The German national soccer team will meet Japan, Spain and the winner of the play-off game Costa Rica against New Zealand in the preliminary round at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which will be played in June.

That was the result of the draw on Friday in Doha.

The selection of the German Football Association (DFB) starts on Wednesday, November 23 against the Japanese in the tournament, which begins with the opening game between hosts Qatar and Ecuador on November 21 at 11:00 a.m. CET (1:00 p.m. local time).

The final will take place on December 18th at 16:00 CET.

These are the groups of the World Cup preliminary round 2022:

Group A: Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands

Group B: England, Iran, USA, Wales or Scotland/Ukraine

Group C: Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland

Group D: France, United Arab Emirates/Australia or Peru, Denmark, Tunisia

Group E: Spain, Costa Rica or New Zealand, Germany, Japan

Group F: Belgium, Canada, Morocco, Croatia

Group G: Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, Cameroon

Group H: Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, South Korea

FIFA President Gianni Infantino once again announced the upcoming World Cup as "the best of all time".

The finals will be "the biggest show on earth," said the Swiss on Friday shortly before the draw for the preliminary round groups.

"The world will be united in Qatar." The head of state of the emirate, Sheikh Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, said: "We will have an extraordinary World Cup.

I hope you will enjoy this tournament and the atmosphere it brings and see how important sport is to all of us.”

As at the congress on Thursday, Infantino also addressed the difficult world situation without directly mentioning Russia's attack on Ukraine.

"The world is divided, there are many arguments," said the FIFA President.

"That's why it's so important to bring people back together.

The World Cup is a good opportunity for that.

So I would like to implore all political decision-makers: please, please stop the war, try to reach out to each other and stand up for peace.

I beg you.” The Emir emphasized: “It is important that we as people on this earth reach out to one another.” The sheikh wished all participants “good luck”.