F1 2021: Tetchy title race goes to the wire

LEWIS HAMILTON moved within striking distance of Championship leader Max Verstappen with victory at the inaugural Grand Prix in Qatar as a bad-tempered title race enters its final stretch.

Seven-time champion Hamilton cut his deficit to the Dutchman down to just eight points, with a maximum of 52 available from the two remaining races in Saudi Arabia on 5 December and Abu Dhabi a week later.

Verstappen still has a points advantage for now then - but, after spending the majority of the season on the back foot, Mercedes driver Hamilton will be satisfied at just being in with a shout after back-to-back race wins. 

In fairness, rather than being completely dominated by one team, this year has seen a seesaw battle straight from the opening Grand Prix in Bahrain, with the lead in the Drivers' Championship already switching five times between the pair. 

Coincidentally, at my last write-up following the British Grand Prix in July, Hamilton had closed the gap on Verstappen to eight points then as well. 

And it actually got better for the Briton prior to the summer recess after a crazy start to the Hungarian Grand Prix on an extremely wet day in Budapest.

At the very first turn of the race at the Hungaroring, there were two major shunts caused by Valtteri Bottas and Lance Stroll who were both too late on the brakes. 

Hamilton's Mercedes team-mate Bottas crashed into the back of Lando Norris who, in turn, careered into Verstappen, causing major damage to the Red Bull. 

An out-of-control Bottas slid off Norris into the other Red Bull of Sergio Perez - while, further back, Stroll went into Ferrari's Charles Leclerc who, in turn, sent Daniel Ricciardo into a spin. 

Hamilton had avoided all of the carnage but, on the restart from the red flag, he was the only driver to start from the grid on intermediate tyres. 

The rest of the drivers still in the Grand Prix restarted from the pits having changed to slicks - and it soon became apparent that Mercedes had missed a trick as Hamilton fell through the pack after taking a belated pitstop. 

Alpine driver Esteban Ocon took full advantage and eventually sealed his maiden Grand Prix victory with Hamilton happy to scramble back up to second and the hamstrung Verstappen down in ninth. 

That gave Hamilton a lead in the Drivers' Championship of eight points at the four-week break but his advantage did not last for long into the autumn. 

At Spa-Francorchamps, another weekend of soaking wet weather ended in farce as the 20 drivers - after hours of delays - pootled around behind a safety car to record the one official lap required for a classification to be determined. 

It counted for half-points in the standings but it could not exactly be considered to have been a race. At least, there was no fastest lap point awarded. 

Next, the calendar took the paddock over the border to the Netherlands where the Dutchman retook the Championship lead in his home race with a commanding win from pole position.

Rather disgracefully, second-placed Hamilton was booed on the podium by the Dutch fans - and, in recent races, the anomisity held by the rival fans has been further fuelled by the behaviour of the teams, especially that of Red Bull. 

At the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, the two leading drivers were involved in their second massive flashpoint of the season following their earlier clash at Silverstone. 

This time, Verstappen - behind and on the outside approaching the first chicane - turned in on Hamilton, taking both drivers off the track and out of the race on lap 26. 

To add to the drama, Verstappen's Red Bull ended up flipping itself and landing on top of Hamilton's Mercedes - and, in a shocking lack of regard for his fellow competitor, the Dutchman walked off without checking if his rival was safe. 

After both drivers had gone their own way bitterly blaming each other, Verstappen was officially censured by the stewards for the incident - though he still took two points from the weekend with second place in the sprint race. 

In Russia, Hamilton regained the title lead once more, recording his 100th Grand Prix by overtaking long-time race leader Norris after the younger Briton found himself skidding all over the place in his McLaren on the wrong tyres during a late shower. 

Hamilton's advantage in the Championship was short-lived again though, as a 10-place grid penalty for an engine change and a poor early pit-stop strategy meant he finished the Turkish Grand Prix down in fifth. 

At least Verstappen did not win in Istanbul, after his own race was compromised by Carlos Sainz Jr, with victory instead going to Bottas. 

