England will take to the field for a competitive football match for the first time since the Euros final over this international break. Three further World Cup 2022 qualifiers are set to take place over the coming week as the Road to Qatar continues for Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions.

Photo: Independent

When can England qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar?

Gareth Southgate's side are currently five points clear at the top of the table at the halfway stage having won all five of their matches. The trip to play Poland could hasten qualification because Robert Lewandowski and the rest are England's closest rivals in Group I as it stands.

Victory in Warsaw would extend England's advantage over Poland to eight points and - assuming Albania were to win at home to San Marino - mean a six-point lead at the top. With four games to go, England could then assure their place at the World Cup with wins away to Andorra and at home to Hungary next month if Poland take points off Albania. However, with only top spot guaranteeing qualification, there is still little margin for error - particularly given that reaching Qatar with a second-place finish is not straightforward.

The 10 runners-up from the group stage will join two group winners from last season's Nations League in a mini-tournament in March that will see only three more teams qualify. England could still find themselves involved in that if things begin to unravel during the second half of the campaign. Poland could yet cut their lead to just two points. But with the potential tricky trips to Hungary and Albania already out of the way, that looks to be the toughest test remaining. Dreams of World Cup glory could soon begin.

European Qualifier Group. (Photo: Storify)

England's match schedule

England squad for World Cup 2022 qualifiers

England manager Gareth Southgate will be without the services of Manchester City star Phil Foden and Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford through injuries. Trent Alexander Arnold and Jesse Lingard, however, were named in his England squad for the World Cup 2022 qualifiers against Hungary, Andorra and Poland. Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford received his first senior call up for England.

England squad in full:

Goalkeepers: Sam Johnstone (West Brom), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Nick Pope (Burnley)

Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Conor Coady (Wolves), Reece James (Chelsea), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Kieran Tripper (Atletico Madrid), Kyle Walker (Manchester City)

Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Jesse Lingard (Manchester United), Mason Mount (Chelsea), Kalvin Phillips (Leeds United), Declan Rice (West Ham)

Forwards: Patrick Bamford (Leeds United), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Tottenham), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Jadon Sancho (Manchester United), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)

Photo: Scriling

How to watch the FIFA World Cup 2022 Qualifiers in UK

ITV: If you live in the UK, you’ll be pleased to know that ITV will be broadcasting all 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifier games featuring England on its free-to-air channel and online service, ITV Hub.

Sky Sports: Apart from the England games, Sky Sports will be broadcasting all the major FIFA World Cup 2022 Qualifier games in the UK. While Sky will indeed broadcast almost every game featuring most British and some top European nations, most games will be on the Sky Sports Red Channel, which is only available if you’re a Sky TV customer with a Sky Sports package. This package costs £18/month over and above your existing Sky TV subscription.

Most other games will be on the main Sky Sports channels, namely Sky Sports Football, Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event. You can watch all the games broadcast on those channels either on Sky TV or by purchasing a Now Sports Membership. Unlike Sky Sports, a Now Sports Membership doesn’t tie you down to any long-term contracts, meaning you can watch for as long as you like for just £33/month, said Expert Review.

VPN service: A VPN basically uses sophisticated code to trick your device into thinking that it’s based anywhere in the world that you want. It also protects your PC by encrypting your entire online connection, so that no one - not your ISP, mobile service provider or hackers - can see what you do online. There are tons of free and paid-for VPN services but, in our experience, most don’t live up to their tall claims.

BBC: Matches are to be shown on the BBC live in the United Kingdom. Those with access to BBC iPlayer can pick and choose any of the matches they want to stream. The BBC will share the broadcast of the 2022 World Cup finals with ITV after signing a new rights deal with Fifa. The new agreement covers TV, radio and online coverage, according to Beebs.

Photo: Evening Standard

What is the World Cup format and schedule?

The tournament will feature 32 teams in eight groups of four.

Four matches will be played each day during the group stage, which will run over a 12-day period and see winners and runners-up progress to the round of 16.

Matches will only be assigned to particular venues after the finals draw, so organizers can choose optimal kick-off times to suit television audiences in different countries, as well as supporters out in Qatar.

The finals draw is scheduled to take place in April 2022, after the March window for international fixtures.

Unlike at Euro 2020, there will be a third-place play-off game on December 17.

Group stage: November 21- December 2

Round of 16: December 3-6

Quarter-finals: December 9/10

Semi-finals: December 13/14

Final: December 18

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