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 the largest international team sport competition in the world with a qualification process required to reduce the large field of countries from 211 to just 32 for the World Cup finals.

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 places in the finals allocated to each of the continental zones, based on the numbers and/or relative strength of the confederations' teams.

The hosts of the World Cup receive an automatic berth. 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.

The current qualification process is the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification which commenced in 2015 and will finish in late 2017.

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 places, with one or two places awarded to the winners of intercontinental play-offs.

Qualification spots by continent

The table below lists the numbers of spots allocated by FIFA for each continent in each tournament. If no places were allocated to a continent, such as in the case of Oceania prior to 1966 and Africa in 1950, this does not indicate an exclusion of those continents by FIFA, but rather that no country of those continents made an entry to the aforementioned Cups.^[1]

A large part of Africa was under colonial rule during part of the 20th century, mainly the first half of the century. As of 1954, only 3 African countries were affiliated to FIFA: Egypt, in 1923, Sudan, in 1948, and Ethiopia, in 1952.^[2] Sudan and Ethiopia made entries for no Cup prior to 1958. Egypt made entries for the 1934, 1938 and 1954 Cups, though not for the 1930 and 1950 Cups. Though an African country, Egypt entered in 1938 and 1954 in the European group, therefore the table below gives no data about Africa for these two Cups.

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.

**Places allocated for continents**
Continental zone	1934 (16)	1938 (15)¹	1950 (13)²	1954 (16)	1958 (16)	1962 (16)	1966 (16)	1970 (16)	1974 (16)	1978 (16)	1982 (24)	1986 (24)	1990 (24)	1994 (24)	1998 (32)	2002 (32)	2006 (32)⁶	2010 (32)	2014 (32)	2018 (32)	2022 (32)	2026 (48)
Africa	1	0			0.5³	0.5⁴	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	3	5	5	5	5 +H	5	5	5	9
Asia	1	1	1²	1	0.5³	0.5⁴		1	1	1	2	2	2	2	3.5	2.5 +2H	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5 +H	8
Oceania	0							1	1	1	2	0.5	0.5	0.25⁵	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.5	1
Europe	12	11¹ +C+H	7² +C	11 +H	9.5³ +C+H	8+⁴ 2×0.5	9 +H	8 +C	8.5 +H	8.5 +C	13 +H	12.5 +C	13 +H	12 +C	14 +H	13.5 +C	13 +H	13	13	13 +H	13	16
North and Central America and Caribbean	1	1	2	1	1	0.5	1	1 +H	1	1	2	1 +H	2	1.25⁵ +H	3	3	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	6
South America	2	1	4 +H	1 +C	3	3.5 +C+H	3 +C	3	2.5 +C	2.5 +H	3 +C	4	2.5 +C	3.5⁵	4 +C	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5 +H	4.5	4.5	6
Play-Off Tournament	Did Not Exist																					2
Total	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	24	24	24	24	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	48

¹ In 1938, Austria withdrew after qualifying after 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, because of 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. Though an African country, Egypt entered in 1938 and 1954 into the European group, therefore being zero the below indicator as for Africa in these years.

**Number of teams entering qualification (including automatic qualifiers)**
Continental zone	1934 (16)	1938 (15)	1950 (13)	1954 (16)	1958 (16)	1962 (16)	1966 (16)	1970 (16)	1974 (16)	1978 (16)	1982 (24)	1986 (24)	1990 (24)	1994 (24)	1998 (32)	2002 (32)	2006 (32)	2010 (32)	2014 (32)	2018 (32)
Africa	3	0	0	0	11	6	21	13	24	26	29	29	26	40	38	51	51	53	52	54
Asia	3	2	4	3	11	5		7	18	22	21	27	26	29	36	42	39	43	43	46
Oceania¹	0	0	0	0	0	0		7	18	22	21	4	5	7	10	10	12	11	11	11
Europe	21	26	19	29	29	30	33	31	33	32	34	33	33	39	50	51	52	53	53	54
North and Central America and Caribbean²	4	7	3	5	6	8	10	14	14	17	15	18	16	23	30	35	34	35	35	35
South America	4	2	8	6	9	9	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	9	10	10	10	10	10	10
Total entrants	32	37	34	45	55	56	74	75	99	107	109	121	116	147	174	199	198	205⁴	204	210
Teams played³	27	21	19	33	46	49	51	68	90	95	103	110	103	130	168	193	194	200⁴	203	208
Matches played	27	22	26	57	89	92	127	172	226	252	306	308	314	497	643	777	847	853	828	663
Goals scored	141	96	121	208	341	325	393	542	620	723	797	801	735	1446	1922	2452	2464	2344	2303	1903
Average goals per match	5.22	4.36	4.65	3.65	3.83	3.53	3.09	3.15	2.74	2.87	2.60	2.60	2.34	2.91	2.99	3.16	2.91	2.75	2.81	2.87

¹ Because the Oceania Football Confederation has used the World Cup Qualifiers as a phase of (or as the entire) OFC Nations Cup, there is the possibility that non-FIFA countries may play 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. As they were not FIFA members at the time of the completion of the competition, they are not included in the 11 OFC entrants, although their results counted towards the qualification of other teams.
² From 1973 to 1989, the CONCACAF Championship and its qualifying tournament were used to determine CONCACAF's entrant in the World Cup. The confederation's champion qualified outright.
³ "Teams played" is the total number of teams that played at least one qualifying match.
⁴ This number includes Tuvalu (see note 1) 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 attempted to qualify.

First appearance in qualification by team

Note: 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 by walkover due to other teams' withdrawals, are not considered.