Nevertheless, the Dutchman had turned a two-point deficit into a six-point lead and he used that momentum to extend his lead further with consecutive race wins in Mexico and Brazil. 

Suddenly, Verstappen had stretched his Championship lead to 19 points - only once during the season had the lead been greater. 

In short, he looked unstoppable at this stage with even Hamilton admitting on the team radio that his rival was too quick for him. 

But the racing gods determined this engrossing battle deserved at least one more twist. 

At the famous undulating Interlagos circuit in Sao Paulo, where Hamilton won his first title on the final corner of the final lap of the last Grand Prix in 2008, he reinvigorated his pursuit for an eighth crown with a drive for the ages. 

Disqualified from qualifying for a larger-than-permitted drag reduction system slot, Hamilton started from the back of the grid in the sprint race but fought his way up to finish fifth - only then to lose another five places on the starting grid for a change of engine. 

The defining moments of the race itself came on laps 48 and 59, in failed and then successful overtaking attempts by Hamilton. 

On his first attempt, Hamilton was forced off the track by Verstappen who missed the apex of the corner and left his his braking ridiculously late - and yet somehow avoided a penalty. 

The second attempt was similar but Hamilton was closer and executed the move brilliantly around the outside to cap off a magnificent all-round performance. 

Hamilton's win in Qatar was rather more straightforward lights-to-flag affair - but that, in itself, underlined the threat set to be posed by Mercedes in what is left of this season.

By contrast, Verstappen and Red Bull principal Christian Horner got into more hot water, with both called to the stewards.

First, Verstappen was penalised with a five-place grid penalty after ignoring double-waved yellow warning flags in qualifying.

Then, Horner was summoned following a controversial interview in which he accused a "rogue marshal" for the flags which led to his driver's penalty.

Red Bull are clearly riled - aghast at a Mercedes car which is finishing the season more strongly than expected based on its performances before the race in Brazil. 

Horner and Verstappen suspect something is up, specifically the legality of the rear wing on the Mercedes, with Verstappen fined €50,000 for fiddling with Hamilton's car after qualifying in Sao Paulo. 

However, Mercedes did not fall foul to any of the additional checks made by the officials in Qatar - and, instead, it feels as if it is the lack of composure shown by Red Bull which threatens to derail Verstappen's bid for a first Driver's Championship in F1.

At the same time, Hamilton will be well aware that he is still behind in this title race - and he will also know that, if Verstappen wins in Jeddah on 5 December, he will have to finish sixth to stand a mathematical chance of the title, or fifth if the Dutchman picks up another point for the fastest lap. 

Surely, though, the improved Mercedes will manage better than that. After all, this enthralling adventure of a title race deserves to go to the wire.

		HAMILTON			v			VERSTAPPEN
28-March	BAHRAIN	1st	25		(+7)		18	2nd
18-April	EMILIA ROMAGNA	2nd	19	44	(+1)	43	25	1st
02-May	PORTUGAL	1st	25	69	(+8)	61	18	2nd
09-May	SPAIN	1st	25	94	(+14)	80	19	2nd
23-May	MONACO	7th	7	101	(-4)	105	25	1st
06-June	AZERBAIJAN	15th	0	101	(-4)	105	0	18th
20-June	FRANCE	2nd	18	119	(-12)	131	26	1st
27-June	STYRIAN	2nd	19	138	(-18)	156	25	1st
04-July	AUSTRIA	4th	12	150	(-32)	182	26	1st
18-July	GREAT BRITAIN	1st	27	177	(-8)	185	3^	Retired
01-August	HUNGARY	2nd	18	195	(+8)	187	2	9th
29-August	BELGIUM*	3rd	7.5	202.5	(+3)	199.5	12.5	1st
05-September	NETHERLANDS	2nd	19	221.5	(-3)	224.5	25	1st
12-September	ITALY	Retired	0	221.5	(-5)	226.5	2^	Retired
26-September	RUSSIA	1st	25	246.5	(+2)	244.5	18	2nd
10-October	TURKEY	5th	10	256.5	(-6)	262.5	18	2nd
24-October	UNITED STATES	2nd	19	275.5	(-12)	287.5	25	1st
07-November	MEXICO	2nd	18	293.5	(-19)	312.5	25	1st
14-November	BRAZIL	1st	25	318.5	(-14)	332.5	20	2nd
21-November	QATAR	1st	25	343.5	(-8)	351.5	19	2nd

