2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
The 2014 FIFA World Cup will feature 32 teams. One place was allocated to the hosts, Brazil, but no automatic place is given to the defending champions, Spain. The remaining 31 places will be determined by a qualification process, in which entrants from among the other 207 teams from the six FIFA confederations will compete. Most qualification will be determined within these confederations, with a limited number of inter-confederation play-offs occurring at the end of the process. Brunei, Bhutan, Guam and Mauritania did not enter.[1] The first qualification match was played on 15 June 2011 and the Belizean striker Deon McCaulay scored the first goal in qualification. As of 13 December 2024, 128 teams remain in contention for 31 remaining qualification places. The originally published schedule would have consisted of 824 qualifying matches,[2] but the withdrawal of the Bahamas and Mauritius means only 816 will be required.[3][4]
Qualified teams
| Team | Method of qualification |
Date of qualification |
Finals appearance |
Consecutive World Cups |
Last appearance |
Previous best performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Brazil |
Host | 30 Oct 2007 | 20th | 20 | 2010 | Winner (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002) |
Confederation qualification processes
The Executive Committee decided to approve the change of date for the preliminary draw of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which was held six months earlier than in the past, in order to allow the confederations to begin their qualifying competitions in good time. The draw was held on 30 July 2011 at the Marina da Glória in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The distribution by confederation for the 2014 World Cup will be:[5]
- Europe (UEFA): 13 places
- Africa (CAF): 5 places
- Asia (AFC): 4 or 5 places
- South America (CONMEBOL) 4 or 5 places (+ Brazil qualified automatically as host nation for a total of 5 or 6 places)
- North, Central American and Caribbean (CONCACAF): 3 or 4 places
- Oceania (OFC): 0 or 1 place
UEFA and CAF have a guaranteed number of places, whereas the number of qualifiers from other confederations is dependent on play-offs between Asia's fifth-placed team and CONMEBOL's fifth-placed team, and between CONCACAF's fourth-placed team and Oceania's first-placed team. A draw determined the pairings between the four teams involved.
Summary of qualification
| ||||||||
| Confederation | Teams started | Teams that have secured qualification | Teams that can still qualify | Teams that have been eliminated | Remaining places in finals | Total places in finals | Next matchday | Qualifying end date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AFC | 43 | 0 | 10 | 33 | 4 or 5 | 4 or 5 | 11 September 2012 | 10 September 2013 |
| CAF | 52 | 0 | 40 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 22 March 2013 | 19 November 2013 |
| CONCACAF | 35 | 0 | 12 | 23 | 3 or 4 | 3 or 4 | 11 September 2012 | 15 October 2013 |
| CONMEBOL | 9+1 | 0+1 | 9 | 0 | 4 or 5 | 4+1 or 5+1 | 11 September 2012 | 15 October 2013 |
| OFC | 11 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 0 or 1 | 0 or 1 | 11 September 2012 | 26 March 2013 |
| UEFA | 53 | 0 | 53 | 0 | 13 | 13 | 8 September 2012 | 19 November 2013 |
| Total | 203+1 | 0+1 | 128 | 75 | 31 | 31+1 | 8 September 2012 | 19 November 2013 |
Tiebreakers
For FIFA World Cup qualifying stages using a league format, the method used for separating teams level on points is the same for all Confederations, as decided by FIFA itself.[6] If teams are even on points at the end of group play, the tied teams will be ranked by:
- goal difference in all group matches
- greater number of goals scored in all group matches
- greater number of points obtained in matches between the tied teams
- goal difference in matches between the tied teams
- greater number of goals scored in matches between the tied teams
- greater number of away goals scored in matches between the tied teams if only two teams are tied
If teams are still equal then a single play-off at a neutral venue will be played. If scores are level after 90 minutes in the play-off, then two 15-minutes periods of extra time and (if required) a penalty shoot-out would determine the winner.
For FIFA World Cup qualifying stages using a home-and-away knockout format, the team that has the higher aggregate score over the two legs progresses to the next round. In the event that aggregate scores finish level, the away goals rule is applied, i.e. the team that scored more goals away from home over the two legs progresses. If away goals are also equal, then thirty minutes of extra time are played, divided into two fifteen-minutes halves. The away goals rule is again applied after extra time, i.e. if there are goals scored during extra time and the aggregate score is still level, the visiting team qualifies by virtue of more away goals scored. If no goals are scored during extra time, the tie is decided by penalty shoot-out.
AFC
Qualification began with two sets of two-leg knockout qualification rounds – the first held on 29 June and 2 July and 3 July 2011 and the second on 23 and 28 July – reducing the number of teams in the main draw to 20. As in the 2010 format, the third stage consisted of 5 groups of 4 teams (with matches held between September 2011 and February 2012) with the top 2 in each group advancing to 2 groups of 5 that will play a further group stage during 2012. The top two teams in each group qualify for the 2014 finals directly, with the two third-placed teams engaging in a play-off tie for a chance to qualify via a further inter-confederation qualifying tie against a team from CONMEBOL.