World Cup	Europe	South America	North, Central America and Caribbean	Asia	Africa	Oceania	Total
1934	Austria Belgium Bulgaria Czechoslovakia^{[upper-alpha 1]} Estonia France Germany^{[upper-alpha 2]} Greece Hungary Irish Free State^{[upper-alpha 3]} Italy^{[upper-alpha 4]} Lithuania Luxembourg Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Spain Sweden Switzerland Yugoslavia^{[upper-alpha 5]}	none	Cuba Haiti Mexico United States	Palestine, British Mandate^{[upper-alpha 6]}	Egypt^{[upper-alpha 7]}	none	27
1938	Finland Latvia Norway	none	none	none	none	none	3
1950	England Ireland^{[upper-alpha 8]} Scotland Turkey^{[upper-alpha 9]} Wales	none	none	Syria	none	none	6
1954	Saar	Brazil^{[upper-alpha 10]} Chile^{[upper-alpha 11]} Paraguay^{[upper-alpha 12]}	none	Japan^{[upper-alpha 13]} South Korea	none	none	6
1958	Denmark East Germany Iceland Soviet Union^{[upper-alpha 14]}	Argentina^{[upper-alpha 15]} Bolivia^{[upper-alpha 16]} Colombia^{[upper-alpha 17]} Peru^{[upper-alpha 18]} Uruguay^{[upper-alpha 19]}	Canada Costa Rica^{[upper-alpha 20]} Guatemala Territory of Curaçao^{[upper-alpha 21]}	China PR Indonesia^{[upper-alpha 22]}	Sudan	none	16
1962	Cyprus^{[upper-alpha 23]}	Ecuador^{[upper-alpha 24]}	Dutch Guyana^{[upper-alpha 25]} Honduras	none	Ethiopia Ghana Morocco Nigeria Tunisia	none	9
1966	Albania	Venezuela^{[upper-alpha 26]}	Jamaica Trinidad and Tobago	North Korea	none	Australia	6
1970	none	none	Bermuda El Salvador^{[upper-alpha 27]}	none	Algeria^{[upper-alpha 28]} Cameroon^{[upper-alpha 29]} Libya^{[upper-alpha 30]} Rhodesia^{[upper-alpha 31]} Senegal^{[upper-alpha 32]} Zambia	New Zealand	9
1974	Malta	none	Antigua and Barbuda Puerto Rico	Hong Kong Iran Iraq Kuwait Malaysia South Vietnam^{[upper-alpha 33]} Thailand	Congo Dahomey^{[upper-alpha 34]} Guinea^{[upper-alpha 35]} Ivory Coast Kenya Lesotho Mauritius Sierra Leone Tanzania Togo Zaire^{[upper-alpha 36]}	none	21
1978	none	none	Barbados Dominican Republic Guyana Panama	Bahrain Qatar Republic of China^{[upper-alpha 37]} Saudi Arabia Singapore	Malawi Mauritania Niger Uganda Upper Volta^{[upper-alpha 38]}	none	14
1982	none	none	Grenada	Macau	Gambia Liberia^{[upper-alpha 39]} Madagascar^{[upper-alpha 40]} Mozambique Somalia	Fiji	8
1986	none	none	none	Bangladesh Brunei Jordan India^{[upper-alpha 41]} Nepal North Yemen^{[upper-alpha 42]} South Yemen United Arab Emirates^{[upper-alpha 43]}	Angola	none	9
1990	none	none	none	Oman^{[upper-alpha 44]} Pakistan	Gabon^{[upper-alpha 45]}	none	3
1994	Faroe Islands San Marino	none	Nicaragua Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Lebanon^{[upper-alpha 46]} Sri Lanka^{[upper-alpha 47]}	Botswana Burundi Namibia South Africa Swaziland	Solomon Islands Tahiti Vanuatu	15
1998	Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatia Georgia Liechtenstein^{[upper-alpha 48]} Macedonia Moldova Slovakia Slovenia Ukraine	none	Aruba Belize Cayman Islands Dominica Saint Kitts and Nevis	Cambodia Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Maldives^{[upper-alpha 49]} Philippines^{[upper-alpha 50]} Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan	Guinea-Bissau Rwanda^{[upper-alpha 51]}	Cook Islands Papua New Guinea Tonga Western Samoa^{[upper-alpha 52]}	31
2002	Andorra	none	Anguilla Bahamas^{[upper-alpha 53]} British Virgin Islands Montserrat Turks and Caicos Islands U.S. Virgin Islands	Guam Laos Mongolia Palestine	Cape Verde Central African Republic^{[upper-alpha 54]} Chad Djibouti Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Mali^{[upper-alpha 55]} São Tomé and Príncipe^{[upper-alpha 56]} Seychelles	American Samoa	21
2006	none	none	none	Afghanistan	none	New Caledonia	2
2010	Montenegro	none	none	Myanmar^{[upper-alpha 57]} Timor-Leste	Comoros	Tuvalu^{[upper-alpha 58]}	5
2014	none	none	none	none	none	none	0
2018	Gibraltar Kosovo	none	none	Bhutan^{[upper-alpha 59]}	South Sudan	none	4
Total							215^{[upper-alpha 60]}

