2014 FIFA World Cup qualification

July 2014 July 2014 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification 15 June 2011 – 20 November 2013 203 6 BLZ 1981 Deon McCaulayNED Robin van PersieURU Luis Suárez(11 goals each) 2010 2018 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 828 after the late withdrawals of the Bahamas and Mauritius.2014 FIFA World Cup – Statistics https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/statistics/index.html https://web.archive.org/web/20071117161817/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/statistics/index.html dead 17 November 2007 FIFA 4 December 2013Rio ready to welcome the world https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminarydraw/news/newsid=1480312/ https://web.archive.org/web/20131220125036/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminarydraw/news/newsid=1480312/ dead 20 December 2013 FIFA 26 July 2011 4 December 2013https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/news/newsid=1496896/index.html https://web.archive.org/web/20111106223644/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/news/newsid=1496896/index.html dead 6 November 2011 Bahamas withdraw from 2014 World Cup Qualifiers FIFA 22 August 2011 13 October 2011https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/news/newsid=1535094/index.html https://web.archive.org/web/20111102144640/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/news/newsid=1535094/index.html dead 2 November 2011 Mauritius withdraw from FIFA World Cup qualifiers FIFA 31 October 2011 31 October 2011 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.Ukraine, who were ranked 20th, did not qualify.Who has the hardest World Cup 2014 draw? https://www.theguardian.com/football/interactive/2013/dec/18/world-cup-2014-draw-strength-of-schedule?CMP=EMCNEWEML6619I2 20 December 2013 The Guardian 18 December 2013 Qualified teams thumb|center|700px|#0000ff Country qualified for World Cup #ffcc00 Country failed to qualify #000000 Country did not enter World Cup #e0e0e0 Country not a FIFA member {|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders sticky-header col3right col4center col5center col6center" |- ! Team ! Method ofqualification ! Date ofqualification ! Finalsappearance ! data-sort-type="number" | Consecutiveappearances ! Previous bestperformance ! FIFARankingnb The rankings are shown as of 17 October 2013. These are the rankings used for the final draw. |- |align="left"|BRA || CONMEBOL Host || 0130 October 2007 || data-sort-value="20"|20th || 20 ||data-sort-value="7.5"| Winners (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002) || 11 |- |align="left"|JPN || AFC fourth round Group B 1st winners || 024 June 2013 || data-sort-value="5"|5th || 5 ||data-sort-value="2.2"| Round of 16 (2002, 2010) || 44 |- |align="left"|AUS || AFC fourth round Group B 2nd runners-up || 0318 June 2013 || data-sort-value="4"|4th || 3 ||data-sort-value="2.1"| Round of 16 (2006) || 57 |- |align="left"|IRN || AFC fourth round Group A 1st winners || 0418 June 2013 || data-sort-value="4"|4th || 1 (last: 2006) ||data-sort-value="1.3"| Group stage (1978, 1998, 2006) || 49 |- |align="left"|KOR || AFC fourth round Group A 2nd runners-up || 0518 June 2013 || data-sort-value="9"|9th || 8 ||data-sort-value="4.1"| Fourth place (2002) || 56 |- |align="left"|NED || UEFA Group D winners || 0610 September 2013 || data-sort-value="10"|10th || 3 ||data-sort-value="6.3"| Runners-up (1974, 1978, 2010) || 8 |- |align="left"|ITA || UEFA Group B winners || 0710 September 2013 || data-sort-value="18"|18th || 14 ||data-sort-value="7.4"| Winners (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006) || 9 |- |align="left"|CRC || CONCACAF fourth round 2nd runners-up || 0810 September 2013 || data-sort-value="4"|4th ||1 (last: 2006) ||data-sort-value="2.1"| Round of 16 (1990) || 31 |- |align="left"|USA || CONCACAF fourth round 1st winners || 0910 September 2013 ||data-sort-value="10"| 10th || 7 ||data-sort-value="5.1"| Third place (1930) || 13 |- |align="left"|ARG || CONMEBOL 1st winners || 1010 September 2013 || data-sort-value="16"|16th || 11 ||data-sort-value="7.2"| Winners (1978, 1986) || 3 |- |align="left"|BEL || UEFA Group A winners || 1111 October 2013 || data-sort-value="12"|12th || 1 (last: 2002) ||data-sort-value="4.1"| Fourth place (1986) || 5 |- |align="left"|SUI || UEFA Group E winners || 1211 October 2013 ||data-sort-value="10"| 10th || 3 ||data-sort-value="3.3"| Quarter-finals (1934, 1938, 1954) || 7 |- |align="left"|GER || UEFA Group C winners || 1311 October 2013 ||data-sort-value="18"| 18th || 16 ||data-sort-value="7.3"| Winners (1954, 1974, 1990) || 2 |- |align="left"|COL || CONMEBOL 2nd runners-up || 1411 October 2013 ||data-sort-value="5"| 5th || 1 (last: 1998) ||data-sort-value="2.1"| Round of 16 (1990) || 4 |- |align="left"|BIH || UEFA Group G winners || 1615 October 2013 ||data-sort-value="1"| 1st || 1 ||data-sort-value="0.0"| — || 16 |- |align="left"|RUS || UEFA Group F winners || 1515 October 2013 ||data-sort-value="10"| 10thnb This is Russia's third appearance at the FIFA World Cup; however, FIFA considers Russia as the successor team of the Soviet Union.