* Half-points were awarded as less than 75% of the race distance was completed
^ Verstappen retired from the Grand Prix but won points in the sprint race

REMAINING CALENDAR

(21)	05-December	5.30pm	SAUDI ARABIA	Jeddah Street Circuit, Saudi Arabia
(22)	12-December	1pm	ABU DHABI	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi

FIA F1 DRIVERS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2021

			Points
1	Max Verstappen (NED)	Red Bull-Honda	351.5	(9 wins)
2	Lewis Hamilton (GBR)	Mercedes	343.5	(7 wins)
3	Valtteri Bottas (FIN)	Mercedes	203	(1 win)
4	Sergio Pérez (MEX)	Red Bull-Honda	190	(1 win)
5	Lando Norris (GBR)	McLaren-Mercedes	153
6	Charles Leclerc (MON)	Ferrari	152
7	Carlos Sainz Jr. (ESP)	Ferrari	145.5
8	Daniel Ricciardo  (AUS)	McLaren-Mercedes	105	(1 win)
9	Pierre Gasly (FRA)	Alpha Tauri-Honda	92
10	Fernando Alonso (ESP)	Alpine-Renault	77
11	Esteban Ocon (FRA)	Alpine-Renault	60	(1 win)
12	Sebastian Vettel (GER)	Aston Martin-Mercedes	43
13	Lance Stroll (CAN)	Aston Martin-Mercedes	34
14	Yuki Tsunoda (JPN)	Alpha Tauri-Honda	20
15	George Russell (GBR)	Williams-Mercedes	16
16	Kimi Räikkönen (FIN)	Alfa Romeo-Ferrari	10
17	Nicholas Latifi (CAN)	Williams-Mercedes	7
18	Antonio Giovinazzi (ITA)	Alfa Romeo-Ferrari	1
19	Mick Schumacher (GER)	Haas-Ferrari	0
20	Robert Kubica (POL)	Alfa Romeo-Ferrari	0
21	Nikita Mazepin (RUS)	Haas-Ferrari	0

FIA F1 CONSTRUCTORS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2021

			Points
1	Mercedes (GER)	Hamilton | Bottas	546.5	(8 wins)
2	Red Bull-Honda (AUT)	Verstappen | Pérez	541.5	(10 wins)
3	Ferrari (ITA)	Leclerc | Sainz Jr	297.5
4	McLaren-Mercedes (GBR)	Norris | Ricciardo	258	(1 win)
5	Alpine-Renault (FRA)	Alonso | Ocon	137	(1 win)
6	Alpha Tauri-Honda	Gasly | Tsunoda	112
7	Aston Martin-Mercedes (GBR)	Stroll | Vettel	77
8	Williams-Mercedes (GBR)	Russell | Latifi	23
9	Alfa Romeo-Ferrari (SUI)	Räikkönen | Giovinazzi | Kubica	11
10	Haas-Ferrari (USA)	Schumacher | Mazepin	0

Goal glut for Kane as England qualify for World Cup

(Q) WORLD CUP 2022 QUALIFIERS (Q)
Qatar, Germany, Denmark, Brazil, Belgium, France, Croatia, Spain, Serbia, Switzerland, England, Netherlands, Argentina
[13/32]

ENGLAND hit double figures for the first time in 57 years to thrash San Marino on Monday and seal a place at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Fresh from a perfect hat-trick in a similarly facile 5-0 thumping of Albania on Friday, Harry Kane collected another match ball against more hapless opponents on Monday.

Kane, in fact, scored four to take him up to 48 goals for England, level with Gary Lineker, one behind Sir Bobby Charlton, and five behind record-holder Wayne Rooney.

Meanwhile, after filling his boots over the last few days, Kane now holds the national record for competitive goals in an England shirt with his total of 43. 