Notes

↑ The Czechoslovakia team was officially renamed as the Representation of Czechs and Slovaks during the 1994 qualification, and was then succeeded by the Czech Republic (first appearance: 1998).
↑ Germany was later succeeded by West Germany (first appearance: 1954), which in turn was succeeded by the reunified Germany (first appearance: 1994).
↑ The Irish Free State was later succeeded by Ireland (first appearance: 1950), which later became officially known as the Republic of Ireland (first appearance: 1954).
↑ Italy had to qualify for the tournament despite being the host.
↑ The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was later succeeded by the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (first appearance: 1950), which was then succeeded by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (first appearance: 1998), which was later renamed as Serbia and Montenegro (first appearance: 2006), which in turn was succeeded by Serbia (first appearance: 2010).
↑ Mandatory Palestine was later succeeded by Israel (first appearance: 1950).
↑ Egypt was later succeeded by the United Arab Republic, a political union between Egypt and Syria, which entered the 1962 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches. Later, Egypt entered the 1966 qualification independently but still under the name "United Arab Republic", but withdrew yet again before playing any matches. The team's first appearance after it changed its name back to Egypt came in 1974.
↑ Ireland was later succeeded by Northern Ireland (first appearance: 1954).
↑ Turkey entered the 1934 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
↑ Brazil entered the 1934 and 1938 qualifications, but on both occasions qualified by walkover due to other teams' withdrawals. It also qualified automatically for the 1950 World Cup as host.
↑ Chile entered the 1934 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches. It also entered the 1950 qualification, but qualified by walkover due to other teams' withdrawals.
↑ Paraguay entered the 1950 qualification, but qualified by walkover due to other teams' withdrawals.
↑ Japan entered the 1938 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
↑ The Soviet Union was later succeeded by Russia (first appearance: 1994).
↑ Argentina entered the 1934 qualification, but qualified by walkover due to other teams' withdrawals. It also entered the 1938 and 1950 qualifications, but on both occasions withdrew before playing any matches.
↑ Bolivia entered the 1950 qualification, but qualified by walkover due to other teams' withdrawals.
↑ Colombia entered the 1938 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
↑ Peru entered the 1934, 1950 and 1954 qualifications, but on all three occasions withdrew before playing any matches.
↑ Uruguay entered the 1950 qualification, but qualified by walkover due to other teams' withdrawals. It also qualified automatically for the 1954 World Cup as defending champion.
↑ Costa Rica entered the 1938 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
↑ The Territory of Curaçao (six islands) was later succeeded by the Netherlands Antilles (first appearance: 1962), which in turn was succeeded by Curaçao (one island; first appearance: 2014).
↑ Indonesia entered the 1938 qualification as Dutch East Indies, but qualified by walkover due to other teams' withdrawals. It also entered the 1950 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
↑ Cyprus entered the 1958 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
↑ Ecuador entered the 1950 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
↑ Dutch Guyana entered the 1938 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches. It was later succeeded by Suriname (first appearance: 1978).
↑ Venezuela entered the 1958 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
↑ El Salvador entered the 1938 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
↑ Algeria entered the 1966 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
↑ Cameroon entered the 1966 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
↑ Libya entered the 1966 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
↑ Rhodesia was later succeeded by Zimbabwe (first appearance: 1982).
↑ Senegal entered the 1966 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
↑ South Vietnam was later succeeded by Vietnam (first appearance: 1994).
↑ Dahomey was later renamed as Benin (first appearance: 1986).
↑ Guinea entered the 1966 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
↑ Zaire was renamed as DR Congo during the 1998 qualification.
↑ The Republic of China entered the 1954 and 1958 qualifications, but on both occasions withdrew before playing any matches. It later became officially known as Chinese Taipei (first appearance: 1982).
↑ Upper Volta was later renamed as Burkina Faso (first appearance: 1990).
↑ Liberia entered the 1966 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
↑ Madagascar entered the 1974 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
↑ India entered the 1950 qualification, but qualified by walkover due to other teams' withdrawals, and subsequently withdrew from participation in the finals. It also entered the 1974 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
↑ North Yemen was later succeeded by Yemen (first appearance: 1994).
↑ The United Arab Emirates entered the 1978 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
↑ Oman entered the 1986 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
↑ Gabon entered the 1966 and 1974 qualifications, but on both occasions withdrew before playing any matches.
↑ Lebanon entered but was disqualified during the 1986 qualification, and the team's matches from that campaign were annulled.
↑ Sri Lanka entered the 1974 and 1978 qualifications, but on both occasions withdrew before playing any matches.
↑ Liechtenstein entered the 1994 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
↑ The Maldives entered the 1990 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
↑ The Philippines entered the 1950 and 1974 qualifications, but on both occasions withdrew before playing any matches.
↑ Rwanda entered the 1990 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
↑ Western Samoa entered the 1994 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches. It was later renamed as Samoa (first appearance: 2002).
↑ The Bahamas entered the 1998 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
↑ The Central African Republic entered the 1978 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches. It also entered the 1982 qualification, but was disqualified before playing any matches.
↑ Mali entered the 1966, 1994 and 1998 qualifications, but on all three occasions withdrew before playing any matches.
↑ São Tomé and Príncipe entered the 1994 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
↑ Myanmar entered the 1950 (as Burma), 1994 and 2002 qualifications, but on all three occasions withdrew before playing any matches.
↑ Tuvalu was not a member of FIFA at the time of qualification and had not entered the FIFA World Cup, although matches in the Football tournament of the South Pacific Games did count towards the qualification tournament for the OFC, and Tuvalu's results did count in determining advancement from this stage.
↑ Bhutan entered the 2010 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches.
↑ Confederation subtotals are not given because a few teams have appeared in World Cup qualifiers in multiple confederations.

National teams results in World Cup preliminary competition (1934–2018)

Legend
Team has won the World Cup
Team has qualified for the main tournament through a qualifying process
Team has qualified for the main tournament only by walkover (Cuba and Indonesia)
Team has qualified for the main tournament by walkover but hasn't participated there because it withdrew (India)
Team hasn't qualified for the main tournament but is assured of an automatic spot in 2022 as host (Qatar)
Team hasn't qualified for the main tournament
Defunct team that has qualified for the main tournament (East Germany)
Defunct team that never qualified for the main tournament (Saar and South Yemen)
Team is not a member of FIFA and is not eligible for the main tournament (Tuvalu)

Teams in bold are still participating in the 2018 qualification. The table is updated to matches played in June 2017.

