Qatar to join European qualifying for 2022 World Cup

Exclusive: Qatar will be placed in Group A - featuring Republic of Ireland, Portugal, Luxembourg, Serbia and Azerbaijan.

Qatar will be involved in Uefa's qualifying for the 2022 World Cup the country are hosting, and are set to be placed in one of the five-team groups.

The idea will be to balance out the groups and also give the hosts essential preparation games ahead of a landmark event for the country's football culture.

Qatar will be placed in Group A - featuring Republic of Ireland, Portugal, Luxembourg, Serbia and Azerbaijan.

“As Qatar has already qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup as hosts, Uefa has invited them to join with the teams of Group A to help their squad prepare for the tournament,” a short statement read.

READ MORE: World Cup 2022 qualification - fixtures, schedule and groups in full on the road to Qatar

The move comes after negotiations between the AFC and Uefa, and isn't the first time the 2022 hosts have been involved in such a move across confederations. 

They have participated in the Copa America in 2019, and are set to be invited back in 2021.

They will also take part in the Concacaf Gold Cup, as the home federation seeks to have a team capable of qualifying for the knock-out stages of their own World Cup.

Points against Qatar are unlikely to count towards the group, and they will just allow the team with a match-day off to play a semi-competitive fixture rather than a friendly.

They will first face Luxembourg, Azerbaijan and Ireland in March before games with Serbia, Portugal and Luxembourg again in September.

They will then face Portugal and Ireland in October before rounding off with Serbia and Azerbaijan in November.

All venues are yet to be confirmed but Qatar’s ‘home’ games will be played in Europe for travel purposes.