Not that this contest in Serravalle was particularly competitive.

Harry Maguire began the rout after just six minutes with a header from a corner before Filippo Fabri diverted the ball past his own goalkeeper.

Then, Kane took over, scoring twice from the spot and twice more in the box for four goals in succession in a 15-minute spell before half time.

Even by their own lowly standards, San Marino were in a generous mood - and, in the second half, soon added to the own goal and concession of two penalties with a sending off midway through the second half. 

By then, Arsenal youngster Emile Smith Rowe had scored his first senior England goal with a lovely first-time finish after a layoff by Tammy Abraham to make it 7-0. 

Then, straight after the dismissal of Dante Rossi, Tyrone Mings also netted his first in national colours for the senior team with a looping header. 

Abraham scored the ninth goal himself with a sharp turn-and-volley from a lofted ball by Trent Alexander-Arnold who picked up a late hat-trick of assists. 

And Bukayo Saka made it 10, nodding in from just a few yards out, as England - who had another two goals ruled out - recorded double figures for the first time since a friendly win in New York against the United States in 1964.

Altogether, it meant the Three Lions remained unbeaten throughout their Group I campaign and qualified along with the nine other group winners. 

Those group winners were Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Croatia, England, and Germany. 

Now, it would be fair to say that some teams made it through more easily than others. 

Serbia provided the most dramatic victory after Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic nodded in a last-minute winner against Portugal away in Lisbon. 

The two teams went into what was effectively a decider deadlocked on 17 points - and, at 1-1, it was the Portuguese who were set to go through on goal difference. 

Then Championship top goalscorer Mitrovic intervened, stunning the Estadio da Luz by with a header at the far post to complete a fine comeback win.

Neighbours Croatia also made it through in a decider, beating Russia who started the day two points ahead of their opponents but finished it a point behind. 

The Vatreni progressed to the finals with a 1-0 win after Fyodor Kudryashov found the wrong net just 10 minutes before full time. 

Spain held their nerve to see off Sweden in a battle of the top two in Group B - but, in Group C, Italy lost out to Switzerland after being held to a 0-0 draw against Northern Ireland in Belfast. 

That stalemate, coupled with a 4-0 win for the Swiss over Bulgaria, consigned the Azzurri to the playoffs for the second consecutive World Cup campaign. 

Memorably, in the autumn of 2017, the Italians lost to Sweden and missed out on the World Cup for the first time since 1950 - so, undoubtedly then, the requirement for a playoff again will have sent shivers down more than a few spines in the cities of Rome, Milan, Turin, and elsewhere. 

Netherlands were another shock failure in the qualifiers for 2018 - and were extremely vulnerable to going out altogether if they had lost at home to Norway following a terrible late giveaway against Montenegro. 

Heading into the last 10 minutes at 0-0 in Rotterdam against the Norwegians, there could have been another nervy ending - but, instead, the Dutch hit two late goals through Steven Bergwijn and Memphis Depay, and the Oranje could breathe a huge collective sigh of relief. 

France and Belgium, like England, were far more relaxed and went undefeated in their respective sections, remaining fully in control of their destiny throughout. 

Germany similarly qualified easily, with nine wins out of 10 - but the shock home defeat in Duisberg to North Macedonia early in the campaign no doubt hastened the departure of head coach Joachim Loew after a tenure of nearly 15 years.

Former Bayern Munich boss Hansi Flick has certainly steadied the ship for the Nationalmannschaft who have a new generation of talent now emerging. 

Euro 2020+1 semi finalists Denmark also won nine matches out of 10 in Group F - but, in contrast to the Germans' early reverse, the Danes' sole defeat came in their last game against Scotland after they had already sealed their place in the finals. 

Nevertheless, the Scots can take great heart from their convincing victory over the team ranked at number 10 - and, indeed, from their performance throughout whole campaign. 

After all, this is the first time that Scotland have only lost one match in a single set of qualifiers since 2002, and the win over the Danes - through goals from John Souttar and Che Adams - is easily their best in years. 

