The 55 teams were be drawn into five groups of six and five groups of five. For the first time, Europe's traditional powerhouse countries have all been seeded together in pot one, with France returning to the highest seeds after a twelve year absence. Europe will send 13 countries to Qatar, ten of which will be group winners.

The ten group runners-up will go through to the play-offs, along with the two best Nations League group winners who did not finish in the top two of the World Cup qualifying groups. The four countries through to the 2021 Nations League Finals in October - Belgium, France, Italy and Spain - are placed in the smaller five-team groups.