FIFA World Cup qualification explained

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.

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:

• 0.5 – a place in a direct play-off
• 0.25 – a place in a semi-final play-off (where the winner would then face yet another team for a spot in the finals)
• ⅓ – a place in a play-off tournament where two out of six teams would qualify

Places allocated for continents

		1934	1938	1950	1954	1958	1962	1966	1970	1974	1978	1982	1986	1990	1994
Europe	4 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
Africa	—	1		0		1	0.5	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	3
Asia	—		1	1	1		0.5		1	1	1	2	2	2	2
Oceania	colspan=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 America	H+ 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 berths	13	16	16		16							24
Teams in the finals			15	13
Entered qualification	rowspan=3	32	34	32	37	51	54	69	69	97	105	107	119	111	145
Played in qualification	27	21	19	33	46	49	51	68	90	95	103	110	103	128
Qualified via qualification	14	10	9	13	14	14	14	14	14	14	22	22	22	22
Qualified without playing	13	2	6	7	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2

	1998	2002	2006	2010	2014	2018	2022	2026	2030	2034
Europe	14 +H	13.5 +C	13 +H	13	13	13 +H	13	16	2H
Africa	5	5	5	5 +H	5	5	5	9+⅓	H
Asia	3.5	2.5 +2H	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5 +H	8+⅓		H
Oceania	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.5	1+⅓
North and Central America and Caribbean	3	3	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3+ 2×⅓ +3H
South America	4 +C	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5 +H	4.5	4.5	6+⅓	3H
Total berths	32							48
Teams in the finals
Entered qualification	172	196	197	205	203	210	211	207
Played in qualification	168	193	194	199	202	208	204	206
Qualified via qualification	30	29	31	31	31	31	31	45	42	47
Qualified without playing	2	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.

Year	Debuting teams								Successor and renamed teams
	Europe	South America	North, Central America and Caribbean	Asia	Africa	Oceania	width=25			width=25
1934		none				none	27	27
1938		none	none	none	none	none	3	30
1950		none	none		none	none	6	36
1954			none		none	none	6	42
1958						none	16	58
1962				none		none	9	67
1966					none		6	73
1970	none	none		none			9	82
1974		none				none	21	103
1978	none	none				none	14	117
1982	none	none					8	125
1986	none	none	none			none	9	134
1990	none	none	none			none	3	137
1994		none					15	152
1998		none					31	183
2002		none					21	204
2006	none	none	none		none		2	206
2010		none	none				5	211
2014	none	none	none	none	none	none	0	211
2018		none	none			none	4	215
2022	none	none	none	none	none	none	0	215
2026	none	none	none	none	none	none	0	215

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

• = successful qualifying campaign
• = did not take part in qualifying
• = participated in the final tournament

	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 November 2024.

