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The FIFA World Cup 2022 already has six finalists, and four of them are from Europe. The quartet has joined hosts Qatar and Brazil as the teams to have qualified for the quadrennial tournament.
There were big wins for some of Europe's top guns as they qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, or moved to the cusp of qualification. On that note, here's a look at the four European teams that have qualified for the showpiece event next year ahead of the final round of qualifiers:
#1 Germany
Germany became the first European team to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The four-time champions sealed their passage to the event in October itself. Die Mannschaft qualified by topping group J of their UEFA World Cup qualifying group, losing only one game thus far.
Hansi Flick's men have had a successful qualifying campaign. They suffered their lone loss - 2-3 against Armenia - in their third match. That afforded them enough time to regroup and seal their automatic qualification four matchdays later.
The playoff spot from this group could go to Armenia, North Macedonia or Romania, depending on results on the final matchday. Unfortunately, Iceland had a disappointing qualifying campaign and will not be in Qatar for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Germany's top scorers in their qualification campaign:
Serge Gnabry (5 goals), Timo Werner (5 goals), Leroy Sane (4 goals)
#2 Denmark
Denmark qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, only a day after Germany did so. In the process, the Euro 92 winners became the second European team to confirm their place at the quadrennial tournament. Denmark have qualified as the leaders of Group F of their UEFA World Cup qualifying, doing so without losing a single game.
This has been an outstanding qualifying campaign from Denmark, who have won all nine of their matches so far. They have scored 30 goals while conceding just once in a brilliant qualifying campaign.
The playoff spot from this group will likely go to Scotland, who have managed 20 points from nine games so far. While that points tally might have been enough for Scotland to win a direct qualification slot in another group. But that wasn't the case in a group comprising a rampaging Denmark.
Denmark's top scorers in their qualifying campaign:
Andreas Skov Olsen (5 goals), Joakim Maehle (5 goals).
#3 Belgium
Belgium became the third team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2022 from Europe, doing so only this week. The Red Devils qualified as the leaders of group E of their UEFA FIFA World Cup qualifying group, winning six of their seven games.
It was not the easiest of groups, so Belgium will be happy they beat some tough teams to seal their berth in the quadrennial tournament. Their only draw of the campaign came against the Czech Republic, winning all their other games quite comfortably.
The playoff spot in this group will be contested between Wales in second and the Czech Republic in third. Wales have a three-point lead, so a draw in their last game against already-qualified Belgium will be enough. However, if they lose and the Czech Republic win by two or more goals, the latter will go through.
Belgium's top scorers in the qualifying campaign:
Romelu Lukaku (5 goals), Hans Vanaken (3 goals).
#4 France
Defending champions France have booked their place in the finals of the FIFA World Cup 2022. Les Bleus became the fourth team from Europe to qualify for the quadrennial tournament next year. France qualified as the winners of Group D of the UEFA World Cup qualifying group, without losing a single game.
France, though, would have liked to qualify more convincingly, as they won only four of their seven games, drawing the other three. They scored only 16 goals across seven games, with half of them coming against Kazakhstan on Saturday.
Kazakhstan were the only opponents in their group against whom France won both their qualifying games. But that was enough to take them past Finland and secure their berth in the 2022 World Cup.
The playoff spot from this group will be contested between Finland and Ukraine, with the former facing already-qualified France in their final game. If they lose, and Ukraine beat Bosnia, the latter will go into the playoffs instead.
France's top scorers in their qualifying campaign:
Antoine Griezmann (6 goals), Kylian Mbappe (4 goals).
