2014 FIFA World Cup qualification

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.
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.

Qualified teams

Team	Method of qualification	Date of qualification	Finals appearance	Consecutive appearances	Previous best performance	FIFA Ranking
	Host	30 October 2007	20th	20	Winners	11
	AFC fourth round Group B winners	4 June 2013	5th	5	Round of 16	44
	AFC fourth round Group B runners-up	18 June 2013	4th	3	Round of 16	57
	AFC fourth round Group A winners	18 June 2013	4th	1	Group stage	49
	AFC fourth round Group A runners-up	18 June 2013	9th	8	Fourth place	56
	UEFA Group D winners	10 September 2013	10th	3	Runners-up	8
	UEFA Group B winners	10 September 2013	18th	14	Winners	9
	CONCACAF fourth round runners-up	10 September 2013	4th	1	Round of 16	31
	CONCACAF fourth round winners	10 September 2013	10th	7	Third place	13
	CONMEBOL winners	10 September 2013	16th	11	Winners	3
	UEFA Group A winners	11 October 2013	12th	1	Fourth place	5
	UEFA Group E winners	11 October 2013	10th	3	Quarter-finals	7
	UEFA Group C winners	11 October 2013	18th	16	Winners	2
	CONMEBOL runners-up	11 October 2013	5th	1	Round of 16	4
	UEFA Group G winners	15 October 2013	1st	1	—	16
	UEFA Group F winners	15 October 2013	10th	1	Fourth place	19
	UEFA Group H Winners	15 October 2013	14th	5	Winners	10
	UEFA Group I Winners	15 October 2013	14th	10	Winners	1
	CONMEBOL third place	15 October 2013	9th	2	Third place	12
	CONMEBOL fourth place	15 October 2013	3rd	1	Round of 16	22
	CONCACAF fourth round third place	15 October 2013	3rd	2	Group stage	34
	CAF third round winners	16 November 2013	5th	2	Round of 16	33
	CAF third round winners	16 November 2013	3rd	3	Group stage	17
	CAF third round winners	17 November 2013	7th	2	Quarter-finals	59
	CAF third round winners	19 November 2013	3rd	3	Quarter-finals	23
	CAF third round winners	19 November 2013	4th	2	Group stage	32
	UEFA play-off winners	19 November 2013	3rd	2	Group stage	15
	UEFA play-off winners	19 November 2013	4th	1	Third place	18
	UEFA play-off winners	19 November 2013	6th	4	Third place	14
	UEFA play-off winners	19 November 2013	14th	5	Winners	21
	CONCACAF v OFC play-off winners	20 November 2013	15th	6	Quarter-finals	24
	AFC v CONMEBOL play-off winners	20 November 2013	12th	2	Winners	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

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:

AFC : 4 or 5 places
CAF : 5 places
CONCACAF : 3 or 4 places
CONMEBOL : 4 or 5 places
OFC : 0 or 1 place
UEFA : 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

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. 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. 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. If no goals were scored during extra time, the tie was decided via a 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 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 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)

Play-off for 5th place (fifth round)

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.
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.