Rank (unoff.)	Team	Qualifying attempts		Appearances in the finals	Overall qualification record							Points		Confederation
		width=20	Total		width=20	Successful	width=20		width=20		width=20		width=20			width=20		width=20		width=20		width=40	Total	width=40
1		17	14	18	189	121	41	27	453	134	+319	404	2.138	CONCACAF
2		16	10	11	163	103	42	18	331	96	+235	351	2.153	AFC
3		16	6	6	173	102	44	27	435	130	+305	350	2.023	AFC
4		12	6	6	158	101	38	19	344	98	+246	341	2.158	AFC
5		18	6	6	189	95	47	47	316	184	+132	332	1.757	CONCACAF
6		15	13	18	165	94	43	28	283	142	+141	325	1.970	CONMEBOL
7		16	6	7	150	94	28	28	351	93	+258	310	2.067	AFC
8		14	13	22	139	87	36	16	297	86	+211	297	2.137	CONMEBOL
9		18	11	14	184	82	51	51	257	195	+62	297	1.614	CONMEBOL
10		13	6	6	148	86	36	26	281	112	+169	294	1.986	AFC
11		19	11	11	135	89	26	20	329	101	+228	293	2.170	UEFA
12		19	9	12	168	84	40	44	287	191	+96	292	1.738	CONCACAF
13		19	15	16	125	87	26	12	291	81	+210	287	2.296	UEFA
14		21	8	8	149	83	35	31	284	146	+138	284	1.906	UEFA
15		17	14	16	122	84	27	11	314	70	+244	279	2.287	UEFA
16		20	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
18		20	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
22		17	14	18	118	78	30	10	234	72	+162	264	2.237	UEFA
23		19	6	8	184	73	42	69	221	222	−1	261	1.418	CONMEBOL
24		20	9	9	145	75	35	35	271	137	+134	260	1.793	UEFA
25		18	6	6	182	67	58	57	215	188	+27	259	1.423	CONMEBOL
26		16	3	3	166	71	44	51	271	201	+70	257	1.548	CONCACAF
27		13	1	1	138	77	22	39	284	121	+163	253	1.833	AFC
28		15	2	2	162	71	34	57	263	188	+75	247	1.525	CONCACAF
29		18	5	7	138	72	29	37	238	142	+96	245	1.775	UEFA
30		20	11	12	140	68	37	35	220	150	+70	241	1.721	UEFA
31		17	6	9	176	68	36	72	245	241	+4	240	1.364	CONMEBOL
32		19	9	8	136	69	30	37	210	146	+64	237	1.743	UEFA
33		18	12	16	119	70	26	23	234	91	+143	236	1.983	UEFA
34		16	6	6	132	67	30	35	242	144	+98	231	1.750	UEFA
35		16	6	6	116	65	31	20	198	86	+112	226	1.948	CAF
36		19	9	9	128	67	23	38	260	154	+106	224	1.750	UEFA
37		15	2	3	137	62	38	37	215	144	+71	224	1.635	CONCACAF
38		13	1	1	131	63	34	34	243	124	+119	223	1.702	AFC
39		16	6	6	122	61	39	22	185	84	+101	222	1.820	CAF
40		16	6	6	116	62	35	19	189	89	+100	221	1.905	CAF
41		19	8	7	134	64	29	41	232	155	+77	221	1.649	UEFA
42		21	3	3	149	58	46	45	210	177	+33	220	1.477	UEFA
43		17	4	4	173	60	42	71	207	225	−18	219	1.266	CONMEBOL
44		13	0	1	132	64	25	43	227	142	+85	217	1.644	AFC
45		19	8	9	132	63	28	41	235	176	+59	217	1.644	UEFA
46		20	7	7	137	62	29	46	215	191	+24	215	1.569	UEFA
47		8	0	0	114	62	22	30	216	113	+103	208	1.825	AFC
48		16	1	1	143	58	30	55	216	187	+29	204	1.427	CONCACAF
49		16	3	3	105	60	22	23	187	96	+91	202	1.924	CAF
50		11	1	1	128	59	25	44	222	133	+89	202	1.578	AFC
51		15	2	2	105	61	18	26	258	102	+156	201	1.914	OFC
52		15	8	8	99	59	24	16	167	74	+93	201	2.030	CAF
53		20	3	3	136	56	33	47	167	179	−12	201	1.478	UEFA
