FIFA World Cup qualification

The FIFA World Cup qualification is the process that a national association football team goes through to qualify for the FIFA World Cup Finals. The FIFA World Cup is a global event, so qualification is required to reduce the large field of participants from about 200 to 32.

Qualifying tournaments are held within the six FIFA continental zones (Africa, Asia, North and Central America and Caribbean, South America, Oceania, Europe), and are organized by their respective confederations. For each tournament, FIFA decides beforehand the number of spots awarded to each of the continental zones, based on the numbers and/or relative strength of the confederations' teams. 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification commenced in 2007 and finished in late 2009.

The hosts of the World Cup receive an automatic berth in the finals. Unlike many other sports, results of the previous World Cups or of the continental championships are not taken into account. Until 2002, the defending champions also received an automatic berth, but starting from the 2006 World Cup this is no longer the case.

History

Over many years, the World Cup's qualification has evolved, from having no qualification at all in 1930, when the tournament was invitational and only 13 teams entered, to the current two-year process. The first World Cup qualifying match was played on 11 June 1933 when Sweden defeated Estonia 6–2 in Stockholm. The first ever goal in a World Cup qualifying match was scored 7 minutes into the game: it was scored according to some sources by Swedish captain Knut Kroon, or according to other sources by Estonian goalkeeper Evald Tipner (own goal).

While the number of teams which qualified for the finals has increased steadily, from 16 between 1934 and 1978, to 24 between 1982 and 1994, and finally to 32 starting from 1998, the qualification format has been basically the same throughout the history of the World Cup. The teams have been grouped continentally, and they competed for a fixed number of berths, with one or two berths reserved for winners of the intercontinental play-offs.

Qualification spots by continent

The table below lists the numbers of spots allocated by FIFA for each continent in each tournament. Places in the intercontinental play-offs count as 0.5 spots. Numbers in bold represent the winners of the intercontinental play-offs. "+C" denotes an additional spot for defending champions. "+H" denotes an additional spot for hosts.

• ¹ In 1938, Austria withdrew after qualifying due to being annexed by Germany and were not replaced, so only 15 teams, 12 of them European, played in the finals.
• ² In 1950, India, Scotland and Turkey withdrew after qualifying and were not replaced, so only 13 teams, none of them Asian and 6 of them European, played in the finals.
• ³ Initially in 1958, Africa and Asia together were given 1 spot, while Europe was given 9 spots. However, after Israel won the African and Asian zone without playing any matches due to withdrawals of other teams, a special play-off was arranged between them and a European team (Wales). So in effect, Africa and Asia together were given 0.5 spots, while Europe was given 9.5 spots.
• ⁴ In 1962, Europe was given 8 automatic spots, plus 2 additional spots in the intercontinental play-offs, in effect giving them 9 spots. The two European teams played an African team and an Asian team respectively, and both European teams won. Therefore, 10 European teams played in the finals.
• ⁵ In 1994, there were two rounds of intercontinental play-offs. First, an Oceanian team played a team from North and Central America and Caribbean, and the winner then played a South American team.
• ⁶ From the 2006 qualifiers on, the defending champion no longer has an automatic spot secured.

Qualification competition entrants over time

The number of teams entering the qualification process and the number of matches played have been steadily growing over time.

• ¹ Because the Oceania Football Confederation has used the World Cup Qualifiers as a phase of (or as the entire) Oceania Nations Cup, there is the possibility for non-FIFA countries to enter in matches that double as World Cup qualifiers. In the 2006 qualifiers, New Caledonia were included in the tournament although they were not FIFA members at the date of close of entries. They are, however, included in the 12 nations listed as they joined FIFA during the course of qualification, even though they had been technically eliminated from contention a few days earlier (a similar situation occurred in the entries for 2010, with Montenegro's entry accepted prior to their admission by FIFA). By contrast, Tuvalu competed in the 2007 South Pacific Games Football tournament, which doubled as qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup. They are not included in the 11 OFC entrants, although their results counted towards the qualification of other teams.
• ² "Teams played" is the total number of teams that played at least one qualifying match.
• ³ This number include Tuvalu and South Africa. Although South Africa qualified automatically for 2010 as hosts, they competed in the CAF qualifiers, becoming the first hosts to compete in World Cup qualifying since 1934. This is because the Confederation of African Football used its 2010 World Cup qualifiers as the qualifying phase for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, a tournament for which South Africa had to attempt to qualify.