Certainly, after many years in the doldrums, it can finally be said that supporting Scotland in a packed house at Hampden Park is fun again. That has not often been the case until the arrival of Steve Clarke as head coach in 2019. 

Following their similarly impressive 1-1 draw against Belgium, Wales will also have a home semi final as they seek to end their wait for a World Cup finals appearance, which stretches right back to 1958. 

Additionally, it means the Scottish and the Welsh will avoid a semi final tie against a big-hitter like Euro 2016 champions Portugal, Euro 2020+1 winners Italy, or Russia, following their aforementioned failure to win their groups. 

For the record, the six playoff teams with a home tie are Portugal, Sweden, Italy, Wales, Scotland, and Russia - and the six teams with to play away will be Ukraine, Turkey, Poland, surprise package North Macedonia, and the two best-ranked Nations League pair, Austria and Czech Republic. 

The draw on 26 November will determine the single-legged matches which will be played in March - though, ultimately, only three of the 12 hopefuls will make it through to Qatar. 

That is because three separate pathways will be drawn with the two semi finals in each path playing a further one-off match at a venue which will also be decided on 26 November.

Pretty brutal - and yet still not as potentially soul-crushing as the qualifying process in Africa in which 10 teams have all topped their groups without yet guaranteeing a finals place. 

Most of the big names have made it through but Ivory Coast are out following their defeat on the last day of the group stage to Cameroon. 

Meanwhile, in another dramatic tie, Ghana progressed on goals scored at the expense of South Africa after beating Bafana Bafana 1-0 in Cape Coast through an Andre Ayew penalty.

It all means that each of the five teams who have made it into pot one - Senegal, Morocco, Algeria, Nigeria, and Tunisia - will be drawn against one of the teams from pot two - Egypt, Cameroon, Ghana, Mali, and DR Congo - with two-legged ties taking place on a home-and-away basis in March. 

The five playoff winners will qualify for the finals, with Mali as the only side out of them looking to make their debut. (DR Congo appeared as Zaire in 1974). 

At the other end of the scale, Brazil are the only team to appear at every World Cup finals - and the unbeaten Selecao will retain that proud record after qualifying from the marathon all-in-one South American group with fully six games to spare. 

Tite's team beat Colombia 1-0 in Sao Paulo with a goal from Lyon midfielder Lucas Paqueta following neat play by Marquinhos and Neymar. 

And the Brazilians then dropped points for only the second time in 13 games in a 0-0 draw away in Argentina, a result which was enough for La Albiceleste to make it through to the finals too.

Ecuador look comfortable in third place on 23 points following wins over rock-bottom Venezuela at home (1-0) and away to Chile (2-0). 

However, the last direct qualifying position and the sole playoff place remain fully up for grabs with Colombia (17 points), Peru (17), Chile (16), Uruguay (16), Bolivia (15), and Paraguay (13) all struggling for consistency. 

In North America, there are surprise leaders with Canada - who last qualified in 1986 - currently topping a final-stage group of eight teams, known as the Octagonal. 

The best Canadian team in decades followed up their 1-0 win over Costa Rica with an astonishing, though entirely convincing, 2-1 defeat of regional powerhouse Mexico in snowy Edmonton. 

The Canucks - on 16 points from eight matches - are the only unbeaten side in the Octagonal, although United States (15), Mexico (14), and Panama (14) are not far behind. 

By contrast, Costa Rica (9), Jamaica (7), El Salvador (6), and Honduras (3) especially all have work to do with over half the games now played. 

Also, just over the halfway mark of the last group phase, Asian qualifying - which is split into two sections - has been dominated by Iran and Saudi Arabia, both of whom have won five games and drawn once in the first six. 

In Group A, Iran look set to be joined by South Korea with none of the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Iraq, or Syria providing much of a threat to established big fish. 

Nevertheless, Group B is more competitive behind the Saudis. Japan - on 12 points - leapfrogged Australia (11) this month after Socceroos could only draw in China while the Japanese won away in Oman.

At this point in the usual cycle between World Cups, all of the finalists would be known and they would be waiting to see the fate to befall them in the finals draw. 