54		18	4	5	180	51	45	84	186	248	−62	198	1.100	CONMEBOL
55		17	0	0	128	54	32	42	217	150	+67	194	1.516	CONCACAF
56		18	3	2	139	53	27	59	204	206	−2	186	1.338	UEFA
57		14	1	1	113	54	21	38	190	116	+74	183	1.619	AFC
58		19	3	3	136	49	33	54	185	186	−1	180	1.324	UEFA
59		19	3	3	142	45	39	58	155	168	−13	174	1.225	UEFA
60		18	1	3	180	47	33	100	213	353	−140	174	0.967	CONMEBOL
61		13	3	3	88	48	27	13	166	70	+96	171	1.943	CAF
62		21	1	1	132	45	35	52	189	199	−10	170	1.288	UEFA
63		15	4	4	101	48	25	28	161	101	+60	169	1.673	CAF
64		15	4	4	95	47	25	23	147	75	+72	166	1.747	CAF
65		15	0	0	106	48	21	37	159	104	+55	165	1.557	CAF
66		16	0	0	108	46	24	38	214	132	+82	162	1.500	AFC
67		19	2	2	130	43	29	58	168	180	−12	158	1.215	UEFA
68		10	0	0	100	45	22	33	159	97	+62	157	1.570	AFC
69		13	1	1	120	41	32	47	131	156	−25	155	1.292	CONCACAF
70		12	0	0	108	39	33	36	136	111	+25	150	1.389	AFC
71		7	6	6	72	43	20	9	129	51	+78	149	2.069	UEFA
72		16	1	1	97	44	17	36	170	126	+44	149	1.536	CONCACAF
73		11	2	2	95	42	21	32	132	93	+39	147	1.547	AFC
74		13	1	1	116	40	26	50	147	179	−32	146	1.259	CONCACAF
75		12	1	1	88	41	21	26	143	94	+49	144	1.636	CAF
76		7	1	1	80	38	28	14	122	62	+60	142	1.775	UEFA
77		11	0	0	90	38	20	32	143	104	+39	134	1.489	AFC
78		20	0	0	137	35	25	77	144	297	−153	130	0.949	UEFA
79		14	3	3	75	34	25	16	112	62	+50	127	1.693	CAF
80		14	0	0	85	37	14	34	123	112	+11	125	1.471	CAF
81		15	0	0	170	30	32	108	145	363	−218	122	0.718	CONMEBOL
82		9	2	3	60	34	10	16	78	52	+26	112	1.867	CAF
83		14	1	1	116	30	22	64	128	233	−105	112	0.966	UEFA
84		11	1	1	73	28	27	18	90	67	+23	111	1.521	CAF
85		14	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
87		7	2	2	72	29	17	26	94	80	+14	104	1.444	UEFA
88		7	1	1	66	29	14	23	121	81	+40	101	1.530	UEFA
89		14	0	0	78	25	21	32	88	103	−15	96	1.231	CAF
90		14	0	1	93	25	21	47	118	187	−69	96	1.032	AFC
91		9	0	0	78	24	21	33	108	106	+2	93	1.192	AFC
92		14	0	0	89	25	18	46	103	158	−55	93	1.045	AFC
93		12	1	1	75	24	20	31	78	96	−18	92	1.227	CAF
94		14	0	0	75	26	14	35	104	133	−29	92	1.227	AFC
95		12	0	0	66	25	15	26	71	72	−1	90	1.364	CAF
96		10	0	0	67	26	12	29	71	78	−7	90	1.343	CAF
97		14	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
100		13	0	0	114	24	14	76	84	200	−116	86	0.754	UEFA
101		9	0	0	60	24	9	27	122	126	−4	81	1.350	OFC
102		9	0	0	85	21	18	46	93	144	−51	81	0.953	UEFA
103		13	0	0	84	23	12	49	89	168	−79	81	0.964	AFC
104		11	0	0	71	21	16	34	77	106	−29	79	1.113	CAF
105		14	0	0	76	19	22	35	71	115	−44	79	1.039	CAF
106		11	0	0	59	22	12	25	119	109	+10	78	1.322	OFC
107		7	0	0	52	20	15	17	66	57	+9	75	1.442	CAF
108		7	0	0	72	20	15	37	95	115	−20	75	1.042	UEFA
109		9	1	1	47	22	8	17	87	65	+22	74	1.574	defunct
110		18	0	0	68	18	20	30	75	120	−45	74	1.088	CONCACAF
111		11	0	0	70	20	13	37	52	96	−44	73	1.043	CAF
112		12	0	0	70	18	17	35	63	98	−35	71	1.014	CAF
113		10	0	0	81	18	16	47	63	130	−67	70	0.864	UEFA