|| 1 (last: 2002) ||data-sort-value="4.1"| Fourth place (1966)nb Russia's best result is group stage in 1994 and 2002; however, FIFA considers Russia as the successor team of the Soviet Union. || 19 |- |align="left"|ENG || UEFA Group H Winners || 1715 October 2013 || data-sort-value="14|14th || 5 ||data-sort-value="7.1"| Winners (1966) || 10 |- |align="left"|ESP || UEFA Group I Winners || 1815 October 2013 || data-sort-value="14|14th || 10 ||data-sort-value="7.1"| Winners (2010) || 1 |- |align="left"|CHI || CONMEBOL third place || 1915 October 2013 || data-sort-value="9|9th || 2 ||data-sort-value="5.1"| Third place (1962) || 12 |- |align="left"|ECU || CONMEBOL fourth place || 2015 October 2013 || data-sort-value="3| 3rd || 1 (last: 2006) ||data-sort-value="2.1"| Round of 16 (2006) || 22 |- |align="left"|HON 1949 || CONCACAF fourth round third place || 2115 October 2013 || data-sort-value="3| 3rd || 2 ||data-sort-value="1.2"| Group stage (1982, 2010) || 34 |- |align="left"|NGA || CAF third round winners || 2216 November 2013 || data-sort-value="5| 5th || 2 ||data-sort-value="2.2"| Round of 16 (1994, 1998) || 33 |- |align="left"|CIV || CAF third round winners || 2316 November 2013 || data-sort-value="3| 3rd || 3 ||data-sort-value="1.2"| Group stage (2006, 2010) || 17 |- |align="left"|CMR || CAF third round winners || 2417 November 2013 || data-sort-value="7| 7th || 2 ||data-sort-value="3.1"| Quarter-finals (1990) || 59 |- |align="left"|GHA || CAF third round winners || 2519 November 2013 || data-sort-value="3| 3rd || 3 ||data-sort-value="3.1"| Quarter-finals (2010) || 23 |- |align="left"|ALG || CAF third round winners || 2619 November 2013 || data-sort-value="4| 4th || 2 ||data-sort-value="1.3"| Group stage (1982, 1986, 2010) || 32 |- |align="left"| GRE || UEFA play-off winners || 2719 November 2013 || data-sort-value="3| 3rd || 2 || data-sort-value="1.2"| Group stage (1994, 2010) || 15 |- |align="left"|CRO || UEFA play-off winners || 2819 November 2013 ||data-sort-value="4|4th || 1 (last: 2006) ||data-sort-value="5.1"|Third place (1998) || 18 |- |align="left"|POR || UEFA play-off winners || 2919 November 2013 ||data-sort-value="6|6th ||4 ||data-sort-value="5.1"|Third place (1966) || 14 |- |align="left"|FRA 1974 || UEFA play-off winners || 3019 November 2013 ||data-sort-value="14|14th ||5 ||data-sort-value="7.1"|Winners (1998) || 21 |- |align="left"|MEX || CONCACAF v OFC play-off winners || 3120 November 2013 ||data-sort-value="15"| 15th || 6 ||data-sort-value="3.3"| Quarter-finals (1970, 1986) || 24 |- |align="left"|URU || CONMEBOLAFC v CONMEBOL play-off winners || 3220 November 2013 ||data-sort-value="12"| 12th || 2 ||data-sort-value="7.2"| Winners (1930, 1950) || 6 |} 12 of the 32 teams subsequently failed to qualify for the 2018 finals: Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cameroon, Chile, Ecuador, Ghana, Greece, Honduras, Italy, Ivory Coast, Netherlands and United States. Qualification process thumb|right|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:Qualifiers https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/index.html https://web.archive.org/web/20080302162313/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/index.html dead 2 March 2008 FIFA 8 October 2011 AFC (Asia): 4 or 5 places CAF (Africa): 5 places CONCACAF (North, Central American and Caribbean): 3 or 4 places CONMEBOL (South America): 4 or 5 places (+ Brazil qualified automatically as host nation for a total of 5 or 6 places) OFC (Oceania): 0 or 1 place(s) UEFA (Europe): 13 places 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. Summary of qualification 450pxConfederationAvailable slots in finalsTeams startedTeams eliminatedTeams qualifiedQualifying start dateQualifying end dateAFC4 or 54339429 June 201120 November 2013CAF55247511 November 201119 November 2013CONCACAF3 or 43531415 June 201120 November 2013CONMEBOL4+1 or 5+19+145+17 October 201120 November 2013OFC0 or 11111022 November 201120 November 2013UEFA135340137 September 201219 November 2013Total31+1203+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 was the same for all confederations.nb The rules for separating teams level on points were decided by FIFA and can be found in article 18 part 6d to 6g of the FIFA Regulations 2014 World Cup Brazil.https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/news/newsid=1496896/index.html https://web.archive.org/web/20111106223644/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/news/newsid=1496896/index.html dead 6 November 2011 Regulations 2014 World Cup Brazil FIFA 20 May 2011 If teams were even on points at the end of group play, the tied teams were 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 were tied If teams were still equal after applying all listed tiebreakers, then a single play-off at a neutral venue was played. If scores were level after ninety minutes in the play-off, then two fifteen-minute periods of extra time and, if necessary, a penalty shoot-out would determine the winners. For FIFA World Cup qualifying stages using a home-and-away knockout format, the team that had