However, the coronavirus and the delayed date of the World Cup finals due to the decision to hold the tournament in Qatar means still 19 places of the 32 are yet to be determined. 

Controversially, it means there will be qualifiers in Asia, North America and South America in late January and early February, as well as the African Cup of Nations. 

These matches will be outside of the previously established international windows which will no doubt prompt howls of anguish from managers in European club football. 

However, the calendar is already crammed beyond its capacity, and there appear to be no other realistic options available. 

UEFA (Europe)
The 10 group winners have qualified for the finals; the 10 runners-up and two non-placed teams with the best 2020-21 Nations League record are drawn into two rounds of playoffs with the three overall winners qualifying for the finals.
(Q) Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Croatia, England, Germany
(P) Home tie: Portugal, Sweden, Italy, Wales, Scotland, Russia
(P) Away tie: Ukraine, Turkey, Poland, North Macedonia, Austria, Czech Republic

Group A	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
(Q) SERBIA	6	2	0	18	9	20
(P) Portugal	5	2	1	17	6	17
Ireland	2	3	3	11	8	9
Luxembourg	3	0	5	8	18	9
Azerbaijan	0	1	7	5	18	1

Group B	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
(Q) SPAIN	6	1	1	15	5	19
(P) Sweden	5	0	3	12	6	15
Greece	2	4	2	8	8	10
Georgia	2	1	5	6	12	7
Kosovo	1	2	5	5	15	5

Group C	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
(Q) SWITZERLAND	5	3	0	15	2	18
(P) Italy	4	4	0	13	2	16
Northern Ireland	2	3	3	6	7	9
Bulgaria	2	2	4	6	14	8
Lithuania	1	0	7	4	19	3

Group D	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
(Q) FRANCE	5	3	0	18	3	18
(P) Ukraine	2	6	0	11	8	12
Finland	3	2	3	10	10	11
Bosnia-Herzegovina	1	4	3	9	12	7
Kazakhstan	0	3	5	5	20	3

Group E	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
(Q) BELGIUM	6	2	0	25	6	20
(P) Wales	4	3	1	14	9	15
(P) Czech Republic	4	2	2	14	9	14
Estonia	1	1	6	9	21	4
Belarus	1	0	7	7	24	3

Group F	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
(Q) DENMARK	9	0	1	30	3	27
(P) Scotland	7	2	1	17	7	23
Israel	5	1	4	23	21	16
(P) Austria	5	1	4	19	17	16
Faroe Islands	1	1	8	7	23	4
Moldova	0	1	9	5	30	1

Group G	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
(Q) NETHERLANDS	7	2	1	33	8	23
(P) Turkey	6	3	1	27	16	21
Norway	5	3	2	15	8	18
Montenegro	3	3	4	14	15	12
Latvia	2	3	5	11	14	9
Gibraltar	0	0	10	4	43	0

Group H	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
(Q) CROATIA	7	2	1	21	4	23
(P) Russia	7	1	2	19	6	22
Slovakia	3	5	2	17	10	14
Slovenia	4	2	4	13	12	14
Cyprus	1	2	7	4	21	5
Malta	1	2	7	9	30	5

Group I	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
(Q) ENGLAND	8	2	0	39	3	26
(P) Poland	6	2	2	30	11	20
Albania	6	0	4	12	12	18
Hungary	5	2	3	19	13	17
Andorra	2	0	8	8	24	6
San Marino	0	0	10	1	46	0

Group J	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
(Q) GERMANY	9	0	1	36	4	27
(P) North Macedonia	5	3	2	23	11	18
Romania	5	2	3	13	8	17
Armenia	3	3	4	9	20	12
Iceland	2	3	5	12	18	9
Liechtenstein	0	1	9	2	34	1

CONMEBOL (South America)
Matchday 14/18. Top four teams qualify directly for the finals; the fifth-placed team enters an inter-continental playoff.
(Q) Brazil, Argentina

Table	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
(Q) BRAZIL	11	2	0	27	4	35
(Q) ARGENTINA	8	5	0	20	6	29
Ecuador	7	2	5	23	13	23
Colombia	3	8	3	16	17	17
Peru	5	2	7	15	20	17
Chile	4	4	6	15	16	16
Uruguay	4	4	6	14	21	16
Bolivia	4	3	7	20	28	15
Paraguay	2	7	5	9	18	13
Venezuela	2	1	11	9	25	7

CONCACAF (North America)
Matchday 8/14. Top three teams qualify directly for the finals; the fourth-placed team enters an inter-continental playoff.