114		6	0	0	41	20	9	12	96	50	+46	69	1.683	OFC
115		11	0	0	52	19	12	21	48	63	−15	69	1.327	CAF
116		8	0	0	50	19	10	21	88	74	+14	67	1.340	AFC
117		8	0	0	52	20	7	25	76	84	−8	67	1.288	AFC
118		9	0	0	48	19	8	21	72	88	−16	65	1.354	OFC
119		8	0	0	51	19	7	25	76	81	−5	64	1.255	AFC
120		10	0	0	54	18	9	27	55	96	−41	63	1.167	CAF
121		10	0	0	65	19	6	40	70	115	−45	63	0.969	AFC
122		10	0	0	84	17	12	55	74	187	−113	63	0.750	UEFA
123		16	0	0	124	16	15	93	91	320	−229	63	0.508	UEFA
124		11	0	0	66	15	16	35	67	108	−41	61	0.924	AFC
125		7	0	0	44	18	6	20	46	56	−10	60	1.364	CAF
126		9	0	0	42	16	11	15	85	65	+20	59	1.405	CONCACAF
127		7	0	0	72	13	17	42	61	142	−81	56	0.778	UEFA
128		11	0	0	46	15	10	21	54	62	−8	55	1.196	CAF
129		9	0	0	54	14	13	27	52	94	−42	55	1.019	CAF
130		7	0	0	46	14	12	20	68	60	+8	54	1.174	AFC
131		7	0	0	66	14	12	40	68	121	−53	54	0.818	UEFA
132		8	0	0	38	15	8	15	73	66	+7	53	1.395	CONCACAF
133		10	0	0	57	12	17	28	52	101	−49	53	0.930	AFC
134		9	0	0	64	15	8	41	82	193	−111	53	0.828	CONCACAF
135		4	0	0	40	13	13	14	61	58	+3	52	1.300	UEFA
136		12	0	0	48	15	7	26	73	100	−27	52	1.083	CONCACAF
137		10	0	0	46	14	9	23	41	63	−22	51	1.109	CAF
138		13	0	0	53	11	17	25	53	77	−24	50	0.943	CAF
139		12	0	0	51	13	11	27	45	77	−32	50	0.980	CAF
140		7	0	0	64	11	17	36	57	101	−44	50	0.781	UEFA
141		7	0	0	68	12	14	42	76	148	−72	50	0.735	UEFA
142		11	0	0	44	11	14	19	45	62	−17	47	1.068	CAF
143		10	0	0	35	13	6	16	54	55	−1	45	1.286	CONCACAF
144		9	0	0	39	13	6	20	45	67	−22	45	1.154	CAF
145		11	0	0	66	11	10	45	41	163	−122	43	0.652	AFC
146		8	0	0	40	13	3	24	81	100	−19	42	1.050	OFC
147		8	0	0	40	12	6	22	39	58	−19	42	1.050	CAF
148		8	0	0	48	10	11	27	44	64	−20	41	0.854	CAF
149		10	0	0	43	11	6	26	40	83	−43	39	0.907	CONCACAF
150		7	0	0	66	7	15	44	34	122	−88	36	0.545	UEFA
151		6	0	0	29	9	7	13	53	49	+4	34	1.172	OFC
152		9	0	0	27	11	1	15	43	46	−3	34	1.259	CONCACAF
153		7	0	0	31	11	1	19	42	104	−62	34	1.097	OFC
154		21	0	0	142	8	10	124	77	451	−374	34	0.239	UEFA
155		8	0	0	26	9	6	11	27	34	−7	33	1.269	CAF
156		12	0	0	40	9	6	25	43	92	−49	33	0.825	CONCACAF
157		11	0	0	31	8	8	15	40	57	−17	32	1.032	CONCACAF
158		7	0	0	32	9	5	18	26	49	−23	32	1.000	CAF
159		8	0	0	80	8	8	64	41	207	−166	32	0.400	UEFA
160		8	0	0	42	9	4	29	45	143	−98	31	0.738	AFC
161		8	0	0	31	8	6	17	38	66	−28	30	0.968	CONCACAF
162		9	0	0	31	8	4	19	53	64	−11	28	0.903	CONCACAF
163		7	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
165		10	0	0	30	7	6	17	30	48	−18	27	0.900	CAF
166		6	0	0	35	7	6	22	31	82	−51	27	0.771	AFC
167		6	0	0	30	7	6	17	20	74	−54	27	0.900	AFC
168		9	0	0	46	7	6	33	31	143	−112	27	0.587	AFC
169		8	0	0	24	5	10	9	19	33	−14	25	1.042	CAF
170		7	0	0	24	8	1	15	27	85	−58	25	1.042	OFC
171		8	0	0	26	7	2	17	35	66	−31	23	0.885	CONCACAF
172		5	0	0	30	6	4	20	25	102	−77	22	0.733	AFC
173		9	0	0	30	3	12	15	18	54	−36	21	0.700	CAF
174		13	0	0	112	3	12	97	42	330	−288	21	0.188	UEFA