Team	App's^{[n 1]}	Overall qualification record							Points^{[n 2]}		Confederation
Team	App's^{[n 1]}	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Total	Avg	Confederation
Mexico	16	171	111	36	24	429	121	+308	369	2.158	CONCACAF
Costa Rica	16	168	84	41	43	290	172	+118	293	1.744	CONCACAF
South Korea	14	133	82	34	17	264	86	+178	280	2.105	AFC
Australia	14	135	79	34	22	354	107	+247	271	2.007	AFC
Iran	10	126	78	32	16	265	79	+186	266	2.111	AFC
United States	18	150	76	35	39	260	176	+84	263	1.753	CONCACAF
Netherlands	18	121	79	24	18	288	87	+201	261	2.157	UEFA
Spain	18	113	77	25	11	261	76	+185	256	2.265	UEFA
Argentina	13	132	74	33	25	231	125	+106	255	1.932	CONMEBOL
Sweden	19	125	77	20	28	252	116	+136	251	2.008	UEFA
Portugal	20	135	72	33	30	252	138	+114	249	1.844	UEFA
Czech Republic (1998—) Representation of Czechs and Slovaks (1994) Czechoslovakia (1934–1994)	19	134	73	29	32	258	111	+147	248	1.851	UEFA
Serbia (2010—) Serbia and Montenegro (2006) FR Yugoslavia (1998–2002) SFR Yugoslavia (1950–1990) Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1934–1938)	19	124	72	31	21	262	111	+151	247	1.992	UEFA
Belgium	19	129	73	25	31	258	137	+121	244	1.891	UEFA
Russia (1994—) Soviet Union (1958–1990)	15	115	73	23	19	227	75	+152	242	2.104	UEFA
England	16	108	72	25	11	267	66	+201	241	2.231	UEFA
Uruguay	16	150	67	40	43	212	161	+51	241	1.607	CONMEBOL
Italy	16	103	72	24	7	218	64	+154	240	2.330	UEFA
Honduras	14	144	67	37	40	247	165	+82	238	1.653	CONCACAF
Saudi Arabia	11	116	67	28	21	230	91	+139	229	1.974	AFC
Germany (1994—) West Germany (1954–1990) Germany (1934–1938)	14	90	70	18	2	276	67	+209	228	2.533	UEFA
Japan	14	118	67	26	25	245	84	+161	227	1.924	AFC
Brazil	12	106	66	28	12	234	69	+165	226	2.132	CONMEBOL
Paraguay	17	150	64	30	56	195	185	+10	222	1.480	CONMEBOL
Romania	17	124	65	25	34	218	131	+87	220	1.774	UEFA
El Salvador	13	140	63	28	49	233	168	+65	217	1.550	CONCACAF
Colombia	16	148	57	43	48	177	155	+22	214	1.446	CONMEBOL
Switzerland	19	126	60	32	34	193	142	+51	212	1.683	UEFA
Chile	15	142	60	29	53	215	187	+28	209	1.472	CONMEBOL
China PR	11	106	64	16	26	227	73	+154	208	1.962	AFC
France	17	107	62	22	23	209	87	+122	208	1.944	UEFA
Scotland	18	121	59	27	35	184	134	+50	204	1.686	UEFA
Bulgaria	19	125	59	26	40	204	170	+34	203	1.624	UEFA
Republic of Ireland (1954—) Ireland (1950) Irish Free State (1934–1938)	20	135	54	41	40	194	162	+32	203	1.504	UEFA
Austria	18	119	57	27	35	207	132	+75	198	1.664	UEFA
Nigeria	14	100	56	28	16	169	76	+93	196	1.960	CAF
Hungary	18	118	56	26	36	210	156	+54	194	1.644	UEFA
Poland	18	113	57	21	35	215	136	+79	192	1.699	UEFA
Tunisia	14	100	55	26	19	172	80	+92	191	1.910	CAF
Denmark	15	116	54	28	34	197	138	+59	190	1.638	UEFA
Trinidad and Tobago	14	133	54	27	52	197	174	+23	189	1.421	CONCACAF
Greece	19	122	52	27	43	151	164	−13	183	1.500	UEFA
Morocco	14	107	48	37	22	139	80	+59	181	1.692	CAF
Guatemala	15	122	49	31	42	194	150	+44	178	1.459	CONCACAF
Canada	14	117	48	34	35	161	136	+25	178	1.521	CONCACAF
Ecuador	15	139	47	33	59	166	193	−27	174	1.252	CONMEBOL
New Zealand	13	92	52	16	24	213	94	+119	172	1.870	OFC
Qatar	11	110	50	22	38	179	116	+63	172	1.564	AFC
Cameroon	13	83	50	20	13	139	59	+80	170	2.048	CAF
Egypt	14	89	50	18	21	161	86	+75	168	1.888	CAF
Uzbekistan	6	92	49	18	25	177	94	+83	165	1.793	AFC
Iraq	11	99	46	24	29	198	102	+96	162	1.636	AFC
Turkey	17	124	46	23	55	173	180	−7	161	1.298	UEFA
Kuwait	12	93	48	14	31	160	92	+68	158	1.699	AFC
Northern Ireland (1954—) Ireland (1950)	18	128	41	35	52	143	156	−13	158	1.234	UEFA
Peru	16	143	40	34	69	157	208	−51	154	1.077	CONMEBOL
Norway	18	122	41	30	51	159	172	−13	153	1.254	UEFA
Israel (1950—) Palestine, British Mandate (1934–1938)	20	118	39	34	45	165	175	−10	151	1.280	UEFA
Zambia	13	92	43	19	30	139	84	+55	148	1.609	CAF
Ivory Coast	11	74	40	24	10	140	63	+77	144	1.946	CAF
United Arab Emirates	9	95	41	20	34	159	109	+50	143	1.505	AFC
