FIFA World Cup qualification explained

Region:International (FIFA)
Number Of Teams:211 (currently eligible)
215 (overall)
Current:2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

The FIFA World Cup qualification is a set of competitive matches that a national association football team plays in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the men's FIFA World Cup.

Qualifying tournaments are held within the six FIFA continental zones, each organized by their respective confederations: AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North and Central America and the Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), OFC (Oceania), and UEFA (Europe). For each World Cup, FIFA decides the number of places in the finals allocated to each of the zones, based on the numbers and relative strengths of the confederations' teams.

As a courtesy, the host receives an automatic berth selection, as has happened with the immediate past tournament winner during much of the competition's history. All other finalists are determined on a standalone qualifying round achievement without regard to previous achievements.

World cup history

The berths for the inaugural 1930 tournament were filled by invitation only. The 1934 one was the first one to have an actual qualifying phase. The first ever World Cup qualifying match was played on 11 June 1933, when Sweden defeated Estonia 6–2 in Stockholm, and the first goal was scored 7 minutes into the game, with some sources[1] attributing it to Swedish captain Knut Kroon while others credit it as an own goal by the Estonian goalkeeper Evald Tipner.

The number of teams entering qualification stages has increased steadily, and in response the final tournament has also been expanded (having 16 teams until 1978, then 24 between 1982 and 1994, then 32 between 1998 and 2022, and finally 48 from 2026 onwards). While the format of the qualifying tournaments has evolved, teams have always been grouped into zones which have remained relatively unchanged and roughly correspond to the continents. The teams from each zone compete for a fixed number of berths for the zone, with a limited number of places being awarded to winners of intercontinental play-offs.

Qualification berths by continent

The table below lists the numbers of berths allocated by FIFA for each continent in each tournament. It also shows the total number of teams that entered and played in every qualification cycle.

In the table, "H" denotes an automatic spot for the host, "C" denotes an automatic spot for the defending champion, and "inv" indicates the number of teams that were invited in 1930. Places in intercontinental play-offs are represented as fractions, as follows:

Places allocated for continents



1934

1938

1950

1954

1958

1962

1966

1970

1974

1978

1982

1986

1990

1994
Europe4 inv 12 11
+H+C
7
+C
11
+H
9
+H+C
8+
2×0.5
9
+H
8
+C
8.5
+H
8.5
+C
13
+H
12.5
+C
13
+H
12
+C
Africa1 0 1 0.5 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 3
Asia1 1 1 0.5 1 1 1 2 2 2 2
Oceaniacolspan=3 0 0 0 0 0.5 0.5 0.25
North and Central America
and Caribbean
2 inv 1 1 2 1 1 0.5 1 1
+H
1 1 2 1
+H
2 1.25
+H
South AmericaH+
6 inv
2 1 4
+H
1
+C
3 3.5
+H+C
3
+C
3 2.5
+C
2.5
+H
3
+C
4 2.5
+C
3.5
Total berths13 16 16 16 24
Teams in the finals15 13
Entered qualificationrowspan=3 32 34 32 37 51 54 69 69 97 105 107 119 111 145
Played in qualification27 21 19 33 46 49 51 68 90 95 103 110 103 128
Qualified via qualification14 10 9 13 14 14 14 14 14 14 22 22 22 22
Qualified without playing13 2 6 7 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

1998


2002

2006

2010

2014

2018

2022



2026



2030

2034
Europe14
+H
13.5
+C
13
+H
13 13 13
+H
13 16 2H
Africa5 5 5 5
+H
5 5 5 9+ H
Asia3.5 2.5
+2H
4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5
+H
8+ H
Oceania0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 1+
North and Central America
and Caribbean
3 3 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 3+

+3H
South America4
+C
4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5
+H
4.5 4.5 6+ 3H
Total berths32 48
Teams in the finals
Entered qualification172 196 197 205 203 210 211
Played in qualification168 193 194 199 202 208 204
Qualified via qualification30 29 31 31 31 31 31 45 42 47
Qualified without playing2 3 1 1 1 1 1 3 6 1
Notes

First appearance in qualification by team

Only teams that played at least one match are considered for first appearance. Teams that withdrew before the qualification, or that qualified to the World Cup by walkover due to other teams' withdrawals, are not considered.

