Football World Cup 2014 / Qualification
The qualification (or preliminary round) for the Football World Cup 2014 was held from 2011 to 2013. A total of 202 associations played for 31 final round places. The draw for the qualifying groups took place on July 30, 2011 in Rio de Janeiro . The Asian association drew the first two qualifying rounds on March 30, 2011.
Guam , Bhutan (both AFC) and Mauritania ( CAF ) did not participate. Brunei (AFC) was suspended by FIFA from 2009 to May 30, 2011 and was therefore unable to take part in the World Cup qualification. Mauritius (CAF) was drawn, but withdrew before the first qualifying match.
The starting places for the final round were allocated as follows:
- UEFA ( Europe ): 13 starting places for 53 qualifying participants
- CONMEBOL ( South America ): 4 or 5 starting places for 9 qualifiers plus one starting place for host Brazil
- CAF ( Africa ): 5 starting places for 51 qualifying participants (after Mauritius withdrawal)
- AFC ( Asia and Australia ): 4 or 5 starting places for 43 qualifying participants
- CONCACAF ( North and Central America and the Caribbean ): 3 or 4 starting places for 35 qualifying participants
- OFC ( Oceania ): 0 or 1 starting place for 11 qualifiers
Two of the participants were determined in intercontinental playoffs between an Asia representative and a South American representative, as well as between representatives from Oceania and CONCACAF.
Regulations
According to FIFA regulations, the preliminary round matches in the form of group matches and cup matches can be played in home and return matches or, in exceptional cases, in tournament form in one of the participating countries. In the group games, three points are awarded for a win and one for a draw. The following criteria are decisive:
- higher number of points
- better goal difference
- higher number of goals scored
- higher number of points from the direct encounters between teams with the same points and goals
- better goal difference from the direct encounters between the teams with the same points and goals
- higher number of goals from direct encounters between teams with equal points and goals
- higher number of away goals from direct encounters between teams with the same points and goals if only two teams are affected.
If two teams do the same according to these criteria, a play-off can be scheduled.
In the cup games, if there is a tie after the two games, the higher number of away goals scored counts. If the number of away goals is the same, extra time is played. If no goal is scored in extra time, the match will be decided on penalties. If the same number of goals are scored on both sides in extra time, the away team qualifies on the basis of more away goals scored.
Teams qualified for the World Cup
nation | qualified as | at the | FIFA rank | Participation in the finals | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
number | last | ||||
Brazil | CONMEBOL; host | 10/30/2007 | 4th | 20th | 2010 |
Japan | AFC; 4th round, first group B | 06/04/2013 | 47 | 5 | 2010 |
Australia | AFC; 4th round, second group B | 06/18/2013 | 59 | 4th | 2010 |
Iran | AFC; 4th round, first group A | 06/18/2013 | 37 | 4th | 2006 |
South Korea | AFC; 4th round, second group A | 06/18/2013 | 55 | 9 | 2010 |
Netherlands | UEFA; First group D | 09/10/2013 | 15th | 10 | 2010 |
Italy | UEFA; First group B | 09/10/2013 | 9 | 18th | 2010 |
United States | CONCACAF; First 4th round | 09/10/2013 | 14th | 10 | 2010 |
Costa Rica | CONCACAF; Second 4th round | 09/10/2013 | 34 | 4th | 2006 |
Argentina | CONMEBOL; First | 09/10/2013 | 7th | 16 | 2010 |
Belgium | UEFA; First group A | 10/11/2013 | 12 | 12 | 2002 |
Switzerland | UEFA; First group E | 10/11/2013 | 8th | 10 | 2010 |
Germany | UEFA; First group C | 10/11/2013 | 2 | 18th | 2010 |
Colombia | CONMEBOL; Second | 10/11/2013 | 5 | 5 | 1998 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | UEFA; First group G | October 15, 2013 | 25th | 1 | - |
Russia | UEFA; First group F | October 15, 2013 | 18th | 3 | 2002 |
England | UEFA; First group H | October 15, 2013 | 11 | 14th | 2010 |
Spain | UEFA; First group I. | October 15, 2013 | 1 | 14th | 2010 |
Chile | CONMEBOL; Third | October 15, 2013 | 13 | 9 | 2010 |
Ecuador | CONMEBOL; Fourth | October 15, 2013 | 28 | 3 | 2006 |
Honduras | CONCACAF; Third 4th round | October 15, 2013 | 30th | 3 | 2010 |
Nigeria | CAF; 3rd round winner | 11/16/2013 | 44 | 5 | 2010 |
Ivory Coast | CAF; 3rd round winner | 11/16/2013 | 21st | 3 | 2010 |
Cameroon | CAF; 3rd round winner | 11/17/2013 | 50 | 7th | 2010 |
Ghana | CAF; 3rd round winner | 11/19/2013 | 38 | 3 | 2010 |
Algeria | CAF; 3rd round winner | 11/19/2013 | 32 | 4th | 2010 |
Greece | UEFA; Winner play-offs | 11/19/2013 | 10 | 3 | 2010 |
Croatia | UEFA; Winner play-offs | 11/19/2013 | 20th | 4th | 2006 |
Portugal | UEFA; Winner play-offs | 11/19/2013 | 3 | 6th | 2010 |
France | UEFA; Winner play-offs | 11/19/2013 | 16 | 14th | 2010 |
Mexico | CONCACAF; Intercontinental Play-Offs ( OFC ) winners | 11/20/2013 | 19th | 15th | 2010 |
Uruguay | CONMEBOL; Winner intercontinental play-offs ( AFC ) | 11/20/2013 | 6th | 12 | 2010 |
Remarks:
European Zone / UEFA
Participating teams
All 53 UEFA members took part in World Cup qualification. Before the draw, the teams were divided into six pots based on the FIFA world rankings .
Group overview | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Group A | FIFA Rank 1 | Group B | FIFA rank | Group C | FIFA rank |
