World Cup 2022: When can England qualify for the tournament?
England have an unbeaten record in qualifying so far - and they can guarantee passage to Qatar very soon
![Jesse Lingard (left) celebrates with Bukayo Saka](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/J4SYkzME3NcfDiUcrVqTrW.jpg)
England are top of their group in qualification for the 2022 World Cup and look well-placed to make it to Qatar.
In fact, England need one more point to get to the tournament.
The Three Lions are three points ahead of Poland, in second, with a goal difference six goals greater than the Poles. Poland are at home to Hungary in their final game, while England face San Marino away.
England don't need to win to get to the World Cup - and can lose and still qualify. Just a point will confirm their place.
Poland, meanwhile, will have to beat Hungary and hope San Marino beat England for the first time in their history. For Poland's place to be confirmed at the World Cup and for England to be in the play-offs, there will also have to be a swing of seven goals somewhere - for example, England losing 4-0 and Poland winning 3-0.
In the unlikely event that both England and Poland are level on points and goal difference, England have the superior head-to-head record, having beaten Poland at Wembley and drawn with them in Warsaw.
As it stands, Poland will be seeded for the play-offs. This means that they are likely to have an easier game in the first round of the play-offs, which commence in March next year.
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Portugal are the highest-profile nation to have missed out on topping their group and will enter the play-offs as the highest-ranked team.
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