First appearance in qualification by team

• ¹ Despite being the hosts, Italy had to qualify to the tournament.
• ² Only teams that played at least one match are considered for the purposes of first appearance. Teams that withdrew prior to the qualification, or that qualified to the World Cup automatically due to another team's withdrawal are not considered and written Italics.
• ³ First appearance as Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia; previous appearance as Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
• ⁴ First appearance as Israel; previous appearances as Eretz Yisrael.
• ⁵ First appearance as Suriname; previous appearances as Dutch Guiana.
• ⁶ First appearance as Zimbabwe; previous appearances as Rhodesia.
• ⁷ First appearance as Benin; previous appearances as Dahomey.
• ⁸ First appearance as Burkina Faso; previous appearances as Upper Volta.
• ⁹ First appearance after the reunification.
• ¹⁰ First appearance after the split.
• ¹¹ First appearance as Federal Republic of Yugoslavia; previous appearances as Kingdom of Yugoslavia and Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
• ¹² First appearance as Democratic Republic of the Congo; previous appearances as Zaire.
• ¹³ First appearance as Serbia and Montenegro; previous appearances as Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
• ¹⁴ Not a member of FIFA at the time of the qualification.
• ¹⁵ Matches in the Football tournament of the South Pacific Games counted towards the qualification tournament for the OFC, and Tuvalu's results counted in determining advancement from this stage. However, Tuvalu was not a member of FIFA at the time of qualification and had not entered the FIFA World Cup.

National teams results in World Cup preliminary competition 1934–2010

• Note that on the table below, all victories are given 3 points, and 1 point for draws. But before the 1998 World Cup qualification, victories were given only 2 points on the competitions.

Last updated: 16 July 2010.

Topscorers in preliminary competition 1934–2010

Current format

Currently, 32 places are available in the final tournament. One of them is reserved for the host nation, but if two or more nations host the competition jointly, each is awarded a place. The 2006 Finals were the first in which an automatic entry was not guaranteed to the previous champion; 2002 winner Brazil qualified for 2006 at the top of their qualifiers group. The decision to remove the reigning champions' automatic spot, announced in November 2001, was said by FIFA to address the issue of the returning champions being at a disadvantage to their fellow competitors due to having not played a competitive match in the previous two years.^[1] The problem was amply demonstrated at the 2002 FIFA World Cup as returning champions France tumbled out in the first round, finishing bottom of their group having failed to score a single goal. However, Italy, defending champions from 2006, finished bottom of their group in 2010, despite playing in the qualifying matches.

FIFA decides beforehand the number of spots awarded to each of the continental zones. For the 2014 World Cup, the following numbers will be used:^[2]

• UEFA (Europe) – 13 berths
• CAF (Africa) – 5 berths
• AFC (Asia) – 4 berths
• CONMEBOL (South America) – 4 berths, plus the host Brazil
• CONCACAF (North and Central America and Caribbean) – 3 berths
• 2 berths for the winners of play-offs between the best team from the OFC (Oceania), as well as additional teams from the AFC, CONMEBOL and CONCACAF. The pairings for these play-offs will be determined by an open draw.

These numbers vary slightly between tournaments (see above).

Qualification in all zones ends at approximately the same time, in September–November of the year preceding the finals.

The formats of the qualification tournaments differ between confederations and over time. The systems to be used in 2014 are outlined below.

Africa

The CAF qualification process will begin with a preliminary round (to narrow the field of 52 entrants to 40 teams) in November 2011. Mauritania was the only team not to enter the qualifying draw.

The group stage will consist of 10 groups of 4, with the group winners advancing. The final stage will pair the 10 remaining teams in 5 knock-out ties, with the winners advancing to the World Cup finals.

Asia

Bhutan and Guam did not enter the AFC qualification process, while Brunei were suspended and therefore ineligible.

Qualifying has only been altered slightly from the 2010 method, with changes to the structure of the preliminary rounds – which will be held before the main draw. As with the 2010 qualifying, two knock-out preliminary rounds will reduce the 43 entrants to 20, followed by first group stage with the top two sides from 5 groups of 4 advancing to a final group stage. The winners and runners-up of the two final groups of 5 will advance to the World Cup finals with the two third-placed sides playing off for the right to play in an inter-confederation play-off for a final World Cup spot.

Europe

The European qualification is unchanged from the 2010 system. The 53 national teams will be divided into nine groups, with the group winners qualifying directly to the finals, and the best eight runners-up playing home-and-away ties for the remaining four places.^[3]

North and Central America and Caribbean

The CONCACAF qualification process has changed significantly from 2010 qualification. A single preleminary round involved the 10 lowest ranked teams will reduce the 35 entrants to 30. The six highest ranked sides will receive byes in the first group stage, while the remaining 24 teams will play in six groups of four, with the winners advancing to a second group stage. As in 2006 and 2010, the remaining 12 teams with play in 3 semifinal groups of 4 teams with the top two in each group advancing to a final 6-team group.