1. Croatia | 9 | 1. Italy | 8th | 1. Germany | 3 |
2. Serbia | 27 | 2. Denmark | 21st | 2. Sweden | 19th |
3. Belgium | 37 | 3. Czech Republic | 38 | 3. Ireland | 33 |
4. Scotland | 61 | 4. Bulgaria | 48 | 4. Austria | 66 |
5. Macedonia | 96 | 5. Armenia | 70 | 5. Faroe Islands | 112 |
6. Wales | 112 | 6. Malta | 173 | 6. Kazakhstan | 126 |
Group D | FIFA rank | Group E | FIFA rank | Group F. | FIFA rank |
1. Netherlands | 2 | 1. Norway | 12 | 1. Portugal | 7th |
2. Turkey | 24 | 2. Slovenia | 23 | 2. Russia | 18th |
3. Hungary | 47 | 3. Switzerland | 30th | 3. Israel | 32 |
4. Romania | 53 | 4. Albania | 59 | 4. Northern Ireland | 62 |
5. Estonia | 79 | 5. Cyprus | 80 | 5. Azerbaijan | 97 |
6. Andorra | 203 | 6. Iceland | 121 | 6. Luxembourg | 128 |
Group G | FIFA rank | Group H. | FIFA rank | Group I. | FIFA rank |
1. Greece | 13 | 1. England | 6th | 1. Spain | 1 |
2. Slovakia | 29 | 2. Montenegro | 17th | 2. France | 15th |
3. Bosnia and Herzegovina | 41 | 3. Ukraine | 45 | 3. Belarus | 42 |
4. Lithuania | 58 | 4. Poland | 69 | 4. Georgia | 57 |
5. Latvia | 83 | 5. Moldova | 85 | 5. Finland | 75 |
6. Liechtenstein | 118 | 6. San Marino | 203 |
1 At the time of the draw (July 2011).
South American Zone / CONMEBOL
Participating teams
With Brazil already qualified to host, only nine teams took part in the qualifying round:
North, Central American and Caribbean Zones / CONCACAF
Participating teams
35 teams from the North, Central American and Caribbean zones took part in the qualification for the World Cup. The teams ranked 26th to 35th played against each other in the first round:
* = qualified for the 2nd round
The associations ranked 7th to 25th started in round two:
* = qualified for the 3rd round / ** qualified for the 4th round
The six top seeded teams started in round three:
|
|
** qualified for the 4th round
Asian Zone and Australia / AFC
Participating teams
43 teams from the Asian Football Confederation took part in qualifying for the World Cup. In the first round, the 16 lowest-seeded teams in the knockout system met each other due to their performance in the 2010 World Cup qualification:
* = qualified for the 2nd round
In the second round, the associations seeded 6 to 27 began:
|
* = qualified for the 3rd round / ** qualified for the 4th round / *** qualified for the 5th round / **** qualified for the intercontinental play-offs
The Asian participants in the 2010 World Cup and play-off participants in Bahrain made it straight to the third round:
** qualified for the 4th round
Oceanic Zone / OFC
Participating teams
All 11 full members of the oceanic association OFC played for the World Cup participation. The first two rounds of qualification were also part of the 2012 Oceania Cup . The four weakest teams in Oceania took part in the qualifying tournament in Samoa:
|
The tournament took place in late November 2011 and Samoa qualified for the second round ( * ).
The remaining seven teams started in the group stage of the OFC Nations Cup:
