2014 FIFA World Cup qualification

2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
Tournament details
Dates 15 June 2011 – 20 November 2013
Teams 203 (from 6 confederations)
Tournament statistics
Matches played 820
Goals scored 2,303 (2.81 per match)
Top scorer(s) Belize Deon McCaulay
Netherlands Robin van Persie
Uruguay Luis Suárez
(11 goals)

The 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. The 2014 FIFA World Cup featured 32 teams, with one place reserved for the host nation, Brazil. The remaining 31 places were determined by a qualification process, in which the other 207 teams, from the six FIFA confederations, competed. Most of the successful teams were determined within these confederations, with a limited number of inter-confederation play-offs occurring at the end of the process.

Bhutan, Brunei, Guam and Mauritania did not enter, and South Sudan joined FIFA after the qualification process started and therefore could not take part. The qualification process consisted of 820 matches, reduced from 824 after the late withdrawals of the Bahamas and Mauritius.[1][2][3][4]

The first qualification match, between Montserrat and Belize, was played on 15 June 2011, and the Belizean striker Deon McCaulay scored the first goal in qualification. Qualification ended on 20 November 2013, when Uruguay eliminated Jordan to become the final qualifier for the World Cup. Twenty-three of FIFA's 24 top-ranked countries eventually qualified.[5][6]

Qualified teams

  Country qualified for World Cup
  Country failed to qualify
  Country did not enter World Cup
  Country not a FIFA member
Team Method of
qualification		 Date of
qualification		 Finals
appearance		 Previous
appearance		 Previous best
performance		 FIFA
Ranking[nb 1]
 Brazil CONMEBOL Host 0130 October 2007 20th 2010 Winners (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002) 11
 Japan AFC Fourth Round Group B 1st Winners 024 June 2013 5th 2010 Round of 16 (2002, 2010) 44
 Australia AFC Fourth Round Group B 2nd Runners-up 0318 June 2013 4th 2010 Round of 16 (2006) 57
 Iran AFC Fourth Round Group A 1st Winners 0418 June 2013 4th 2006 Group stage (1978, 1998, 2006) 49
 South Korea AFC Fourth Round Group A 2nd Runners-up 0518 June 2013 9th 2010 Fourth place (2002) 56
 Netherlands UEFA Group D Winners 0610 September 2013 10th 2010 Runners-up (1974, 1978, 2010) 8
 Italy UEFA Group B Winners 0710 September 2013 18th 2010 Winners (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006) 9
 Costa Rica CONCACAF Fourth Round 2nd Runners-up 0810 September 2013 4th 2006 Round of 16 (1990) 31
 United States CONCACAF Fourth Round 1st Winners 0910 September 2013 10th 2010 Third place (1930) 13
 Argentina CONMEBOL Round Robin 1st Winners 1010 September 2013 16th 2010 Winners (1978, 1986) 3
 Belgium UEFA Group A Winners 1111 October 2013 12th 2002 Fourth place (1986) 5
  Switzerland UEFA Group E Winners 1211 October 2013 10th 2010 Quarter-finals (1934, 1938, 1954) 7
 Germany UEFA Group C Winners 1311 October 2013 18th 2010 Winners (1954, 1974, 1990) 2
 Colombia CONMEBOL Round Robin 2nd Runners-up 1411 October 2013 5th 1998 Round of 16 (1990) 4
 Bosnia and Herzegovina UEFA Group G Winners 1615 October 2013 1st – – 16
 Russia UEFA Group F Winners 1515 October 2013 10th[nb 2] 2002 Fourth place (1966)[nb 3] 19
 England UEFA Group H Winners 1715 October 2013 14th 2010 Winners (1966) 10
 Spain UEFA Group I Winners 1815 October 2013 14th 2010 Winners (2010) 1
 Chile CONMEBOL Round Robin 3rd place 1915 October 2013 9th 2010 Third place (1962) 12
 Ecuador CONMEBOL Round Robin 4th place 2015 October 2013 3rd 2006 Round of 16 (2006) 22
 Honduras CONCACAF Fourth Round 3rd place 2115 October 2013 3rd 2010 Group stage (1982, 2010) 34
 Nigeria CAF Third Round Winners 2216 November 2013 5th 2010 Round of 16 (1994, 1998) 33
 Ivory Coast CAF Third Round Winners 2316 November 2013 3rd 2010 Group stage (2006, 2010) 17
 Cameroon CAF Third Round Winners 2417 November 2013 7th 2010 Quarter-finals (1990) 59
 Ghana CAF Third Round Winners 2519 November 2013 3rd 2010 Quarter-finals (2010) 23
 Algeria CAF Third Round Winners 2619 November 2013 4th 2010 Group stage (1982, 1986, 2010) 32
 Greece UEFA Play-off Winners 2719 November 2013 3rd 2010 Group stage (1994, 2010) 15
 Croatia UEFA Play-off Winners 2819 November 2013 4th 2006 Third place (1998) 18
 Portugal UEFA Play-off Winners 2919 November 2013 6th 2010 Third place (1966) 14
 France UEFA Play-off Winners 3019 November 2013 14th 2010 Winners (1998) 21
 Mexico CONCACAF v OFC play-off Winners 3120 November 2013 15th 2010 Quarter-finals (1970, 1986) 24
 Uruguay CONMEBOLAFC v CONMEBOL play-off Winners 3220 November 2013 12th 2010 Winners (1930, 1950) 6