175		7	0	0	22	6	2	14	17	35	−18	20	0.909	CAF
176		7	0	0	26	6	1	19	17	77	−60	19	0.731	AFC
177		9	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
179		8	0	0	22	5	2	15	28	65	−37	17	0.773	CONCACAF
180		8	0	0	26	4	5	17	22	67	−45	17	0.654	CONCACAF
181		7	0	0	38	4	5	29	22	136	−114	17	0.447	AFC
182		7	0	0	20	4	4	12	21	66	−45	16	0.800	CONCACAF
183		11	0	0	39	4	3	32	17	173	−156	15	0.385	AFC
184		6	0	0	62	4	3	55	22	186	−164	15	0.242	UEFA
185		6	0	0	30	3	5	22	24	127	−103	14	0.467	AFC
186		5	0	0	14	3	4	7	13	25	−12	13	0.929	CAF
187		7	0	0	70	2	7	61	25	219	−194	13	0.186	UEFA
188		5	0	0	20	3	3	14	19	39	−20	12	0.600	CAF
189		8	0	0	26	2	6	18	15	47	−32	12	0.462	CAF
190		3	0	0	14	4	0	10	11	62	−51	12	0.857	AFC
191		7	0	0	21	3	2	16	9	96	−87	11	0.524	CONCACAF
192		9	0	0	24	2	4	18	17	58	−41	10	0.417	CAF
193		7	0	0	21	3	1	17	17	66	−49	10	0.476	OFC
194		4	0	0	22	3	1	18	11	87	−76	10	0.455	AFC
195		6	0	0	19	3	1	15	11	138	−127	10	0.526	OFC
196		7	0	0	15	2	3	10	19	56	−37	9	0.600	CONCACAF
197		8	0	0	22	1	6	15	9	56	−47	9	0.409	CONCACAF
198		6	0	0	25	2	3	20	14	96	−82	9	0.360	CAF
199		10	0	0	40	1	5	34	15	148	−133	8	0.200	AFC
200		6	0	0	14	2	1	11	6	35	−29	7	0.500	CAF
201		2	0	0	18	1	3	14	8	39	−31	6	0.333	UEFA
202		8	0	0	17	1	3	13	6	38	−32	6	0.353	CAF
203		5	0	0	18	2	0	16	5	74	−69	6	0.333	AFC
204		7	0	0	18	0	5	13	8	61	−53	5	0.278	CONCACAF
205		7	0	0	15	1	2	12	7	69	−62	5	0.333	CONCACAF
206		1	0	0	4	1	1	2	4	8	−4	4	1.000	defunct
207		3	0	0	8	0	4	4	3	15	−12	4	0.500	CAF
208		5	0	0	10	0	3	7	4	20	−16	3	0.300	CAF
209		7	0	0	18	0	3	15	3	77	−74	3	0.167	CONCACAF
210		7	0	0	20	0	2	18	8	68	−60	2	0.100	CAF
211		8	0	0	76	0	2	74	12	356	−344	2	0.026	UEFA
212		1	0	0	2	0	1	1	4	7	−3	1	0.500	defunct
213		1	0	0	4	0	1	3	2	22	−20	1	0.250	OFC
214		5	0	0	18	0	0	18	6	87	−81	0	0.000	AFC
215		2	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

• FIFA World Cup records and statistics
• FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
• UEFA European Championship qualifying
• AFC Asian Cup qualifiers
• CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification
• Asian nations at the FIFA World Cup
• African nations at the FIFA World Cup
• North, Central American and Caribbean nations at the FIFA World Cup
• South American nations at the FIFA World Cup
• Oceanian nations at the FIFA World Cup
• European nations at the FIFA World Cup

External links

• History of the FIFA World Cup preliminary competition (by year). Published by FIFA in November 2009; archived from the original by Wayback Machine on 23 October 2013.
• FIFA World Cup Preliminary Competition Statistics (PDF) (archived 31 October 2008)
• FIFA World Cup Preliminary History (PDF) (archived 2 September 2009)
• FIFA World Cup 2022 Regulations
• FIFA – official documents

Notes and References

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