Rabat – Morocco’s Atlas Lions football team is set to play in Group I during the second round of qualifiers for the Qatar FIFA World Cup 2022.
The Atlas Lions’ grouping was announced yesterday following the draw for the African qualifiers.
President of the African Football Confederation (CAF) Ahmad Ahmad attended the draw at the Nile Ritz-Carlton in Cairo.
The second round is due to begin in October 2020, with national teams playing both home and away matches.
The winning nation from each group will qualify for the third and final round, made up of 5 playoff games.
Morocco’s national team will face-off against Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and Sudan during the second round. If the Atlas Lions can beat out the competition they will head into the third round, and the team’s dreams of playing in the 2020 World Cup will be within reach.
The World Cup 2022 is set to take place in Qatar from November 21 to December 18. The competition will feature 32 national teams from 6 confederations.
The 22nd World Cup will be the first time to be held in an Arab country and the last to feature 32 teams.
Future tournaments will include a 48 team lineup.
Despite arguments to increase the lineup ahead of the Qatar World Cup, FIFA decided to dismiss the plans and proceed with the traditional 32 teams in the 2020 tournament.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino, however, expressed optimism about the proposal before the final decision was taken
“We have to see if it is possible, if it is feasible. We are discussing with our Qatari friends, we are discussing with our many other friends in the region and we hope that this can happen,” Infantino said.
Although Qatar initially welcomed the proposal, unavoidable difficulties emerged as a result of the economic blockade on Qatar, imposed by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the UAE.
The regional politics made expanding the tournament’s lineup impossible, since the move would have obliged Qatar to share hosting duties with neighboring countries, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
The 2026 World Cup, set to be co-hosted by Canada, the US, and Mexico, will include 48 teams.
