Image source, Fifa

Now Trinidad Cardona, Davido and Aisha are performing the first single from the 2022 World Cup soundtrack - Hayya Hayya (Better Together).

The combination of breakthrough US star Trinidad Cardona, Afrobeats icon Davido and Qatari sensation Aisha captures the spirit of the FIFA World Cup™ and the FIFA Sound strategy by bringing together inspiration from across the globe.

Did I copy and paste that last paragraph from a Fifa email because I have no clue who any of these people are? I wouldn't like to say.

Alan Shearer
Former England striker on BBC One

When you look at where England were when they got lost to Iceland in 2016 to now, the improvement in attitude and ability and the pool of players that Gareth has available to him is huge. Look at the youngsters who have come through - Rice, Bellingham, Saka, so many talented young players. Defensively they could have an issue, but we said that in the last two tournaments. When you look at performances of players for their clubs there is more of a concern. But this England will believe they can go that step further and win this.

Here come British duo Idris Elba and Reshmin Chowdhury to host the show now.

England could end up in a group with Wales or Scotland, if one of them qualify, since they are in the top and bottom pots respectively and two European nations can be in one group.

The Three Lions could end up in a group with Germany, Africa Cup of Nations champions Senegal and Ecuador - or a theoretically kinder draw could pit them against the USA, Iran and Ghana.

Scotland or Wales could end up with Brazil, Germany and Senegal - or a more favourable draw could see them face Qatar, the USA and Tunisia.

The actual draw show has started if you click on the BBC Red Button now.

The draw itself won't be for a bit yet.

Efan Ekoku
Former Nigeria striker on BBC One

We have to remember that football belongs to the world. I know Sepp Blatter isn't the most popular man in football, but he made a promise when he was elected Fifa president that he would give football to the world. He empowered the African nations, CONCACAF and other regions and gave them greater equality and the chance to host the World Cup. This is part of his legacy, like it or not.

It is always annoying when footballers or sportsmen have to be at the front of this. More officials should put their heads out and offer their opinion.

Alan Shearer
Former England striker on BBC One

We have seen in the last couple of years, footballers using their platform and voice in a really positive way. Taking the knee, Jordan Henderson doing great work in regards to the Premier League in the pandemic for the NHS, Marcus Rashford taking on the government for free school meals. So yeah, we have a group of players and a manager who are not afraid to speak out. In regards to human rights issues, they are entitled to make their feelings known without any repercussions from Fifa. The governments and governing bodies have made the decisions as to where and when the World Cup takes place.

The decisions to give Russia and Qatar the last two World Cups raised eyebrows. Eleven of the 22 who voted have since been banned from Fifa for corruption.

As a player, you have maybe one chance to play in the tournament, so I fully understand why Gareth and the players have taken their stance.

The World Cup tournament is usually held in June and July, but in Qatar average temperatures at that time of year are about 41C (106F) and can reach 50C (122F) - too hot to be outside safely, let alone play at least 90 minutes of football.

During the bidding process, Qatar promised advanced air-conditioning technology that would cool stadiums, training pitches and fan zones to 23C. However, in 2015 a decision was made by Fifa to hold the tournament in winter.

The World Cup kicks off on 21 November, and the final is on 18 December. This means it falls right in the middle of - and disrupts - the club football season for many countries.

The Premier League will not see any matches played between 13 November and 26 December.

Denmark

Denmark manager Kasper Hjulmand talking to BBC Radio 5 Live's Rick Edwards on the red carpet: "It's unbelievable the way Christian Eriksen has played and is performing for club and country. It's a pure pleasure to see him play football again. It feels we have the best Christian Eriksen ever."

This World Cup has the same format as the past few tournaments, with teams drawn into eight groups of four.

Teams are seeded based on the Fifa world rankings released on 31 March. Hosts Qatar will be given position A1 from Pot 1 and the top seven ranked teams who have qualified are the other top seeds. England are among them.

The three play-off winners not yet decided (Wales v Scotland/Ukraine, Costa Rica v New Zealand, UAE/Australia v Peru) will be in the bottom pot of seeds.

The draw will start with the teams in the top pot and work downwards, finishing with the bottom pot.

After a team is drawn out, a second ball will be drawn to decide which group they are in.

