12 teams advanced from the second round will be divided into six grades according to their strength, and then divided into two groups by drawing lots, with 6 teams in each group. The competition will adopt the home and away round robin system. The top two in each group can directly advance to the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, and the third place in the group plays the fourth round. In the 12 competition, the third place in the group will play two rounds of home and away games, and the winning team will advance to the transcontinental play-offs.
The European Division has the largest number of teams in all major divisions, reaching 55, but they are also the most qualified to advance to the World Cup. 13 makes the qualifiers in the European Division less complicated. Africa will adopt the 2065,438+04 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Rules for qualifying for the group stage of Central, North America and the Caribbean Division
First round: According to the FIFA ranking in July 2020, the teams from Central America, North America and the Caribbean ranked 6-35 were divided into 6 groups with 5 teams in each group, among which Saint Lucia retired, and only 4 teams in Group E participated in the round robin system (two at home and two away games), and the first place in the small group advanced to the second round.
The second round: The six teams that advanced in the first round played the home and away two-turn knockout, and the three winning teams advanced to the third round.
Third Round: The three teams advanced from the second round will play the home and away round robin with the top five teams in Central and North America and the Caribbean. The top three in the group directly advanced to the World Cup finals, and the fourth advanced to the intercontinental play-offs.