the higher aggregate score over the two legs progressed to the next round. In the event that aggregate scores finished level, the away goals rule was applied (i.e. the team that scored more goals away from home over the two legs progressed). If away goals were also equal, then thirty minutes of extra time were played, divided into two fifteen-minutes halves. The away goals rule was again applied after extra time (i.e. if there were goals scored during extra time and the aggregate score was still level, the visiting team qualified by virtue of more away goals scored). If no goals were scored during extra time, the tie was decided via a penalty shoot-out. Confederation qualification AFC 2014 FIFA World Cup 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 South Korea. Jordan beat Uzbekistan in round 5 and played Uruguay, the fifth-placed team from CONMEBOL, for the right to qualify, where they were eliminated. Final positions (fourth round) 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC fourth round 22em Group A n y Group A 22em Group B n y Group B Play-off for 5th place (fifth round) 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC fifth round CAF 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (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 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF third round CONCACAF 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (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).http://www.thenassauguardian.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12322&Itemid=50 Unfinished Work Forces BFA to Pull out of Qualifiers The Nassau Guardian 22 August 2011 9 August 2013 Kelsie Johnson Final positions (fourth round) 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF fourth round n n y CONMEBOL 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL) As Brazil had 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. Final positions n n y OFC 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (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 to 26 November 2011.Pacific Games no longer part of qualification http://www.oceaniafootball.com/ofc/News/ViewArticle/tabid/125/Article/40716472-3df5-447b-a4c8-b79fb22c0d90/language/en-US/Default.aspx OFC 29 June 2011 23 November 2013 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20120103121043/http://www.oceaniafootball.com/ofc/News/ViewArticle/tabid/125/Article/40716472-3df5-447b-a4c8-b79fb22c0d90/language/en-US/Default.aspx 3 January 2012 dmy 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 Mexico, who beat them 9–3 over two legs. Final positions (third round) 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – OFC third round n y UEFA 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (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. Final positions (first round) 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)#First round 25em Group A n y 25em Group B n y 25em Group C n y 25em Group D n y 25em Group E n y 25em Group F n y 25em Group G n y 25em Group H n y 25em Group I n y Second round 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA 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.https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/newsid=2109736/index.html https://web.archive.org/web/20130618200917/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/newsid=2109736/index.html dead 18 June 2013 Dates set for African and European qualifying draws FIFA 15 June 2013 15 June 2013 October 2013 FIFA World Rankings were used to decide which of the teams were seeded. The matches were played on 15 and 19 November 2013. Group runners-up Group runners-up Inter-confederation play-offs 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (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.International match Calendar 2013–2018 https://www.fifa.com/mm/Document/WorldFootball/Calendar&Live/02/03/95/26/IMC2013-2018FIFAversionv28May2013_Neutral.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20130807003210/http://www.fifa.com/mm/Document/WorldFootball/Calendar%26Live/02/03/95/26/IMC2013-2018FIFAversionv28May2013_Neutral.pdf dead 7 August 2013 FIFA 1 May 2013 23 November 2013 AFC v CONMEBOL 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC–CONMEBOL play-off) playoff1 CONCACAF v OFC 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF–OFC play-off) playoff2 Top goalscorers 2344 820 BLZ Deon McCaulay NED Robin van Persie URU Luis Suárez ATG Peter Byers ARG Lionel Messi BIH Edin Džeko MEX Oribe Peralta PAN Blas Pérez ARG Gonzalo Higuaín COL Radamel Falcao HON 1949 Jerry Bengtson BIH Vedad Ibišević CRC Álvaro Saborío GER Mesut Özil JPN Shinji Okazaki NCL Georges Gope-Fenepej POR Cristiano Ronaldo SWE Zlatan Ibrahimović USA Clint Dempsey Below are goalscorer lists for all confederations and the inter-confederation play-offs: 22em AFC CAF CONCACAF CONMEBOL OFC UEFA Inter-confederation play-offs Notes nb References 2 External links 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil matches and results at FIFA.com Live Preliminary Draw Qualification Category:FIFA World Cup qualification