World Football Cup 2006
FIFA World Cup qualification is the process a team must go through to qualify for the FIFA World Cup Finals, or, more commonly known as the FIFA World Cup or Football World Cup. FIFA World Cup is a global event, and qualification is used to reduce the large field of participants (about 200) to a practical number.
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 spots awarded to each of the continental zones, based on the relative strength of the confederations' teams (and, some may argue, political considerations).
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The hosts of the World Cup receive an automatic berth in the finals. 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 they also need to enter qualifying.
History
Over the years, the World Cup's qualification has evolved, from having no qualification at all in 1930, to a three-year process in 2006.
The qualification format was basically the same throughout the history of the World Cup. The teams have been grouped continentally, and playing for a fixed number of berths.
The table below lists the numbers of spots allocated by FIFA for continents. Places in the intercontinental play-offs count as 0.5 spots. "T" denotes an additional spot for title-holders. "H" denotes an additional spot for hosts.
| Continent | 1934 | 1938 | 1950 | 1954 | 1958 | 1962 | 1966 | 1970 | 1974 | 1978 | 1982 | 1986 | 1990 | 1994 | 1998 | 2002 | 2006 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Africa | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | |||
| Asia | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3.5 | 2.5 2H |
4.5 | |||
| Oceania | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.25 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | |||||||||||
| Europe | 12 | 11 T,H |
7 T |
11 H |
9.5 T,H |
9 | 9 H |
8 T |
8.5 H |
8.5 T |
13 H |
12.5 T |
13 H |
12 T |
14 H |
13.5 T |
13 H |
| North America | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 H |
1 | 1 | 2 | 1 H |
2 | 1.25 H |
3 | 3 | 3.5 |
| South America | 2 | 1 | 4 H |
1 T |
3 | 3.5 T,H |
3 T |
3 | 2.5 T |
2.5 H |
3 T |
4 | 2.5 T |
3.5 | 4 T |
4.5 | 4.5 |
| Total | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 32 | 32 | 32 |
The number of teams entering the qualification has been steadily growing over time.
| Continent | 1934 | 1938 | 1950 | 1954 | 1958 | 1962 | 1966 | 1970 | 1974 | 1978 | 1982 | 1986 | 1990 | 1994 | 1998 | 2002 | 2006 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Africa | 4 | 9 | 6 | 19 | 11 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 29 | 24 | 40 | 36 | 51 | 51 | |||
| Asia | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 18 | 21 | 20 | 27 | 25 | 30 | 36 | 40 | 39 | |||
| Oceania | 4 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 12 | |||||||||||
| Europe | 21 | 23 | 18 | 27 | 27 | 30 | 32 | 29 | 32 | 31 | 33 | 32 | 32 | 37 | 49 | 50 | 51 |
| North America | 4 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 14 | 17 | 15 | 17 | 15 | 22 | 30 | 36 | 34 |
| South America | 4 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 3 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 |
| Total | 32 | 37 | 34 | 39 | 53 | 56 | 71 | 71 | 99 | 106 | 105 | 119 | 110 | 144 | 170 | 197 | 197 |
Current format
Currently, 32 places are available in the final tournament. One of them is reserved for the host nation (if two nations host the competition jointly, each is awarded a place).
FIFA decides beforehand the number of spots awarded to each of the continental zones. For the 2006 World Cup, the following numbers were used:
- UEFA (Europe) - 13 berths
- CAF (Africa) - 5 berths
- CONMEBOL (South America) - 4 berths
- AFC (Asia) - 4 berths
- CONCACAF (North America) - 3 berths
- OFC (Oceania) - no berths
- 1 berth for the winners of CONMEBOL-OFC playoff
- 1 berth for the winners of AFC-CONCACAF playoff
These numbers vary slightly between tournaments (see below).
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 are outlined below.
Africa
In Africa, there are two rounds of competition. In the First Round, CAF members are paired to play home-and-away matches. The winners of each pair qualify for the Second Round. The participants of the previous World Cup Finals and a few nations highest in the FIFA World Rankings are given byes to the First Round.
In the Second Round, the remaining teams are drawn into five groups of six. The winners of each group qualify for the final tournament. Qualification for the African Nations Cup is also based on the results of the Second Round.
The whole process of qualification takes approximately 2 years.
Asia
In Asia, the qualification is composed of three rounds. The teams ranked lowest take part in the Preliminary Round, where they were paired and play home-and-away knock-out matches. The winners join all other teams in the Second Round.
In the Second Round, 32 teams are divided in 8 groups of four teams each, and play in two rounds. Winners of each group qualify for the Third Round.
In the Third Round, the 8 remaining teams were divided in two groups of 4 teams each, and play again in two rounds. The highest-placed teams qualify for the final tournament.
The qualification process takes about 23 months.
Europe
52 teams of the UEFA zone are drawn into several groups (typically 8-9). In each group, the two-round tournament is held. The group winners qualify for the finals. Group runners-up are paired to contest the play-offs. Winners of these also qualify for the final tournament.
The qualification in Europe begins after the conclusion of the European Football Championship and therefore takes about 14 months.
North America
The qualification process in the CONCACAF zone (North, Central America and Caribbean) is divided in three rounds. In the Preliminary Round, all teams are divided in groups of 2 or 3 teams each. Groups with 3 teams have two rounds, with the best ranked team in each group entering the competition in the second round. In each group, teams play home-and-away matches.
The 12 winners of the Preliminary Round advance to the Semifinal Round, where they are divided in 3 groups of 4 teams each. Teams in each group play in two rounds, and two teams from each group advance to the Final Round.
In the Final Round, the six teams are put in a single group, and play against each other home-and-away. The highest-placed teams qualify for the final tournament.
The qualification process takes about 20 months.
Oceania
Qualification in Oceania is composed of three rounds. Australia and New Zealand enter the competition directly in the Second Round. The other 10 teams are divided in two groups of five teams each, and play against each other once. The two teams from each group advance to the Second Round.
In the Second Round, the six teams are put in a single group, and play against each other once. The two teams with most points advance to a play-off, and play against each other home-and-away. The winner of this play-off advances to the Intercontinental Play-off.
Qualifying tournament also doubled as the Oceania Nations Cup, except for the final play-off stage.
The qualification process takes about 16 months.
South America
The simplest system is used by CONMEBOL. 10 participating teams play each other twice in a single group.
South American qualification spans over 25 months.
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Intercontinental play-offs
Intercontinental play-offs are played as two home-and-away matches. 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 shoot-out are used.
Group tournaments rules
In all group tournaments, 3 points are awarded for a win, 1 for a draw, and none for a loss. FIFA has regularized the list of the tie-breakers for teams that finish level on points:
- 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
- goal difference in all group matches
- greater number of goals scored in all group matches
- a play-off on neutral ground, with extra time and penalties if necessary
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