The final round – often referred to as "the hexagonal" because of the number of teams involved – will see the top three teams advance to the World Cup finals, while the fourth placed side will enter an inter-confederation play-off for a final World Cup spot.

Oceania

Qualification in Oceania will be held as part of two further competitions. The first stage will take place at the 2011 Pacific Games, with the top 3 eligible teams advancing to a final round group stage with New Zealand. The winner of the final group stage (which will also act as the 2012 OFC Nations Cup) will enter an inter-confederation play-off for a World Cup spot.

South America

As in recent qualification series CONMEBOL qualification will consist of a single group of all entrants not automatically qualified for the finals. Brazil, as hosts of the 2014 finals, qualifies automatically and does not compete in qualifying.

The top 4 teams from the 9 teams group will advance to the World Cup finals, while the fifth placed team will enter an inter-confederation play-off for a World Cup spot.

Intercontinental play-offs

Unlike previous tournaments, the pairings for the two play-offs will be determined by an open draw on 30 July 2011, a day prior to the main draw. Intercontinental play-offs are played as home-and-away ties.

Qualification tournament rules

Qualification tournaments generally consist of a number of stages, made up of groups or knock-out ties.

Groups

In all group tournaments, three points are awarded for a win, one for a draw, and none for a loss. FIFA has set the order of the tie-breakers for teams that finish level on points:

1. goal difference in all group matches
2. greater number of goals scored in all group matches

Where teams are still not able to be separated, the following tie-breakers are used:

1. greater number of points obtained in matches between the tied teams
2. goal difference in matches between the tied teams
3. greater number of goals scored in matches between the tied teams

Where teams are still equal, then a play-off on neutral ground, with extra time and penalties if necessary will be played if FIFA deems such a play-off able to be fitted within the coordinated international match calendar. If this is not deemed feasible, then the result will be determined by the drawing of lot.

Note that this order of tie-breaker application has not always been applied. While it was used in the 2010 qualifiers, the qualification for the 2006 World Cup used the head-to-head comparison prior to goal difference (although this system was – where applicable – used in the 2006 finals themselves). If these rules had applied in 2006, then Nigeria would have qualified rather than Angola.

Home-and-away ties

Most knock-out qualifiers (such as the inter-confederation play-offs, the second round of UEFA qualifying and many preliminary ties) are played over two legs. The team that scores a greater aggregate number of goals qualifies. Away goals rule applies. If these rules fail to determine the winner, extra time and penalty shootouts are used.

Occasionally – usually when one entrant lacks adequate facilities to host international matches – ties are played over a single leg, in which case matches level after 90 minutes will go to extra time and then to a penalty shootout if required.

Alternatively, "home" matches can be played in neutral countries, or occasionally one team will host both matches. In the latter case the visiting team will still be considered as the "home" team for one of the legs – which may determine which side advances under the away goals rule, as occurred in CONCACAF qualification in 2010.