* = qualified for the 3rd round ** = qualified for intercontinental play-offs
After two group phases, the New Zealand national team prevailed as the winner in the Oceanic Football Association.
African Zone / CAF
Participating teams
Of the 53 member associations of the African Football Association CAF , 51 took part in qualifying for the 2014 World Cup. The 24 lowest-ranked teams according to the FIFA World Ranking of July 2011 played in a play-off round for promotion to the second qualifying round:
1 Mauritius withdrew before the first qualifier.
* = qualified for the 2nd round ** qualified for the playoffs of the group winners
The remaining 28 teams took part in the qualification from the second round:
|
** qualifies for the group winners' playoffs
Intercontinental play-offs
The following confederations and teams met in the intercontinental play-offs:
Team 1 | Team 2 | First leg | Return leg | total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jordan AFC Round 5 Winner |
- |
Uruguay 5th in the CONMEBOL qualification |
0: 5 (0: 2) | 0-0 | 0: 5 |
Mexico 4th of Round 4 of the CONCACAF Qualifiers |
- |
New Zealand OFC qualification winner |
5: 1 (2: 0) | 4: 2 (3: 0) | 9: 3 |
The games took place on November 13th and 20th, 2013. The representatives of the higher ranking confederations according to the calculation of the FIFA world rankings were able to prevail, with Uruguay achieving the highest away win in an intercontinental play-off game in the first leg. Mexico scored more goals in the two playoff games than in 10 games of the 4th round of CONCACAF qualifying.
Best goal scorers
Players in bold are qualified for the World Cup with their teams.
rank | Surname | Association | Gates | Games |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Deon McCaulay | CONCACAF | 11 | 8th |
Robin van Persie | UEFA | 11 | 9 | |
Luis Suarez | CONMEBOL | 11 | 16 | |
4th | Edin Džeko | UEFA | 10 | 10 |
Oribe Peralta | CONCACAF | 10 | 11 | |
Peter Byers | CONCACAF | 10 | 12 | |
Lionel Messi | CONMEBOL | 10 | 14th | |
Blow Pérez | CONCACAF | 1 | 1018th | |
9 | Gonzalo Higuaín | CONMEBOL | 9 | 11 |
Jerry Bengtson | CONCACAF | 9 | 12 | |
Falcao | CONMEBOL | 9 | 13 | |
Source: FIFA |
Web links
- FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014: Qualification - official FIFA website
Individual evidence
- ↑ Big names in the draw. In: fifa.com. FIFA , July 13, 2011, accessed October 12, 2012 .
- ↑ Regulations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. (PDF; 431 kB) (No longer available online.) In: fifa.com. FIFA, July 15, 2011, archived from the original on June 29, 2014 ; Retrieved October 12, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Statistics. In: fifa.com. FIFA, accessed November 21, 2013 .
- ↑ Statistics. (No longer available online.) In: concacaf.com. CONCACAF , archived from the original on October 14, 2013 ; accessed on August 28, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ North and Central America: Scorers. In: fifa.com. FIFA, accessed August 28, 2013 .