Qualification process

Marina da Glória in Rio de Janeiro hosted the qualification draw

The FIFA 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, 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 FIFA World Cup is:[7]

UEFA and CAF have a guaranteed number of places, whereas the number of qualifiers from other confederations is dependent on play-offs between AFC's fifth-placed team and CONMEBOL's fifth-placed team, and between CONCACAF's fourth-placed team and OFC's first-placed team. A draw determined the pairings between the four teams involved.

After the first round of 2014 FIFA World Cup finals, the percentage of teams from each confederation that passed through to the round of 16 was as follows:

Summary of qualification

Confederation Teams started Teams that secured qualification Teams that were eliminated Total places in finals Qualifying start date Qualifying end date
AFC43439429 June 201120 November 2013
CAF52547511 November 201119 November 2013
CONCACAF35431415 June 201120 November 2013
CONMEBOL9+15+145+17 October 201120 November 2013
OFC11011022 November 201120 November 2013
UEFA531340137 September 201219 November 2013
Total203+131+117231+115 June 201120 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.[nb 4] If teams are even on points at the end of group play, the tied teams will be ranked by:

  1. goal difference in all group matches
  2. greater number of goals scored in all group matches
  3. greater number of points obtained in matches between the tied teams
  4. goal difference in matches between the tied teams
  5. greater number of goals scored in matches between the tied teams
  6. 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.

Confederation qualification

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. The draw for the first two rounds of qualifiers was held in Kuala Lumpur on 30 March 2011.

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 played a further group stage during 2012. The top two teams in each group qualified for the 2014 World Cup directly, while the two third-placed teams engaged in a play-off tie for a chance to qualify via a further inter-confederation qualifying tie against a team from CONMEBOL.

The qualification process began with 43 national teams (out of 46 AFC members; Bhutan, Brunei and Guam did not enter) vying for four and a half spots. 4 nations have qualified: Japan, Australia, Iran and Korea Republic. Jordan beat Uzbekistan in round 5 and played Uruguay, the fifth-placed team from CONMEBOL, for the right to qualify, where they were eliminated.

Legend
Countries that directly qualified for the 2014 World Cup
Countries that advanced to the AFC play-off

Final positions (Fourth Round)

Group A
Team
 Pld Pts
 Iran 8 16
 South Korea 8 14
 Uzbekistan 8 14
 Qatar 8 7
 Lebanon 8 5
Group B
Team
 Pld Pts
 Japan 8 17
 Australia 8 13
 Jordan 8 10
 Oman 8 9
 Iraq 8 5

Play-off for 5th place (Fifth Round)

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Jordan  2–2 (9–8p)  Uzbekistan 1–1 1–1 (a.e.t.)