YearDebuting teamsSuccessor and renamed teams
EuropeSouth AmericaNorth, Central America and CaribbeanAsiaAfricaOceaniawidth=25width=25

1934




















none


none2727

1938


nonenonenonenonenone330

1950




nonenonenonenone636

1954


none
nonenone642


1958











none1658

1962

none



none967

1966

none673

1970
nonenone
none




982

1974
none
















none21103

1978
nonenone










none14117

1982
nonenone



8125

1986
nonenonenone






none9134

1990
nonenonenone
none3137

1994

none








15152




1998











none














31183


2002
none















21204

2006
nonenonenonenone2206

2010
nonenone
5211

2014
nonenonenonenonenonenone0211

2018

nonenonenone4215

2022
nonenonenonenonenonenone0215

2026
nonenonenonenonenonenone0215

2030
nonenonenonenonenonenone0215

2034
nonenonenonenonenonenone0215
Teams' entries before their actual debuts in qualification
Successor and renamed teams
Other notes

Overview of teams' participations

The below table shows how every team has participated in each World Cup qualification.

Key

Qualified
Qualified, then withdrew from the finals (Austria in 1938, and Scotland and Turkey in 1950)
Did not qualify
Withdrew during qualifying
Was disqualified during qualifying
Qualified automatically as host but took part in qualifiers as they doubled as another tournament (South Africa in 2010 and Qatar in 2022)
Was not a FIFA member but took part in qualifiers as they doubled as another tournament (Tuvalu in 2010)
Received bye to the finals
Received bye to the finals, then withdrew (India in 1950)
Qualified automatically as host
Qualified automatically as reigning champion
Was invited to the finals (all finalists in 1930 except Uruguay)
Entered but withdrew before playing, or withdrew during qualifying and had all matches annulled
Entered but was disqualified before playing, or was disqualified during qualifying and had all matches annulled
Was suspended from entering, or had entry rejected
Did not enter despite being a FIFA member
Was not a FIFA member
Non-participating incarnations
Continental allocations

Overall team records

The below table compares the overall records of all teams that have participated in qualification. Teams are ordered by points using the three points for a win system, then by goal difference, and then by goals scored. Note that this order does not represent any official rankings, and qualification tournaments are not direct competitions among all teams.

The "Qualifying attempts" column counts qualifying campaigns where the team played at least one match that was not annulled. An attempt is treated as "successful" if the team gained the right to participate in the finals, even if it did not appear there eventually.

As per statistical convention in football, goals scored during extra time are counted towards matches' scorelines and outcomes, while goals scored during penalty shoot-outs are not. Annulled matches are not counted; for matches that were annulled and then replayed, only the replays are counted. For matches where the scorelines were awarded, the awarded scorelines, and not the original ones (if any), are counted.

Ecuador was deducted 3 points in the 2026 qualifying, which is reflected in the table.

Key
Team has qualified for the main tournament through a qualifying process
Team has qualified for the main tournament only by walkover (Cuba, and Indonesia as Dutch East Indies)
Team has qualified for the main tournament by walkover but has not participated there because it withdrew (India)
Team has qualified for the main tournament only automatically as host (Qatar)
Team has not qualified for the main tournament
Defunct team that 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 currently participating or are yet to start in the 2026 qualification. The table is updated to the matches played in June 2024.

No.TeamQualifying attemptsAppearances
in the finals
Overall qualification recordPointsConfederation
width=20Totalwidth=20Successfulwidth=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=40Totalwidth=40
117 14 18 189 121 41 27 453 134 +319 404 2.138 CONCACAF
216 6 6 167 101 40 26 429 125 +304 343 2.054 AFC
316 10 11 157 99 40 18 319 91 +228 337 2.146 AFC
418 6 6 189 95 47 47 316 184 +132 332 1.757 CONCACAF
512 6 6 152 96 37 19 332 93 +239 325 2.138 AFC
615 13 18 159 91 42 26 270 137 +133 315 1.981 CONMEBOL
716 6 7 144 89 27 28 329 91 +238 294 2.042 AFC
819 11 11 135 89 26 20 329 101 +228 293 2.170 UEFA
919 9 12 168 84 40 44 287 191 +96 292 1.738 CONCACAF
1018 11 14 178 81 47 50 253 191 +62 290 1.629 CONMEBOL
1113 6 6 142 85 33 24 278 106 +172 288 2.028 AFC
1219 15 16 125 87 26 12 291 81 +210 287 2.296 UEFA
1314 13 22 133 84 34 15 288 82 +206 286 2.150 CONMEBOL
1421 8 8 149 83 35 31 284 146 +138 284 1.906 UEFA
1517 14 16 122 84 27 11 314 70 +244 279 2.287 UEFA
1620 11 12 141 86 21 34 280 129 +151 279 1.979 UEFA
17