Bolivia	16	146	38	28	80	173	278	−105	142	0.973	CONMEBOL
Algeria	13	85	39	23	23	122	85	+37	140	1.647	CAF
Jamaica	11	104	37	27	40	115	132	−17	138	1.327	CONCACAF
Ghana	13	79	39	19	21	125	63	+62	136	1.722	CAF
North Korea	10	83	39	19	25	116	77	+39	136	1.639	AFC
Haiti	14	90	39	17	34	152	120	+32	134	1.489	CONCACAF
Wales	18	116	34	26	56	147	169	−22	128	1.103	UEFA
Syria	14	80	35	18	27	167	91	+76	123	1.538	AFC
Ukraine	6	66	33	22	11	104	48	+56	121	1.833	UEFA
DR Congo (1998—) Zaire (1974–1998)	10	72	34	16	22	120	78	+42	118	1.639	CAF
Bahrain	10	88	31	25	32	105	94	+11	118	1.341	AFC
Croatia	6	56	33	16	7	100	44	+56	115	2.054	UEFA
Guinea	12	70	34	10	26	108	85	+23	112	1.600	CAF
Finland	19	125	30	21	74	129	284	−155	111	0.888	UEFA
Oman	8	70	29	19	22	115	70	+45	106	1.514	AFC
Slovakia	6	60	30	14	16	105	61	+44	104	1.733	UEFA
Jordan	9	70	28	14	28	105	92	+13	98	1.400	AFC
Panama	11	90	25	22	43	99	151	−52	97	1.078	CONCACAF
Angola	9	61	24	22	15	79	57	+22	94	1.541	CAF
Iceland	13	102	25	19	58	109	214	−105	94	0.922	UEFA
Venezuela	13	136	24	22	90	118	313	−195	94	0.691	CONMEBOL
South Africa	7	46	28	8	10	62	37	+25	92	2.000	CAF
Thailand	12	87	24	18	45	114	152	−38	90	1.034	AFC
Senegal	12	60	23	20	17	84	57	+27	89	1.483	CAF
Bosnia and Herzegovina	6	54	26	10	18	101	61	+40	88	1.630	UEFA
Slovenia	6	58	24	14	20	75	64	+11	86	1.483	UEFA
Kenya	12	68	23	16	29	77	91	−14	85	1.250	CAF
Burkina Faso (1990—) Upper Volta (1978)	8	56	25	8	23	80	73	+7	83	1.482	CAF
Hong Kong	12	73	23	14	36	91	128	−37	83	1.137	AFC
Cuba	12	68	20	20	28	85	102	−17	80	1.176	CONCACAF
Zimbabwe (1982—) Rhodesia (1970)	10	61	21	16	24	62	75	−13	79	1.295	CAF
Togo	10	63	21	14	28	68	86	−18	77	1.222	CAF
East Germany	9	47	22	8	17	87	65	+22	74	1.574	defunct
Congo	9	58	21	11	26	66	74	−8	74	1.276	CAF
Indonesia	12	71	19	16	36	87	143	−56	73	1.028	AFC
Libya	10	52	20	12	20	59	57	+2	72	1.385	CAF
Lebanon	7	56	19	14	23	87	77	+10	71	1.268	AFC
Solomon Islands	7	52	21	8	23	109	105	+4	71	1.365	OFC
Suriname (1978—) Dutch Guyana (1962–1974)	14	65	19	14	32	91	111	−20	71	1.092	CONCACAF
Fiji	9	53	20	10	23	111	98	+13	70	1.321	OFC
Gabon	8	53	20	10	23	55	58	−3	70	1.321	CAF
Latvia	8	71	18	14	39	77	124	−47	68	0.958	UEFA
Singapore	11	68	19	10	39	74	121	−47	67	0.985	AFC
Lithuania	9	69	17	15	37	58	102	−44	66	0.957	UEFA
Albania	12	100	17	13	70	69	183	−114	64	0.640	UEFA
New Caledonia	4	35	18	8	9	87	36	+51	62	1.771	OFC
Malaysia	12	59	16	14	29	69	111	−42	62	1.051	AFC
Sudan	12	64	15	17	32	56	101	−45	62	0.969	CAF
Tahiti	7	43	17	8	18	66	81	−15	59	1.372	OFC
Malawi	10	58	14	16	28	56	83	−27	58	1.000	CAF
Liberia	9	58	15	12	31	39	84	−45	57	0.983	CAF
Curaçao (2014—) Netherlands Antilles (1962–2010) Territory of Curaçao (1958)	16	60	13	18	29	53	116	−63	57	0.950	CONCACAF
Turkmenistan	6	40	17	5	18	64	59	+5	56	1.400	AFC
Cyprus	15	110	14	13	83	83	290	−207	55	0.500	UEFA
Bermuda	7	36	15	9	12	76	46	+30	54	1.500	CONCACAF
Estonia	9	72	14	10	48	57	164	−107	52	0.722	UEFA
Belarus	6	54	13	12	29	59	87	−28	51	0.944	UEFA
Mali	5	36	14	8	14	50	46	+4	50	1.389	CAF
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	7	58	14	8	36	77	170	−93	50	0.862	CONCACAF
Uganda	9	38	14	7	17	39	55	−16	49	1.289	CAF
Yemen (1994—) North Yemen (1986–1990)	9	50	12	11	27	52	80	−28	47	0.940	AFC
Tajikistan	6	36	13	7	16	63	55	+8	46	1.278	AFC
Macedonia	6	56	12	10	34	64	100	−36	46	0.821	UEFA
Benin (1986—) Dahomey (1974)	8	44	13	7	24	46	89	−43	46	1.045	CAF
Kazakhstan	6	56	12	10	34	69	118	−49	46	0.821	UEFA
Madagascar	9	36	12	8	16	45	51	−6	44	1.222	CAF
Antigua and Barbuda	10	42	13	5	24	66	93	−27	44	1.048	CONCACAF
Armenia	6	58	10	13	35	49	110	−61	43	0.741	UEFA
Sierra Leone	10	45	11	9	25	39	69	−30	42	0.933	CAF
Saint Kitts and Nevis	6	30	11	8	11	64	54	+10	41	1.367	CONCACAF
Georgia	6	52	9	14	29	49	85	−36	41	0.788	UEFA
India	8	43	10	11	22	43	87	−44	41	0.953	AFC
Kyrgyzstan	6	31	12	4	15	38	49	−11	40	1.290	AFC
