On 7 December (18:00 CET), the draw for UEFA qualifying to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will be held. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the draw will be held without representatives of the 55 member associations present.

The 55 participant national teams will be divided into six pots based on their position in the FIFA World Rankings from the 26 November, and the top ten teams will be drawn at the top of the ten groups - Italy are currently seventh.

The teams will be drawn into five groups of six teams and five groups of five. Each team in the group will face each other home and away between March and November 2021. The ten group winners will qualify directly for the final tournament in Qatar. Meanwhile, the ten runners-up will go into the playoffs, which will include the two best-ranked group winners from the 2020/21 Nations League, who have not directly qualified for or reached the playoffs for the World Cup.

The twelve teams will play a direct knockout game in March 2022 to decide the final three European nations at the World Cup.