20 12 13 136 81 33 22 287 123 +164 276 2.029 UEFA
1820 13 14 141 83 27 31 302 147 +155 276 1.957 UEFA
19

20 9 9 147 79 31 37 280 126 +154 268 1.823 UEFA
20

15 15 20 104 83 18 3 328 74 +254 267 2.567 UEFA
21
16 10 11 125 80 24 21 246 81 +165 264 2.112 UEFA
2217 14 18 118 78 30 10 234 72 +162 264 2.237 UEFA
2316 3 3 166 71 44 51 271 201 +70 257 1.548 CONCACAF
2418 6 6 176 65 57 54 206 181 +25 252 1.432 CONMEBOL
2519 6 8 178 70 39 69 214 218 −4 249 1.399 CONMEBOL
2613 1 1 132 75 22 35 278 105 +173 247 1.871 AFC
2715 2 2 162 71 34 57 263 188 +75 247 1.525 CONCACAF
2818 5 7 138 72 29 37 238 142 +96 245 1.775 UEFA
2920 11 12 140 68 37 35 220 150 +70 241 1.721 UEFA
3019 9 8 136 69 30 37 210 146 +64 237 1.743 UEFA
3118 12 16 119 70 26 23 234 91 +143 236 1.983 UEFA
3217 6 9 170 67 35 68 239 228 +11 236 1.388 CONMEBOL
3316 6 6 132 67 30 35 242 144 +98 231 1.750 UEFA
3416 6 6 116 65 31 20 198 86 +112 226 1.948 CAF
3519 9 9 128 67 23 38 260 154 +106 224 1.750 UEFA
3615 2 3 137 62 38 37 215 144 +71 224 1.635 CONCACAF
3716 6 6 122 61 39 22 185 84 +101 222 1.820 CAF
3816 6 6 116 62 35 19 189 89 +100 221 1.905 CAF
3919 8 7 134 64 29 41 232 155 +77 221 1.649 UEFA
40

