/TIME (local time Qatar)January 27th/17:30
UAE vs SyriaVENUEAl-Maktoum Stadium, UAEDATE/TIME (local time Qatar)January 27th/18:00
Lebanon vs IraqVENUESaida International Stadium, LebanonDATE/TIME (local time Qatar)February 1st/15:00
Syria vs South KoreaVENUEAl-Rashid Stadium, DubaiDATE/TIME (local time Qatar)February 1st/17:00
Iran vs UAEVENUEAzadi Stadium, IranDATE/TIME (local time Qatar)February 1st/17:30
GROUP B
OPPONENTSVENUEDATE/TIME
Australia vs VietnamVENUEMelbourne Rectangular Stadium, AustraliaDATE/TIMEJanuary 27th/12:10
Japan vs ChinaVENUESaitama Stadium, JapanDATE/TIMEJanuary 27th/13:00
Saudi Arabia vs OmanVENUEKing Abdullah Sports City Stadium, Saudi ArabiaDATE/TIMEJanuary 27th/20:15
Japan vs Saudi ArabiaVENUESaitama Stadium, JapanDATE/TIMEFebruary 1st/13:10
Vietnam vs ChinaVENUEMỹ Đình National Stadium, VietnamDATE/TIMEFebruary 1st/15:00
Oman vs AustraliaVENUESultan Qaboos Sports Complex, OmanDATE/TIMEFebruary 1st/19:00

CONCACAF

January’s window sees another three matchdays for the CONCACAF qualifiers begin on the 28th and end on February 3rd:

OPPONENTSVENUEDATE/TIME (local time Qatar)
Jamaica vs MexicoVENUENational Stadium Independence Park, JamaicaDATE/TIME (local time Qatar)January 28th/03:00
USA vs El SalvadorVENUELower.com Field Stadium, USADATE/TIME (local time Qatar)January 28th/03:00
Honduras vs CanadaVENUEOlímpico Metropolitano Stadium, HondurasDATE/TIME (local time Qatar)January 28th/04:05
Costa Rica vs PanamaVENUEEstadio Nacional de Costa RicaDATE/TIME (local time Qatar)January 28th/05:05
Canada vs USAVENUETim Hortons Field Stadium, CanadaDATE/TIME (local time Qatar)January 30th/23:05
Mexico vs Costa RicaVENUEEstadio Azteca, Mexico CityDATE/TIME (local time Qatar)January 31st/02:00
Panama vs JamaicaVENUEEstadio Rommel Fernández, PanamáDATE/TIME (local time Qatar)January 31st/02:05
Honduras vs El SalvadorVENUEOlímpico Metropolitano Stadium, HondurasDATE/TIME (local time Qatar)January 31st/03:05
Jamaica vs Costa RicaVENUENational Stadium Independence Park, JamaicaDATE/TIME (local time Qatar)February 3rd/03:00
USA vs HondurasVENUEAllianz Field Stadium, USADATE/TIME (local time Qatar)February 3rd/03:30
El Salvador vs CanadaVENUEEstadio Cuscatlán, El SalvadorDATE/TIME (local time Qatar)February 3rd/05:00
Mexico vs PanamaVENUEEstadio Azteca, Mexico CityDATE/TIME (local time Qatar)February 3rd/06:00

CONMEBOL

CONMEBOL’s qualifiers continue on January 28th, Matchday 1 and will be completed on February 2nd, Matchday 2:

OPPONENTSVENUEDATE/TIME (local time Qatar)
Ecuador vs BrazilVENUEEstadio de Liga Deportiva Universitaria, EcuadorDATE/TIME (local time Qatar)January 28th/00:00
Paraguay vs UruguayVENUEGeneral Pablo Rojas Stadium, ParaguayDATE/TIME (local time Qatar)January 28th/02:00
Chile vs ArgentinaVENUEEstadio Zorros del Desierto, ChileDATE/TIME (local time Qatar)January 28th/03:15
Colombia vs PeruVENUEEstadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, ColombiaDATE/TIME (local time Qatar)January 29th/00:00
Venezuela vs BoliviaVENUEEstadio Agustín Tovar, VenezuelaDATE/TIME (local time Qatar)January 29th/01:00
Bolivia vs ChileVENUEEstadio Hernando Siles, BoliviaDATE/TIME (local time Qatar)February 1st/23:00
Uruguay vs VenezuelaVENUEEstadio Centenario, UruguayDATE/TIME (local time Qatar)February 2nd/02:00
Argentina vs ColombiaVENUEEstadio Mario Alberto Kempes, ArgentinaDATE/TIME (local time Qatar)February 2nd/02:30
Brazil vs ParaguayVENUEEstádio Mineirão, BrazilDATE/TIME (local time Qatar)February 2nd/03:30
Peru vs EcuadorVENUEEstadio Nacional de Lima, PerúDATE/TIME (local time Qatar)February 2nd/05:00

Main image: apnews.com

Published: January 26, 2022
Last updated: January 26, 2022
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