Ethiopia	11	41	10	10	21	47	65	−18	40	0.976	CAF
Vanuatu	7	37	12	3	22	76	89	−13	39	1.054	OFC
Cape Verde	5	30	11	3	16	30	38	−8	36	1.200	CAF
Vietnam (1994—) South Vietnam (1974)	8	41	11	3	27	43	81	−38	36	0.878	AFC
Namibia	7	42	9	9	24	37	82	−45	36	0.857	CAF
Dominican Republic	8	29	10	5	14	42	50	−8	35	1.207	CONCACAF
Botswana	6	34	10	5	19	33	52	−19	35	1.029	CAF
Montenegro	3	26	8	10	8	41	38	+3	34	1.308	UEFA
Barbados	8	37	10	4	23	35	73	−38	34	0.919	CONCACAF
Mozambique	8	34	8	8	18	30	50	−20	32	0.941	CAF
Niger	7	30	9	5	16	27	48	−21	32	1.067	CAF
Azerbaijan	6	54	6	14	34	22	94	−72	32	0.593	UEFA
Bangladesh	9	48	9	5	34	33	122	−89	32	0.667	AFC
Palestine	5	26	8	7	11	46	37	+9	31	1.192	AFC
Tanzania	9	33	7	10	16	35	50	−15	31	0.939	CAF
Samoa (2002—) Western Samoa (1998)	6	26	9	1	16	37	88	−51	28	1.077	OFC
Papua New Guinea	4	22	7	6	9	43	36	+7	27	1.227	OFC
Belize	6	26	7	6	13	32	54	−22	27	1.038	CONCACAF
Rwanda	6	36	6	9	21	29	54	−25	27	0.750	CAF
Guyana	10	34	7	6	21	36	81	−45	27	0.794	CONCACAF
Moldova	6	54	5	12	37	35	107	−72	27	0.500	UEFA
Grenada	7	25	7	3	15	49	54	−5	24	0.960	CONCACAF
Burundi	6	20	7	3	10	17	26	−9	24	1.200	CAF
Gambia	8	24	6	6	12	20	36	−16	24	1.000	CAF
Faroe Islands	7	66	6	6	54	32	178	−146	24	0.364	UEFA
Maldives	6	32	7	2	23	36	120	−84	23	0.719	AFC
Nicaragua	7	22	7	1	14	25	44	−19	22	1.000	CONCACAF
Saint Lucia	7	24	7	1	16	32	62	−30	22	0.917	CONCACAF
Tonga	6	22	7	1	14	23	82	−59	22	1.000	OFC
Chinese Taipei (1982—) Republic of China (1978)	11	58	6	4	48	35	200	−165	22	0.379	AFC
Puerto Rico	9	25	5	6	14	22	55	−33	21	0.840	CONCACAF
Luxembourg	20	130	4	8	118	67	424	−357	20	0.154	UEFA
Chad	5	16	6	1	9	15	23	−8	19	1.187	CAF
Swaziland	7	19	4	4	11	15	39	−24	16	0.842	CAF
Nepal	7	30	4	4	22	23	100	−77	16	0.533	AFC
Bahamas	5	14	4	3	7	20	43	−23	15	1.071	CONCACAF
Philippines	4	21	4	3	14	16	57	−41	15	0.714	AFC
Sri Lanka	7	31	3	6	22	21	75	−54	15	0.484	AFC
Malta	12	98	2	9	87	32	290	−258	15	0.153	UEFA
Equatorial Guinea	5	20	4	2	14	17	36	−19	14	0.700	CAF
Lesotho	7	24	2	8	14	14	51	−37	14	0.583	CAF
Aruba	6	16	4	1	11	23	42	−19	13	0.812	CONCACAF
Dominica	6	20	3	4	13	15	54	−39	13	0.650	CONCACAF
Laos	4	26	3	3	20	23	124	−101	12	0.462	AFC
Liechtenstein	6	56	2	6	48	23	170	−147	12	0.214	UEFA
Myanmar	3	14	3	2	9	11	38	−27	11	0.786	AFC
Macau	9	35	3	2	30	15	165	−150	11	0.314	AFC
Afghanistan	4	14	3	1	10	10	45	−35	10	0.714	AFC
Cook Islands	6	20	3	1	16	16	63	−47	10	0.500	OFC
American Samoa	5	18	3	1	14	11	136	−125	10	0.556	OFC
Mauritania	6	16	2	3	11	13	31	−18	9	0.562	CAF
U.S. Virgin Islands	5	15	3	0	12	8	80	−72	9	0.600	CONCACAF
Cambodia	5	26	2	3	21	16	90	−74	9	0.346	AFC
Andorra	5	48	2	3	43	14	152	−138	9	0.188	UEFA
Timor-Leste	3	14	2	2	10	11	55	−44	8	0.571	AFC
Guinea-Bissau	6	12	1	4	7	8	19	−11	7	0.583	CAF
São Tomé and Príncipe	4	8	2	1	5	4	22	−18	7	0.875	CAF
Guam	2	10	2	1	7	3	51	−48	7	0.700	AFC
Mauritius	7	18	1	3	14	14	49	−35	6	0.333	CAF
Bhutan	1	10	2	0	8	8	53	−45	6	0.600	AFC
Cayman Islands	6	16	0	5	11	6	35	−29	5	0.313	CONCACAF
Saar	1	4	1	1	2	4	8	−4	4	1.000	defunct
Central African Republic	3	10	1	1	8	8	21	−13	4	0.400	CAF
Mongolia	5	14	1	1	12	6	51	−45	4	0.286	AFC
Djibouti	4	13	1	1	11	6	56	−50	4	0.308	CAF
Pakistan	8	30	0	4	26	12	118	−106	4	0.133	AFC
Eritrea	4	8	0	3	5	3	16	−13	3	0.375	CAF
Comoros	3	8	0	3	5	4	18	−14	3	0.375	CAF
Somalia	6	11	0	3	8	1	26	−25	3	0.273	CAF
British Virgin Islands	5	10	0	3	7	7	34	−27	3	0.300	CONCACAF
Turks and Caicos Islands	5	10	1	0	9	6	46	−40	3	0.300	CONCACAF
Brunei	3	14	1	0	13	3	59	−56	3	0.214	AFC
Seychelles	5	14	0	2	12	6	36	−30	2	0.143	CAF
San Marino	7	62	0	2	60	10	289	−279	2	0.032	UEFA
South Yemen	1	2	0	1	1	4	7	−3	1	0.500	defunct
South Sudan	1	2	0	1	1	1	5	−4	1	0.500	CAF
Kosovo	1	6	0	1	5	3	18	−15	1	0.167	UEFA
Tuvalu	1	4	0	1	3	2	22	−20	1	0.250	OFC
Montserrat	5	9	0	1	8	8	45	−37	1	0.111	CONCACAF
Anguilla	5	10	0	1	9	2	41	−39	1	0.100	CONCACAF
Gibraltar	1	6	0	0	6	3	24	−21	0	0.000	UEFA