21 3 3 149 58 46 45 210 177 +33 220 1.477 UEFA
4119 8 9 132 63 28 41 235 176 +59 217 1.644 UEFA
4220 7 7 137 62 29 46 215 191 +24 215 1.569 UEFA
4313 1 1 125 60 32 33 238 121 +117 212 1.696 AFC
4413 0 1 126 62 24 40 217 125 +92 210 1.667 AFC
4517 4 4 167 57 40 70 201 224 −23 208 1.246 CONMEBOL
4616 1 1 143 58 30 55 216 187 +29 204 1.427 CONCACAF
4716 3 3 105 60 22 23 187 96 +91 202 1.924 CAF
4815 8 8 99 59 24 16 167 74 +93 201 2.030 CAF
4920 3 3 136 56 33 47 167 179 −12 201 1.478 UEFA
508 0 0 108 58 21 29 208 108 +100 195 1.806 AFC
5117 0 0 128 54 32 42 217 150 +67 194 1.516 CONCACAF
5218 4 5 174 50 43 81 184 241 −57 193 1.109 CONMEBOL
5314 2 2 102 58 18 26 239 101 +138 192 1.882 OFC
5411 1 1 122 56 24 42 210 129 +81 192 1.574 AFC
5518 3 2 139 53 27 59 204 206 −2 186 1.338 UEFA
5619 3 3 136 49 33 54 185 186 −1 180 1.324 UEFA
5714 1 1 107 54 17 36 185 105 +80 179 1.673 AFC
58
19 3 3 142 45 39 58 155 168 −13 174 1.225 UEFA
5913 3 3 88 48 27 13 166 70 +96 171 1.943 CAF
60
21 1 1 132 45 35 52 189 199 −10 170 1.288 UEFA
6115 4 4 101 48 25 28 161 101 +60 169 1.673 CAF
6215 4 4 95 47 25 23 147 75 +72 166 1.747 CAF
6315 0 0 106 48 21 37 159 104 +55 165 1.557 CAF
6418 1 3 174 44 32 98 204 340 −136 164 0.943 CONMEBOL
6516 0 0 108 46 24 38 214 132 +82 162 1.500 AFC
6619 2 2 130 43 29 58 168 180 −12 158 1.215 UEFA
6713 1 1 120 41 32 47 131 156 −25 155 1.292 CONCACAF
6810 0 0 94 43 22 29 153 88 +65 151 1.606 AFC
697 6 6 72 43 20 9 129 51 +78 149 2.069 UEFA
7016 1 1 97 44 17 36 170 126 +44 149 1.536 CONCACAF
7113 1 1 116 40 26 50 147 179 −32 146 1.259 CONCACAF
7211 2 2 89 42 19 28 127 84 +43 145 1.629 AFC
73
12 1 1 88 41 21 26 143 94 +49 144 1.636 CAF
7412 0 0 102 38 30 34 131 101 +30 144 1.412 AFC
757 1 1 80 38 28 14 122 62 +60 142 1.775 UEFA
7620 0 0 137 35 25 77 144 297 −153 130 0.949 UEFA
7714 3 3 75 34 25 16 112 62 +50 127 1.693 CAF
7811 0 0 84 36 17 31 134 99 +35 125 1.488 AFC
7914 0 0 85 37 14 34 123 112 +11 125 1.471 CAF
807 1 1 74 35 19 20 127 74 +53 124 1.676 UEFA
8115 0 0 164 30 29 105 140 351 −211 119 0.726 CONMEBOL
829 2 3 60 34 10 16 78 52 +26 112 1.867 CAF
8314 1 1 116 30 22 64 128 233 −105 112 0.966 UEFA
8411 1 1 73 28 27 18 90 67 +23 111 1.521 CAF
8514 0 0 103 28 23 52 134 174 −40 107 1.039 AFC
86
10 0 0 70 30 15 25 106 87 +19 105 1.500 CAF
877 2 2 72 29 17 26 94 80 +14 104 1.444 UEFA
887 1 1 66 29 14 23 121 81 +40 101 1.530 UEFA
8914 0 0 78 25 21 32 88 103 −15 96 1.231 CAF
909 0 0 78 24 21 33 108 106 +2 93 1.192 AFC
9114 0 0 89 25 18 46 103 158 −55 93 1.045 AFC
9212 1 1 75 24 20 31 78 96 −18 92 1.227 CAF
9314 0 0 75 26 14 35 104 133 −29 92 1.227 AFC
9412 0 0 66 25 15 26 71 72 −1 90 1.364 CAF
9510 0 0 67 26 12 29 71 78 −7 90 1.343 CAF
96
14 0 1 87 24 18 45 112 178 −66 90 1.034 AFC
9714 0 1 74 23 20 31 96 108 −12 89 1.203 CONCACAF
98
16 0 0 71 24 14 33 114 116 −2 86 1.211 CONCACAF
99
12 0 0 73 22 20 31 69 90 −21 86 1.178 CAF
10013 0 0 114 24 14 76 84 200 −116 86 0.754 UEFA
1019 0 0 85 21 18 46 93 144 −51 81 0.953 UEFA
10213 0 0 84 23 12 49 89 168 −79 81 0.964 AFC
10311 0 0 71 21 16 34 77 106 −29 79 1.113 CAF
10414 0 0 76 19 22 35 71 115 −44 79 1.039 CAF
1058 0 0 57 23 9 25 118 121 −3 78 1.368 OFC
1067 0 0 52 20 15 17 66 57 +9 75 1.442 CAF
107
7 0 0 72 20 15 37 95 115 −20 75 1.042 UEFA
1089 1 1 47 22 8 17 87 65 +22 74 1.574 defunct
109