Octagonal	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Canada	4	4	0	13	5	16
United States	4	3	1	12	5	15
Mexico	4	2	2	11	7	14
Panama	4	2	2	11	9	14
Costa Rica	2	3	3	6	7	9
Jamaica	1	4	3	6	10	7
El Salvador	1	3	4	4	10	6
Honduras	0	3	5	5	15	3

CAF (Africa)
The 10 group stage winners (P) compete in two-legged playoffs with the five winners qualifying for the finals.
(P) Algeria, Tunisia, Nigeria, Cameroon, Mali, Egypt, Ghana, Senegal, Morocco, DR Congo

Group A	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
(P) Algeria	4	2	0	25	4	14
Burkina Faso	3	3	0	12	4	12
Niger	2	1	3	13	17	7
Djibouti	0	0	6	4	29	0

Group B	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
(P) Tunisia	4	1	1	11	2	13
Equatorial Guinea	3	2	1	6	5	11
Zambia	2	1	3	8	9	7
Mauritania	0	2	4	2	11	2

Group C	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
(P) Nigeria	4	1	1	9	3	13
Cape Verde Islands	3	2	1	8	6	11
Liberia	2	0	4	5	8	6
Central African Rep.	1	1	4	4	9	4

Group D	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
(P) Cameroon	5	0	1	12	3	15
Ivory Coast	4	1	1	10	3	13
Mozambique	1	1	4	2	8	4
Malawi	1	0	5	2	12	3

Group E	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
(P) Mali	5	1	0	11	0	16
Uganda	2	3	1	3	2	9
Kenya	1	3	2	4	9	6
Rwanda	0	1	5	2	9	1

Group F	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
(P) Egypt	4	2	0	10	4	14
Gabon	2	1	3	7	8	7
Libya	2	1	3	4	7	7
Angola	1	2	3	6	8	5

Group G	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
(P) Ghana	4	1	1	7	3	13
South Africa	4	1	1	6	2	13
Ethiopia	1	2	3	4	7	5
Zimbabwe	0	2	4	2	7	2

Group H	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
(P) Senegal	5	1	0	15	4	16
Togo	2	2	2	5	6	8
Namibia	1	2	3	5	10	5
Congo	0	3	3	5	10	3

Group I	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
(P) Morocco	6	0	0	20	1	18
Guinea-Bissau	1	3	2	5	11	6
Guinea	0	4	2	5	11	4
Sudan	0	3	3	5	12	3

Group J	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
(P) DR Congo	3	2	1	9	3	11
Benin	3	1	2	5	4	10
Tanzania	2	2	2	6	8	8
Madagascar	1	1	4	4	9	4

AFC (Asia)
Matchday 6/10. Top two teams in both groups qualify directly for the finals; the two third-placed teams enter a playoff with the winner entering an inter-continental playoff.

Group A	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Iran	5	1	0	11	2	16
South Korea	4	2	0	8	2	14
United Arab Emirates	1	3	2	4	5	6
Lebanon	1	2	3	4	6	5
Iraq	0	4	2	3	9	4
Syria	0	2	4	5	11	2

Group B	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Saudi Arabia	5	1	0	9	3	16
Japan	4	0	2	5	3	12
Australia	3	2	1	9	4	11
Oman	2	1	3	6	7	7
China	1	2	3	7	11	5
Vietnam	0	0	6	4	12	0

OFC (Oceania)
In September 2021, the OFC determined it was not possible to organise a qualifying event within the Oceania region. A qualifying competition is now expected to take place in Qatar in March 2022; the winners will advance to an inter-continental playoff.