The draw for the first two rounds of qualifiers was held in Kuala Lumpur on 30 March 2011.[7]
The qualification process began with 43 national teams (out of 46 AFC members) vying for four and a half spots. As of 29 February 2012, 33 nations have been eliminated, leaving 10 teams still in contention.
Current stage (Fourth Round)
| Group A Template:2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Fourth Round Group A |
Group B Template:2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Fourth Round Group B |
Africa (CAF)
52 out of the 53 national associations affiliated to CAF entered the qualifying tournament to determine the continent’s five slots for the next World Cup (only Mauritania failed to enter, while South Sudan joined FIFA after the start of qualifying). The proposed format, announced on 16 May 2011, began with a first round of 12 two-legged knockout ties, which were held between 11 and 16 November 2011. The ties involved the 24 lowest-ranked teams according to FIFA world rankings. The 12 winners joined the remaining 28 CAF entrants in the second round, which consists of 10 groups of four. The winners of each group – held between June 2012 and September 2013 – will advance to a third round of 5 two-legged knockout ties. The five winners of these ties – held in October and November 2013 – will advance to the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals.
The qualification process began with 52 national teams vying for five spots. As of 16 November 2011, 12 nations have been eliminated, leaving 40 teams still in contention.
Current stage (Second Round)
CONCACAF
In May 2010, the CONCACAF Executive Committee announced a possible change in its qualifying format for the 2014 World Cup, which would start with a preliminary knockout stage followed by three group phases.[8] However, these proposals have since been abandoned. CONCACAF is currently planning to once again use a six-team final stage (known colloquially as "the Hexagonal"). The ten lowest-ranked nations played two-legged ties, with the five winners joining the nations ranked 7–25 in Round 2. There were six groups of four teams, and the six group winners will join the nations ranked 1–6 in Round 3. There will be three groups of four teams and the top two teams in each group advance to Round 4. The six nations will form one group with the top three nations qualifying and the fourth-placed team advancing to the inter-continental play-off against the top team from the OFC.
35 national teams began the qualification process vying for three and a half spots. As of 15 November 2011, 22 nations have been eliminated and the Bahamas have withdrawn, leaving 12 nations still in contention.
Current stage (Third Round)
CONMEBOL
Template:2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONMEBOL
Due to the fact that Brazil have already qualified, the remaining nine CONMEBOL teams take part in a single round-robin group, playing each other twice (home and away). The top four teams qualify automatically, the fifth-placed team will proceed to the inter-confederational play-offs against a team from Africa.
OFC
The four lowest-ranked nations (American Samoa, Cook Islands, Samoa, and Tonga) competed in the first round of qualifying: a single round-robin tournament in Apia, Samoa, from 22–26 November 2011.[9] The winner of the group, Samoa, joined the remaining 7 OFC teams in the 2012 OFC Nations Cup, which also doubled as the second qualifying round. The four semi-finalists of the Nations Cup advanced to Round Three, which will consist of a double round-robin held on a home-and-away basis between 7 September 2012 and 26 March 2013.
The winner of round three will then compete in a two-legged play-off against a team from CONCACAF for the right to play in the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals.
Eleven national teams began this qualification process vying for half a place. As of 6 June 2012, 7 nations have been eliminated, leaving 4 teams still in contention.
Current stage (Third Round)
The four semi-finalists from the 2012 OFC Nations Cup tournament advanced to the Third Round.
Template:2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – OFC Third Round
UEFA
The European qualification games will start in September 2012, after Euro 2012.
All 53 national associations affiliated with UEFA will take part in the qualification process, with thirteen qualifying places up for grabs. There will be eight groups of six teams and a single group of five teams. The nine group winners qualify, while the eight best runners-up – ranked according to all their games except for games against the sixth-placed team in their group – will play-off for the four remaining spots.
Current stage (First Round)
Inter-confederation play-offs
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AFC Fifth place | CONMEBOL Fifth place |
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CONCACAF Fourth place | OFC First place |
Top goalscorers
As of 12 June 2012, there have been 955 goals scored over 310 games, for an average of 3.08 goals per game. Players highlighted in bold are still active in the competition.
- 11 goals
- 10 goals
- 8 goals
- 7 goals
- 6 goals
|
|
- 5 goals
References
- ^ 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Preliminary Draw
- ^ "Das Losglück bleibt dem DFB-Team treu". Kicker (in German). 30 July 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) - ^ Bahamas withdraw from 2014 World Cup Qualifiers FIFA.com. Retrieved 13 October 2011
- ^ "Mauritius withdraw from FIFA World Cup qualifiers". FIFA.com. 31 October 2011.
- ^ "Qualifiers". FIFA. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
- ^ "Regulations - 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil" (PDF). FIFA.com. 30 May 2011. art.18 par.6d to 6g. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
- ^ "The battle for Brazil berth begins". The-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 30 March 2011. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
- ^ CONCACAF to seek change in World Cup qualifying
- ^ Pacific Games no longer part of qualification
External links
Fédération internationale de football association (FIFA) | |
| Tournaments |
|
| Qualification | |
| Finals | |
| Squads | |
| Final draw | |
| Broadcasters | |
| Bids | |
| Officials | |
| Team appearances | |
| Overall records |
|
| Miscellaneous | |