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).

Qualification 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 consisted of 10 groups of four. The winners of each group – held between June 2012 and September 2013 – advanced to a third round of 5 two-legged knockout ties. The five winners of these ties – held in October and November 2013 – advanced to the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals.

Third round

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Ivory Coast  4–2  Senegal 3–1 1–1
Ethiopia  1–4  Nigeria 1–2 0–2
Tunisia  1–4  Cameroon 0–0 1–4
Ghana  7–3  Egypt 6–1 1–2
Burkina Faso  3–3 (a)  Algeria 3–2 0–1

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. However, these proposals were abandoned. CONCACAF once again used 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, with the six group winners joining the nations ranked 1–6 in Round 3. There were three groups of four teams and the top two teams in each group advanced to Round 4. These six nations formed one group, with the top three teams qualifying and Mexico, the fourth-placed team, advancing to the inter-continental play-off against New Zealand, the top team from the OFC.

A total of 35 national teams began the qualification process vying for three and a half spots. 31 nations were eliminated and the Bahamas withdrew (because their stadium was not completed in time for the competition).[9]

Legend
Countries that directly qualified for the 2014 World Cup
Countries that advanced to the CONCACAF-OFC play-offs

Final positions (Fourth Round)

Team
 Pld Pts
 United States 10 22
 Costa Rica 10 18
 Honduras 10 15
 Mexico 10 11
 Panama 10 8
 Jamaica 10 5

CONMEBOL

As Brazil has already qualified as host, the remaining nine CONMEBOL teams took part in a double round-robin group, playing each other twice (home and away) using the same schedule as previous qualification tournaments (each team had a bye on the date they would normally be scheduled to play Brazil). The top four teams qualified automatically, whereas Uruguay, the fifth-placed team, proceeded to the inter-confederational play-off against Jordan, the fifth placed team from Asia.

Legend
Countries that directly qualified for the 2014 World Cup
Countries that advanced to the AFC-CONMEBOL play-offs

Final positions

Team
 Pld Pts
 Argentina 16 32
 Colombia 16 30
 Chile 16 28
 Ecuador 16 25
 Uruguay 16 25
 Venezuela 16 20
 Peru 16 15
 Bolivia 16 12
 Paraguay 16 12

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.[10] The winners 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 OFC Nations Cup advanced to the third round, which consisted of a double round-robin held on a home-and-away basis between 7 September 2012 and 26 March 2013.

New Zealand, as the winners of the third round, proceeded to the inter-confederation play-off against Mexico, the fourth-placed team from CONCACAF, where they were eliminated by a strong Mexico side who beat them 9–3 over two legs.

Final positions (Third Round)

Team
 Pld Pts
 New Zealand 6 18
 New Caledonia 6 12
 Tahiti 6 3
 Solomon Islands 6 3

UEFA

The European qualification games started in September 2012, after Euro 2012. All 53 national associations affiliated with UEFA took part in the qualification process. In round one, teams competed in eight groups of six teams and a single group of five teams. The nine group winners qualified, while the eight best runners-up – ranked according to all their games except for games against the sixth-placed team in their group – entered into the play-offs for the four remaining spots.

Legend
Countries that directly qualified for the 2014 World Cup
Countries that advanced to the Second Round

Final positions (First Round)

