PERMUTATIONS: group standings, who needs what

The European Qualifiers for the 2022 Fifa World Cup are reaching their business end with the penultimate week of qualifying on 8/9 and 10/11 October.

Once these games have taken place, teams will have only one or two matches each left to play between 11 and 16 November, after which the 10 direct qualifiers and 12 play-off contenders will be confirmed. We look at the state of play across the 10 groups.

How qualifying works

Direct qualifying

The 10 group winners qualify for the 2022 World Cup which runs from 21 November to 18 December in Qatar.

Play-offs

For the play-offs from 24 to 29 March, the 10 group runners-up will be joined by the two best group winners from the 2020/21 Uefa Nations League overall rankings that have neither qualified directly for the World Cup as European Qualifiers group winners, nor entered the play-offs already as European Qualifiers group runners-up. These 12 teams will be drawn into three play-off paths for one-off semifinals and a final. The three path winners qualify for the World Cup.

Groups as they stand

Group A: Portugal (Pd5, Pts13), Serbia (5, 11), Luxembourg (4, 6), Republic of Ireland (5, 2), Azerbaijan (5, 1)

Portugal will clinch a top-two finish if they defeat Luxembourg regardless of other results. (Portugal will qualify on 12 October if they win and Serbia only pick up one point in their two October games.)

Republic of Ireland cannot finish first.

Azerbaijan cannot finish in the top two.

Group B: Spain (6, 13), Sweden (4, 9), Greece (4, 6), Kosovo (5, 4), Georgia (5, 1)

Neither of the top two spots can be settled on 9 October.

Georgia cannot finish first.

Group C: Italy (6, 14), Switzerland (4, 8), Northern Ireland (4, 5), Bulgaria (5, 5), Lithuania (5, 0)

Neither of the top two spots can be settled on 9 October.

Lithuania cannot finish first.

Group D: France (6, 12), Ukraine (5, 5), Finland (4, 5), Bosnia and Herzegovina (4, 3), Kazakhstan (5, 3)

Neither of the top two spots can be settled on 9 October.

Group E: Belgium (6, 16), Czech Republic (5, 7), Wales (4, 7), Belarus (5, 3), Estonia (4, 1)

Belgium will be confirmed in the top two on 8 October if the Czech Republic do not beat Wales.

Neither Belarus nor Estonia can finish first.

Group F: Denmark (6, 18), Scotland (6, 11), Israel (6, 10), Austria (6, 7), Faroe Islands (6, 4), Moldova (6, 1)

Denmark will be confirmed in the top two on 9 October if they beat Moldova. Denmark will qualify if they win both October matches regardless of other results.

Neither the Faroe Islands nor Moldova can finish first.

Group G: Netherlands (6, 13), Norway (6, 13), Turkey (6, 11), Montenegro (6, 8), Latvia (6, 5), Gibraltar (6, 0)

Neither of the top two spots can be settled on 8 October.

Gibraltar cannot finish in the top two.

Group H: Croatia (6, 13), Russia (6, 13), Slovakia (6, 9), Slovenia (6, 7), Malta (6, 4), Cyprus (6, 4)

Neither of the top two spots can be settled on 8 October.

Group I: England (6, 16), Albania (6, 12), Poland (6, 11), Hungary (6, 10), Andorra (6, 3), San Marino (6 0)

Neither of the top two spots can be settled on 9 October.

Andorra cannot finish first.

San Marino cannot finish in the top two.

Group J: Germany (6, 15), Armenia (6, 11), Romania (6, 10), North Macedonia (6, 9), Iceland (6, 4), Liechtenstein (6, 1)

Neither of the top two spots can be settled on 8 October.

Liechtenstein cannot finish first.

Rankings of Uefa Nations League group winners (highest two finishing outside top two in qualifying group will go into play-offs)

League A

Belgium, France, Italy and Spain will be ranked in positions 1 to 4 after the Uefa Nations League finals end on 10 October.

League B

5 Wales

6 Austria

7 Czech Republic

8 Hungary

League C

9 Slovenia

10 Montenegro

11 Albania

12 Armenia

League D

13 Gibraltar

14 Faroe Islands