18 0 0 68 18 20 30 75 120 −45 74 1.088 CONCACAF
11010 0 0 56 21 10 25 114 105 +9 73 1.304 OFC
11111 0 0 70 20 13 37 52 96 −44 73 1.043 CAF
11212 0 0 70 18 17 35 63 98 −35 71 1.014 CAF
11310 0 0 81 18 16 47 63 130 −67 70 0.864 UEFA
11411 0 0 52 19 12 21 48 63 −15 69 1.327 CAF
1158 0 0 50 19 10 21 88 74 +14 67 1.340 AFC
1168 0 0 52 20 7 25 76 84 −8 67 1.288 AFC
117
10 0 0 54 18 9 27 55 96 −41 63 1.167 CAF
118
10 0 0 65 19 6 40 70 115 −45 63 0.969 AFC
11910 0 0 84 17 12 55 74 187 −113 63 0.750 UEFA
12016 0 0 124 16 15 93 91 320 −229 63 0.508 UEFA
1215 0 0 38 18 8 12 89 46 +43 62 1.632 OFC
1228 0 0 45 18 7 20 70 68 +2 61 1.356 AFC
123
11 0 0 66 15 16 35 67 108 −41 61 0.924 AFC
1247 0 0 44 18 6 20 46 56 −10 60 1.364 CAF
1259 0 0 42 16 11 15 85 65 +20 59 1.405 CONCACAF
1268 0 0 45 17 8 20 67 85 −18 59 1.311 OFC
1277 0 0 72 13 17 42 61 142 −81 56 0.778 UEFA
12811 0 0 46 15 10 21 54 62 −8 55 1.196 CAF
1299 0 0 54 14 13 27 52 94 −42 55 1.019 CAF
1307 0 0 66 14 12 40 68 121 −53 54 0.818 UEFA
1318 0 0 38 15 8 15 73 66 +7 53 1.395 CONCACAF
13210 0 0 57 12 17 28 52 101 −49 53 0.930 AFC
1339 0 0 64 15 8 41 82 193 −111 53 0.828 CONCACAF
1344 0 0 40 13 13 14 61 58 +3 52 1.300 UEFA
13512 0 0 48 15 7 26 73 100 −27 52 1.083 CONCACAF
1367 0 0 40 14 9 17 64 52 +12 51 1.275 AFC
13710 0 0 46 14 9 23 41 63 −22 51 1.109 CAF
13813 0 0 53 11 17 25 53 77 −24 50 0.943 CAF
13912 0 0 51 13 11 27 45 77 −32 50 0.980 CAF
1407 0 0 64 11 17 36 57 101 −44 50 0.781 UEFA
1417 0 0 68 12 14 42 76 148 −72 50 0.735 UEFA
14211 0 0 44 11 14 19 45 62 −17 47 1.068 CAF
14310 0 0 35 13 6 16 54 55 −1 45 1.286 CONCACAF
1449 0 0 39 13 6 20 45 67 −22 45 1.154 CAF
14511 0 0 66 11 10 45 41 163 −122 43 0.652 AFC
1468 0 0 40 12 6 22 39 58 −19 42 1.050 CAF
1478 0 0 48 10 11 27 44 64 −20 41 0.854 CAF
1487 0 0 37 12 3 22 76 89 −13 39 1.054 OFC
14910 0 0 43 11 6 26 40 83 −43 39 0.907 CONCACAF
1507 0 0 66 7 15 44 34 122 −88 36 0.545 UEFA
1519 0 0 27 11 1 15 43 46 −3 34 1.259 CONCACAF
15221 0 0 142 8 10 124 77 451 −374 34 0.239 UEFA
1535 0 0 26 9 6 11 48 41 +7 33 1.269 OFC
1548 0 0 26 9 6 11 27 34 −7 33 1.269 CAF
15512 0 0 40 9 6 25 43 92 −49 33 0.825 CONCACAF
15611 0 0 31 8 8 15 40 57 −17 32 1.032 CONCACAF
1577 0 0 32 9 5 18 26 49 −23 32 1.000 CAF
1588 0 0 80 8 8 64 41 207 −166 32 0.400 UEFA
1598 0 0 42 9 4 29 45 143 −98 31 0.738 AFC
1608 0 0 31 8 6 17 38 66 −28 30 0.968 CONCACAF
1619 0 0 31 8 4 19 53 64 −11 28 0.903 CONCACAF
162
6 0 0 26 9 1 16 37 88 −51 28 1.077 OFC
1637 0 0 68 5 13 50 40 145 −105 28 0.412 UEFA
164
13 0 0 74 8 4 62 48 251 −203 28 0.378 AFC
16510 0 0 30 7 6 17 30 48 −18 27 0.900 CAF
1666 0 0 35 7 6 22 31 82 −51 27 0.771 AFC
1676 0 0 30 7 6 17 20 74 −54 27 0.900 AFC
1689 0 0 46 7 6 33 31 143 −112 27 0.587 AFC
1698 0 0 24 5 10 9 19 33 −14 25 1.042 CAF
1708 0 0 26 7 2 17 35 66 −31 23 0.885 CONCACAF