Notes

• Mexico holds several records in World Cup qualifying matches: most games played (141, followed by Costa Rica, 140), most games won (92, followed by Costa Rica, 68), most goals scored (376, followed by Australia, 286), best goal difference (+272, followed by Australia, +203) and best tally of points under the classic 3–1–0 point system (304pts, followed by Costa Rica 238pts).
• Germany (incl. results of West Germany from 1950 to 1990) have the best point-per-game average with 2.46 PPG (followed by Italy, 2.32 PPG) and the highest amount of goals scored per game with 2.9 GPG (followed by Solomon Islands, 2.8 GPG).
• No federation has been able to remain undefeated in preliminary competition. South Yemen was only defeated once but played only 2 World Cup qualifying matches. As South Yemen football team does not exist anymore, they cannot lose any other game in the future, and no other existing federation that took part in the World Cup qualifying process has lost less than 2 games, which means this record is likely to stand for a long time. Germany (incl. West Germany) lost only 2 games in 74 matches. Saarland and Eritrea lost 2 out of 4 games, whereas Central African Republic, Comoros, and Guam lost 2 out of 2 games. Germany lost their first game in 1985 (vs Portugal in Stuttgart) and their second game in 2001 (vs England in Munich), which means these two games were lost at home. Brazil lost their first World Cup qualifying match ever in 1993 (vs Bolivia in La Paz).
• Korea Republic, Italy and Brazil have the lowest ratio of goals allowed per game, with 0.6 GAPG.
• Zambia hold the record for the most qualification wins (40) without ever qualifying for the finals (followed by Qatar, 36).
• Luxembourg hold the records for most games lost (107, followed by Venezuela, 74), most goals allowed (381, followed by Cyprus) and worst goal difference (−327, followed by Malta, −222).
• Guam hold the record for most goals allowed per game (17.5 GAPG, followed by American Samoa, 10.8 GAPG).
• Eritrea (4 games played), and Guam (2 games played) are the only federations that never scored a goal in a World Cup preliminary competition. Eritrea completed 2 draw games, though.
• San Marino hold the record for the most games played (46) without ever winning (followed by Pakistan, 26).
• The following nations have lost all of their World Cup qualifying matches: Brunei, American Samoa (12 games played), Montserrat (7 games played), Timor-Leste (4 games played), Central African Republic, Comoros, and Guam (2 games played).
• Colombia holds the record for most drawn games (37) in World Cup preliminary competition (followed by Republic of Ireland, 36).
• Several teams managed to go through their preliminary competition series winning all their matches. The most impressive series are those of Spain for 2010 (10 games played), West Germany for 1982 and Netherlands for 2010 (8 games played) and Brazil for 1970 (6 games played). West Germany reached the final in 1982, Brazil became champions in 1970 and Spain became champions in 2010. Burundi won 2 games out of 2 for 1998 but withdrew due to civil war on the following round.
• Brazil was the champion of the 1970 World Cup winning all their matches on the qualification (6 games) and on the final tournament (6 games). It is the only time a team did it so far.
• Honduras and Trinidad and Tobago played the longest World Cup preliminary competition campaigns on the way to the World Cup 2002, having played 22 games. Though, both of them did not qualify, ending respectively 4th and 6th of the CONCACAF Final Round, whereas only the 3 top teams of this round were qualified for the World Cup.
• Bhutan entered the 2010 World Cup qualifying process but withdrew before playing a single game, being the only federation to have entered preliminary competition and not to have played a single game.
• Italy hold the record for most qualification berths earned through playing World Cup qualifying matches (13 times), followed by Germany and Spain (12). Brazil and Germany are the only teams that have never been eliminated in preliminary competitions: Brazil have taken part in every staging of the World Cup final competition so far, whereas Germany did not enter in 1930 and was not admitted to the competition in 1950. Only once was Brazil deprived of finishing as leaders of their qualifying group, when they ended 3rd behind Argentina and Ecuador in the South American qualification group for 2002.
• Luxembourg holds the record for most unsuccessful attempts (18) to qualify for the World Cup final competition, having been eliminated from each preliminary competition campaign. Finland were eliminated 17 times: they have also never qualified, but did not enter the preliminary competition in 1934.
• India qualified (actually without playing a single qualifying match) for the 1950 World Cup final competition but withdrew following a FIFA ruling against barefoot players. India had never been able to qualify for the World Cup before and have never been able to do so since then.
• Iranian player Ali Daei is considered to be the World Cup preliminary competition top scorer with a tally of 30 goals scored.
• The largest margin of victory in World Cup preliminary competition was set when Australia defeated American Samoa 31–0 in Sydney on 11 April 2001. With 13 goals scored on this occasion, Archie Thompson set the highest amount of goals scored by a single player in a single World Cup preliminary competition game. This score helped Australia to achieve a new record, the highest amount of goals scored by a single squad during a single qualifying campaign (73 goals scored, in 8 games). However, Australia failed to qualify as they were eliminated in the intercontinental playoffs against Uruguay.
• Maldives hold the record for most goals allowed (59 goals allowed in 6 games) by a single squad in a single preliminary campaign, during preliminary competition of World Cup 1998. They suffered 0–17 and 9–0 losses against Iran, as well as 12–0 and 0–12 losses against Syria and 3–0 and 0–6 losses against Kyrgyzstan. Moreover, they failed to score a single goal against their opponents.
• Davide Gualtieri from San Marino scored the fastest ever World Cup preliminary competition goal (9 seconds into the game) against England on 17 November 1993, in Bologna (Italy).
• As of 2010, a total of 5,635 World Cup qualifying matches have been played (of which 1,190 were drawn) and a total of 16,471 goals have been scored (2.92 goals per game).
• Due to territorial and political changes over the years, it is difficult to estimate the number of federations that played at least one game in a World Cup preliminary competition. Arguably 213 federations have competed in the World Cup preliminary competition, if Czechoslovakia (and RCS), Czech Republic and Slovakia are considered 3 distinct federations (FIFA consider both Czech Republic and Slovakia as successors of Czechoslovakia (and RCS), which is not practical to deal with in statistical work).

See also

• National team appearances in the FIFA World Cup

References

External links

• FIFA World Cup Preliminary Competition Statistics (from FIFA.com)
• FIFA World Cup Preliminary History (from FIFA.com)
• FIFA World Cup 2010 Regulations
• 33 facts you need to know about the 2010 FIFA World Cup preliminary competition