Teams from the same continent will be kept apart - except for European countries, where a maximum of two can be in any one group.

Unlike in previous World Cups, the match schedule will be decided afterwards and will not happen automatically depending on how teams are drawn out.

Fifa says this provides "scope to provide a more beneficial kick-off time for audiences at home".

Fifa has announced what the ball will look like at this World Cup.

The ball is called Al Rihla, which means the journey in Arabic. It is "inspired by the culture, architecture, iconic boats and flag of Qatar".

Fifa says the ball "travels faster in flight than any other in the tournament’s history, supporting high-speed and high-quality games".

No doubt goalkeepers will be complaining nearer the time when they try it out.

Image source, PA Media

Phil McNulty
BBC Sport chief football writer

The fact that the World Cup is being held in November changes some of the dynamics of manager Gareth Southgate's selection, with the Premier League season getting well under way before the showpiece starts.

One of big issues he took away from Tuesday's friendly win against Ivory Coast as Wembley was the brilliance of 18-year-old Borussia Dortmund star Jude Bellingham.

By the time selection comes around, Bellingham may be making an irrefutable case to be a World Cup starter, such is his quality and rapid development. Southgate may need those extra weeks' thinking time.

2018: Semi-final

2021: Beaten finalists

Can England take that final step in Qatar?

In February 2021, the Guardian said 6,500 migrant workers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka had died in Qatar since it won its World Cup bid.

The deaths, which were reported by authorities in the five Asian countries, were not categorised by occupation or place or work. But the labour rights group FairSquare said it was likely that many of those who died had been working on World Cup infrastructure projects.

Qatar's government says the figures are an overestimate, because they include thousands of foreigners who died after living and working there for many years. It says many would have been working in jobs unrelated to the building industry.

Qatar says that between 2014 and 2020,there were 37 deaths among labourers building World Cup stadiums. It says 34 of those were "non-work related".

The International Labour Organization (ILO) says Qatar has not counted sudden and unexpected deaths amongst labourers. It says these include fatal heart attacks and respiratory failure caused by heatstroke recorded as being from"natural causes" rather than "work-related".

It says 50 workers died and more than 500 others were seriously injured in Qatar in 2021 alone, and another 37,600 suffered mild to moderate injuries.

Dirk Reynolds: For the World Cup, they should add one team of players from countries that failed to quality - representing a good cause (Unicef, Climate Change, etc.) Haaland, Salah, Verrati, Chiesa, Mahrez, Jorghino, etc.

No, no, no, no, no.

Efan Ekoku
Former Nigeria striker on BBC One

High hopes, especially for Senegal. They are the champions of Africa and the best team in the continent for the last four or five years. They are the standard bearer for Africa. Cameroon could shock one or two. The other three, it will be difficult to make an impact. They maybe lack the firepower.

Alan Shearer
Former England striker on BBC One

England breezed through qualifying and made it look easy, as so many countries have, although Italy may disagree with that. I think the mood England are in, with the last two competitions they will be looking forward to this tournament.

Andy

There are some difficult teams in each pot.

Pot 2 contains Netherlands, Germany, Euro 2020 semi-finals Denmark and 2018 World Cup finalists Croatia.

Pot 3 contains Africa Cup of Nations winners Senegal, Robert Lewandowski's Poland and Serbia, who beat Portugal to automatic qualification.

Cameroon and Ghana will be difficult prospects in Pot 4, while Wales, who are ranked 18th in the world, could be there.

Everyone wants hosts Qatar from Pot 1 in all truth.

Players’ union Fifpro and Building and Wood Workers’ International, a building workers union, have issued a joint letter calling for a migrant workers centre to be established in Doha.

It reads: “Each achievement gained for workers remains fragile. Among migrants in Qatar there is widespread fear that when the spotlight on Qatar dims after the World Cup the improvements achieved will peter out.

"For the progress achieved so far to be underpinned and sustained, Qatar must continue empowering those workers who are afraid, isolated and without a voice.

"To do this, we are proposing that Qatar sanctions what we are calling a migrant workers centre. It will be a haven where expatriates can go for help. It will provide a safe space for them to meet. It will provide them with the opportunity to develop skills, learn and get advice about their employment rights.”