1716 0 0 22 7 1 14 23 82 −59 22 1.000 OFC
1725 0 0 30 6 4 20 25 102 −77 22 0.733 AFC
1739 0 0 30 3 12 15 18 54 −36 21 0.700 CAF
17413 0 0 112 3 12 97 42 330 −288 21 0.188 UEFA
1757 0 0 22 6 2 14 17 35 −18 20 0.909 CAF
1767 0 0 26 6 1 19 17 77 −60 19 0.731 AFC
1779 0 0 41 4 7 30 27 103 −76 19 0.463 AFC
178
9 0 0 25 4 5 16 17 47 −30 17 0.680 CAF
1798 0 0 22 5 2 15 28 65 −37 17 0.773 CONCACAF
1808 0 0 26 4 5 17 22 67 −45 17 0.654 CONCACAF
1817 0 0 38 4 5 29 22 136 −114 17 0.447 AFC
1827 0 0 20 4 4 12 21 66 −45 16 0.800 CONCACAF
18311 0 0 39 4 3 32 17 173 −156 15 0.385 AFC
1846 0 0 62 4 3 55 22 186 −164 15 0.242 UEFA
1856 0 0 30 3 5 22 24 127 −103 14 0.467 AFC
1865 0 0 14 3 4 7 13 25 −12 13 0.929 CAF
1877 0 0 70 2 7 61 25 219 −194 13 0.186 UEFA
1885 0 0 20 3 3 14 19 39 −20 12 0.600 CAF
1898 0 0 26 2 6 18 15 47 −32 12 0.462 CAF
1903 0 0 14 4 0 10 11 62 −51 12 0.857 AFC
1917 0 0 21 3 2 16 9 96 −87 11 0.524 CONCACAF
1929 0 0 24 2 4 18 17 58 −41 10 0.417 CAF
1936 0 0 20 3 1 16 16 63 −47 10 0.500 OFC
1944 0 0 22 3 1 18 11 87 −76 10 0.455 AFC
1955 0 0 18 3 1 14 11 136 −125 10 0.556 OFC
1967 0 0 15 2 3 10 19 56 −37 9 0.600 CONCACAF
1978 0 0 22 1 6 15 9 56 −47 9 0.409 CONCACAF
1986 0 0 25 2 3 20 14 96 −82 9 0.360 CAF
19910 0 0 40 1 5 34 15 148 −133 8 0.200 AFC
2006 0 0 14 2 1 11 6 35 −29 7 0.500 CAF
2012 0 0 18 1 3 14 8 39 −31 6 0.333 UEFA
2028 0 0 17 1 3 13 6 38 −32 6 0.353 CAF
2035 0 0 18 2 0 16 5 74 −69 6 0.333 AFC
2047 0 0 18 0 5 13 8 61 −53 5 0.278 CONCACAF
2057 0 0 15 1 2 12 7 69 −62 5 0.333 CONCACAF
2061 0 0 4 1 1 2 4 8 −4 4 1.000 defunct
2073 0 0 8 0 4 4 3 15 −12 4 0.500 CAF
2085 0 0 10 0 3 7 4 20 −16 3 0.300 CAF
2097 0 0 18 0 3 15 3 77 −74 3 0.167 CONCACAF
2107 0 0 20 0 2 18 8 68 −60 2 0.100 CAF
2118 0 0 76 0 2 74 12 356 −344 2 0.026 UEFA
2121 0 0 2 0 1 1 4 7 −3 1 0.500 defunct
2131 0 0 4 0 1 3 2 22 −20 1 0.250 OFC
2145 0 0 18 0 0 18 6 87 −81 0 0.000 AFC
2152 0 0 20 0 0 20 7 90 −83 0 0.000 UEFA

Qualification tournament rules

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

Groups

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

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

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

  1. greater number of points obtained in matches between the tied teams
  2. goal difference in matches between the tied teams
  3. greater number of goals scored in matches between the tied teams
  4. goals scored away from home in matches between the tied teams, if the tie is only between two 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 fair play points and then the drawing of lots.

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 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.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Sweden vs Estonia, 11 June 1933, World Cup qualification. eu-football.info. 25 January 2023.