Group A
Team
 Pld Pts
 Belgium 10 26
 Croatia 10 17
 Serbia 10 14
 Scotland 10 11
 Wales 10 10
 Macedonia 10 7
Group B
Team
 Pld Pts
 Italy 10 22
 Denmark 10 16
 Czech Republic 10 15
 Bulgaria 10 13
 Armenia 10 13
 Malta 10 3
Group C
Team
 Pld Pts
 Germany 10 28
 Sweden 10 20
 Austria 10 17
 Republic of Ireland 10 14
 Kazakhstan 10 5
 Faroe Islands 10 1
Group D
Team
 Pld Pts
 Netherlands 10 28
 Romania 10 19
 Hungary 10 17
 Turkey 10 16
 Estonia 10 7
 Andorra 10 0
Group E
Team
 Pld Pts
  Switzerland 10 24
 Iceland 10 17
 Slovenia 10 15
 Norway 10 12
 Albania 10 11
 Cyprus 10 5
Group F
Team
 Pld Pts
 Russia 10 22
 Portugal 10 21
 Israel 10 14
 Azerbaijan 10 9
 Northern Ireland 10 7
 Luxembourg 10 6
Group G
Team
 Pld Pts
 Bosnia and Herzegovina 10 25
 Greece 10 25
 Slovakia 10 13
 Lithuania 10 11
 Latvia 10 8
 Liechtenstein 10 2
Group H
Team
 Pld Pts
 England 10 22
 Ukraine 10 21
 Montenegro 10 15
 Poland 10 13
 Moldova 10 11
 San Marino 10 0
Group I
Team
 Pld Pts
 Spain 8 20
 France 8 17
 Finland 8 9
 Georgia 8 5
 Belarus 8 4

Second round

The Second Round was contested by the top eight runners-up. The second round draw took place at the headquarters of FIFA in Zürich, Switzerland, on 21 October.[11] October 2013 FIFA World Rankings were used to decide which of the teams were seeded.[11] The matches were played on 15 and 19 November 2013.

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Portugal  4–2  Sweden 1–0 3–2
Ukraine  2–3  France 2–0 0–3
Greece  4–2  Romania 3–1 1–1
Iceland  0–2  Croatia 0–0 0–2

Inter-confederation play-offs

There were two scheduled inter-confederation playoffs to determine the final two qualification spots to the finals. The first legs were played on 13 November 2013, and the second legs were played on 20 November 2013.[12]

AFC 5th place v CONMEBOL 5th place

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Jordan  0–5  Uruguay 0–5 0–0

CONCACAF 4th place v OFC winner

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Mexico  9–3  New Zealand 5–1 4–2

Top goalscorers

There were 2,286 goals scored over 816 games, for an average of 2.80 goals per game.[13]

11 goals
10 goals
9 goals
8 goals

Notes

  1. ↑ The rankings are shown as of 17 October 2013. These are the rankings used for the final draw.
  2. ↑ This is the 3rd appearance of Russia at the FIFA World Cup. However FIFA considers Russia as the successor team of the USSR.
  3. ↑ Russia's best result is group stage in 1994 and 2002. However FIFA considers Russia as the successor team of the USSR.
  4. ↑ The rules for separating teams level on points are decided by FIFA and can be found in article 18 part 6d to 6g of the FIFA Regulations 2014 World Cup Brazil[8]

References

  1. ↑ "2014 FIFA World Cup – Statistics". FIFA. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  2. ↑ "Rio ready to welcome the world". FIFA. 26 July 2011. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  3. ↑ "Bahamas withdraw from 2014 World Cup Qualifiers". FIFA. 22 August 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  4. ↑ "Mauritius withdraw from FIFA World Cup qualifiers". FIFA. 31 October 2011. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
  5. ↑ Ukraine, who were ranked 20th, did not qualify
  6. ↑ "Who has the hardest World Cup 2014 draw?". The Guardian. 18 December 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  7. ↑ "Qualifiers". FIFA. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  8. ↑ "Regulations 2014 World Cup Brazil". FIFA. Retrieved 20 May 2011.
  9. ↑ Johnson, Kelsie (22 August 2011). "Unfinished Work Forces BFA to Pull out of Qualifiers". The Nassau Guardian. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  10. ↑ "Pacific Games no longer part of qualification". OFC. 29 June 2011. Archived from the original on 3 January 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
  11. 1 2 "Dates set for African and European qualifying draws". FIFA. 15 June 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  12. ↑ "International match Calendar 2013–2018" (PDF). FIFA. 1 May 2013. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
  13. ↑ "2014 FIFA World Cup preliminaries statistics". FIFA. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
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