Footnotes

↑ Only qualifying campaigns are counted where the team played at least one match that was not annulled.
↑ The three points for a win system is used. Note that these columns do not represent any official rankings.

Top scorers in preliminary competition (1934–2018)

Players in bold are still active.

#	Player	Goals	Games played	Goal ratio	Qualification tournaments
1	Carlos Ruiz	39	47	0.75	2002 (8 goals), 2006 (10), 2010 (6), 2014 (6), 2018 (9)
2	Ali Daei	35	50	0.70	1994 (7 goals), 1998 (9), 2002 (10), 2006 (9)
3	Karim Bagheri	28	29	0.97	1998 (19 goals), 2002 (8), 2010 (1)
4	Kazu Miura	27	25	1.08	1994 (13 goals), 1998 (14)
5	Cristiano Ronaldo	26	34	0.76	2006 (7 goals), 2014 (8), 2018 (11)
6	Andriy Shevchenko	26	40	0.65	1998 (4 goals), 2002 (10), 2006 (6), 2010 (6)
7	Carlos Pavón	25	37	0.68	1998 (2 goals), 2002 (15), 2006 (1), 2010 (7)
8	Jared Borgetti	23	24	0.96	2002 (6 goals), 2006 (14), 2010 (3)
9	Tim Cahill	23	x	x	2006 (7 goals), 2010 (4), 2014 (3), 2018 (9)
10	Edin Džeko	22	25	0.86	2010 (9 goals), 2014 (10), 2018 (3)
11	Paulo Wanchope	21	37	0.57	1998 (6 goals), 2002 (7), 2006 (8)
12	Archie Thompson	20	15	1.33	2002 (16 goals), 2006 (2), 2014 (2)
13	Stern John	20	49	0.41	1998 (3 goals), 2002 (3), 2006 (12), 2010 (2)
14	Vaughan Coveny	19	19	1.00	1998 (4 goals), 2002 (9), 2006 (6)
15	Emmanuel Sanon	19	20	0.95	1974 (11 goals), 1978 (8)
16	Pauleta	19	24	0.79	2002 (8 goals), 2006 (11)
17	Zlatan Ibrahimović	19	29	0.66	2002 (1 goal), 2006 (8), 2010 (2), 2014 (8)
18	Hernán Crespo	19	33	0.58	1998 (3 goals), 2002 (9), 2006 (7)
19	Luis Suárez	19	44	0.43	2010 (5 goals), 2014 (11), 2018 (3)
20	Didier Drogba	18	19	0.95	2006 (9 goals), 2010 (6), 2014 (3)
21	Moumouni Dagano	18	24	0.60	2002 (1 goal), 2006 (5), 2010 (12)
22	Samuel Eto'o	18	29	0.62	2002 (3 goals), 2006 (4), 2010 (9), 2014 (2)
23	Raúl Díaz Arce	18	29	0.62	1994 (2 goals), 1998 (9), 2002 (7)
24	Marcelo Salas	18	32	0.56	1998 (11 goals), 2002 (4), 2006 (1), 2010 (2)
25	Robbie Keane	18	37	0.49	2002 (2 goals), 2006 (4), 2010 (6), 2014 (6)
26	Clint Dempsey	18	38	0.47	2010 (5 goals), 2014 (8), 2018 (5)
27	Lionel Messi	18	41	0.44	2010 (4 goals), 2014 (10), 2018 (4)
28	Iván Zamorano	17	11	1.54	1990 (1 goal), 1998 (12), 2002 (4)
29	Dimitar Berbatov	17	12	1.42	2002 (6 goals), 2006 (8), 2010 (5)
30	Alexander Frei	17	14	1.21	2002 (5 goals), 2006 (7), 2010 (5)
31	Deon McCaulay	17	16	1.06	2010 (2 goals), 2014 (11), 2018 (4)
32	Alvaro Saborio	17	41	0.41	2006 (3 goals), 2010 (6), 2014 (8)
33	Steve David	17	x	x	1974 (13 goals), 1978 (4)

(update of FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifiers in progress, last update: 13 June 2017)

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. From 1934 to 2002, one berth was reserved for the winners of the previous World Cup. In November 2001, FIFA announced that the defending champion would no longer get automatic entry to the subsequent tournament, starting with the 2006 finals. This decision was made 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.^[3] 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 without scoring a single goal. 2002 winner Brazil qualified for 2006 at the top of their qualifiers group. However, Italy, defending champions from 2006, finished bottom of their group in 2010, despite playing in the qualifying matches. At Brazil 2014, 2010 champions Spain finished third in their group and failed to advance to the Round of 16, despite having qualified as first in their group.

FIFA decides beforehand the number of spots awarded to each of the continental zones. For the 2018 World Cup, the following numbers are being used:^[4]

UEFA (Europe) – 13 berths, plus the host Russia
CAF (Africa) – 5 berths
AFC (Asia) – 4 berths
CONMEBOL (South America) – 4 berths
CONCACAF (North and Central America and Caribbean) – 3 berths
2 berths for the winners of intercontinental 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.

The number of berths allocated per continent is widely debated, with the main point of contention being the extent to which berths should be allocated to regions based on sheer population vs. talent. A historically weaker continent, Africa has called for more places, as they are allocated only five in comparison to Europe's 13.^[5] In early October 2016, it was announced that the World Cup would have featured 40 teams starting with the 2026 tournament,^[6] then FIFA President Gianni Infantino stated his support for a 48-team World Cup,^[7] mainly to address African concerns. On 10 January 2017, the FIFA Council voted unanimously to expand the World Cup to a 48 team tournament that will open with a group stage consisting of 16 groups of three teams, with two teams progressing from each group to a knockout tournament starting with a round of 32.^[8] The new format for the qualifying process has yet to be confirmed.

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 being used in 2018 are outlined below.

Africa

The CAF qualification process began with two preliminary rounds (to narrow the field of 53 entrants to 20 teams) in October 2015. Zimbabwe were disqualified and therefore ineligible.

The group stage consisted of 5 groups of 4, with the group winners advancing to the World Cup finals.

Asia

Bhutan and Guam entered the AFC qualification process, while Indonesia were suspended and therefore ineligible.

Qualifying was altered significantly from the 2014 method, with changes to the structure of the preliminary rounds – which were held before the main draw. One home-and-away preliminary round reduced the 12 entrants to 6, followed by a first group stage with the 6 first round winners joining the top sides and 4 best runners-up from 5 groups of 5 advancing to a final group stage. The winners and runners-up of the two final groups of 5 advanced to the World Cup finals with the two third-placed sides playing off in the fourth round for the right to play in an inter-confederation play-off for a final World Cup spot. The first two rounds also acted as the qualifiers for the expanded 2019 AFC Asian Cup.^[9]

A total of 24 teams eliminated from World Cup qualification in the second round compete in the third round of 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification (which is separate from the third round of 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification), where they are divided into six groups of four teams and compete for the remaining slots of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. The 24 teams consist of the 16 highest ranked teams eliminated in the second round, and the eight teams that advance from the play-off round of 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification which are contested by the remaining 12 teams eliminated in the second round.^[10]

Europe

The European qualification is unchanged from the 2010 system. The 54 national teams were divided into nine groups of six teams, 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.^[11]

With the admission of Gibraltar and Kosovo as FIFA members in May 2016, both national teams made their debuts in World Cup qualifying.^[12] With two groups of only five teams in the first round, Kosovo was assigned to group I as it was decided that Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia should not play against Kosovo for security reasons, and Gibraltar was then added to group H.^[13]^[14]

North and Central America and Caribbean

The 2018 CONCACAF qualification process has changed significantly from the 2014 qualification cycle. The first three rounds have teams play home-and-away over two legs. A first preliminary round involved the 14 lowest ranked teams and the seven winners advanced to the second round. The 13 higher ranked sides received byes in the second round and were joined by the seven first round winners; the ten winners advanced to the third round. Two higher ranked teams received byes in the third round and were joined by ten second round winners; the six winners advanced to the preliminary group stage.

As in 2014, the remaining 12 teams play in 3 semifinal groups of 4 teams with the top two in each group advancing to a final six-team group.

The final round – often referred to as the "hexagonal" because there are six 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 was held as part of a further competition. The first stage took place with one group of four lowest ranked teams and the winner advanced to the second stage (which also acted as the 2016 OFC Nations Cup). In the second stage the top three teams advanced to the third round, among them Nations Cup champions New Zealand. Two groups of three teams contest the third round, or final group stage, and the winners of each group will enter a two-leg final. The winners of this final advance to an inter-confederation play-off for a World Cup spot.

South America

As in recent qualification series CONMEBOL qualification consists of a single group of all entrants. Unlike previous qualifying tournaments where the fixtures were pre-determined, the fixtures were determined by a draw, which was held as part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Preliminary Draw, on 25 July 2015.^[15]

The top 4 teams from the 10-team 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

Like the previous 2014 tournament, the pairings for the two play-offs were determined by an open draw on 25 July 2015, as part of the aforementioned preliminary 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:

goal difference in all group matches
greater number of goals scored in all group matches

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

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

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.

References

↑ "History of the FIFA World Cup preliminary competition (by year)" (PDF). fifa.com. FIFA. November 2009. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013.
↑ "FIFA's 209 member associations" (PDF). fifa.com. FIFA. July 2012.
↑ "Fifa makes major policy shift". BBC News. 30 November 2001.
↑ "Current allocation of FIFA World Cup confederation slots maintained" (Press release). FIFA. 30 May 2015.
↑ "Africa calls for FIFA to increase World Cup places". Ahram Online. Reuters. 18 January 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
↑ "New Fifa chief backs 48-team World Cup". heraldlive. 7 October 2016. It’s an idea, just as the World Cup with 40 teams is already on the table with groups of four or five teams.
↑ "World Cup could expand to 48 teams, Fifa’s Gianni Infantino suggests". The Guardian. 3 October 2016.
↑ "Fifa approves Infantino’s plan to expand World Cup to 48 teams from 2026". The Guardian. 10 January 2017.
↑ "ExCo approves expanded AFC Asian Cup finals". AFC. 16 April 2014.
↑ "World Cup draw looms large in Asia". FIFA.com. 13 April 2015. Completing the tournament's qualifying contenders will be the next 16 highest ranked teams, with the remaining 12 sides battling it out in play-off matches to claim the last eight spots.
↑ "Uefa retains 2010 World Cup qualifying format for 2014". bbc.co.uk. 21 March 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
↑ "FIFA Congress drives football forward, first female secretary general appointed". FIFA.com. 13 May 2016.
↑ "Kosovo to play in Group I in European Qualifiers". uefa.org. Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). 9 June 2016.
↑ "Kosovo and Gibraltar assigned to 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying groups". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). 9 June 2016.
↑ "A unanimous decision: A draw will determine the classifications for the World Cup and CONMEBOL Tournaments". CONMEBOL.com. 23 January 2015.

External links

FIFA World Cup
Tournaments	Uruguay 1930 Italy 1934 France 1938 Brazil 1950 Switzerland 1954 Sweden 1958 Chile 1962 England 1966 Mexico 1970 West Germany 1974 Argentina 1978 Spain 1982 Mexico 1986 Italy 1990 United States 1994 France 1998 South Korea/Japan 2002 Germany 2006 South Africa 2010 Brazil 2014 Russia 2018 Qatar 2022 2026 2030
Qualification	1934 1938 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018
Finals	1930 1934 1938 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Squads	1930 1934 1938 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Seedings	1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Broadcasters	1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018
Bids	2014 2018 and 2022 2026 2030
Records and statistics	All-time table Goalscorers top goalscorers finals goalscorers hat-tricks own goals Penalty shoot-outs Player appearances Red cards Referees Team appearances Teams with no appearances
Miscellaneous	Awards Balls Economics Final draw History Hosts Mascots Official films Official songs Organisers Trophy Video games
Notes: There was no qualification for the 1930 World Cup as places were given by invitation only. In 1950, there was no final; the article is about the decisive match of the final group stage.

International association football
FIFA Federations Teams Competitions World Cup U-17 U-20 Confederations Cup Olympics Youth Olympics Universiade World Rankings The Best FIFA Football Awards Timeline of association football Comparison of association football and futsal
Africa	CAF – Africa Cup of Nations U-23 U-20 U-17 Regional (CECAFA, CEMAC, COSAFA, WAFU)
Asia	AFC – Asian Cup U-23 U-19 U-16 U-14 Regional (ASEAN, EAFF, SAFF, WAFF)
Europe	UEFA – European Championship U-21 U-19 U-17
North America, Central America and the Caribbean	CONCACAF – Gold Cup U-20 U-17 U-15 Regional (CFU, UNCAF)
Oceania	OFC – Nations Cup U-20 U-17
South America	CONMEBOL – Copa América U-20 U-17 U-15
Non-FIFA	NF-Board – Viva World Cup CONIFA - ConIFA World Football Cup ConIFA European Football Cup IGA - Island Games
Games	African Games Asian Games Central America Central America and Caribbean East Asian Games Francophonie Games Indian Ocean Island Lusophony Games Mediterranean Games Pan American Games Pan Arab Games Pacific Games South Asian Games Southeast Asian Games
See also Geography Codes Player/Club of the Century Women's football

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