2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)
| UEFA European Qualifiers |
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The European Zone of qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup will see 53 teams competing for 13 places at the finals in Brazil. These will be the nine winners of each qualifying group as well as the winners of four play-offs between group runners-up.
Format
All 53 UEFA national teams entered qualification, and 13 teams will qualify for the 2014 World Cup. The draw for the qualification groups was held at the World Cup Preliminary Draw at the Marina da Glória in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 30 July 2011. The qualification format is the same as 2010. The teams were drawn into eight groups of six teams and one group of five, with the nine group winners qualifying directly into the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The eight best runners-up (determined by records against the first-, third-, fourth- and fifth-placed teams in their groups to ensure balance between different groups) are drawn in two-legged play-offs that will determine the other four qualifying nations.[1]
Seeding
The July 2011 FIFA World Rankings were used to seed the teams. In consideration of the delicate political situations of the relationships between Armenia and Azerbaijan as well as relations between Russia and Georgia, UEFA requested that FIFA maintain the current UEFA policy not to draw these teams into the same qualification groups – although as Armenia and Azerbaijan were in the same pot they could not be drawn together anyway. The mechanism for keeping Russia and Georgia apart was confirmed by the FIFA Organising Committee on 29 July 2011.[1]
Teams were allocated to seeding pots as follows. (July 2011 FIFA Rankings shown in brackets)[2]
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 |
|---|---|---|
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| Pot 4 | Pot 5 | Pot 6 |
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First round
The matches were played between 7 September 2012 and 15 October 2013. An initial schedule that includes matches before this date was not ratified by FIFA.
Summary
Groups
Tie-breaking criteria
The ranking in each group is determined as follows:[3]
- a) greatest number of points obtained in all group matches;
- b) goal difference in all group matches;
- c) greatest number of goals scored in all group matches.
If two or more teams are equal on the basis of the above three criteria, their rankings shall be determined as follows:
- d) greatest number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned;
- e) goal difference resulting from the group matches between the teams concerned;
- f) greater number of goals scored in all group matches between the teams concerned;
- g) greater number of goals scored away from home between the teams concerned (if the tie is only between two teams)
Group A
Template:2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group A
Group B
Template:2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group B
Group C
Template:2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group C
Group D
Template:2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group D
Group E
Template:2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group E
Group F
Template:2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group F
Group G
Template:2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group G
Group H
Template:2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group H
Group I
Template:2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group I
Ranking of second-placed teams
Because one group has one team fewer than the others, matches against the last-placed team in each of the six-team groups are not included in this ranking. As a result, eight matches played by each team counted for the purposes of the second-placed table.
The eight best runners-ups determined by the following parameters in this order:
- Highest number of points
- Goal difference
- Highest number of goals scored
| Grp | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G |  Greece
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8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 19 |
| I |  France
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8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 6 | +9 | 17 |
| F |  Portugal
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8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 15 | 8 | +7 | 15 |
| H |  Ukraine
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8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 4 | +7 | 15 |
| C |  Sweden
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8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 15 | 13 | +2 | 14 |
| E |  Iceland
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8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 15 | 14 | +1 | 14 |
| D |  Romania
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8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 12 | −1 | 13 |
| A |  Croatia
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8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 8 | +1 | 11 |
| B |  Denmark
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8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 11 | −2 | 10 |
Second round
The 8 best group runners-up will contest the second round. The 8 teams will be paired into 4 home-and-away series. The 4 winners will qualify for the World Cup.
Seeding and draw
The second round draw took place at the headquarters of FIFA in Zurich on 21 October.[4] October 2013 FIFA World Rankings were used to decide which of the teams will be seeded (shown below in brackets).[4]
The following teams will participate in the second round:[5][6]
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 |
|---|---|
Matches
The matches are scheduled to be played on 15 and 19 November 2013.[1][7]
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal
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4–2 | Sweden
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1–0 | 3–2 |
| Ukraine
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2–3 | France
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2–0 | 0–3 |
| Greece
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4–2 | Romania
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3–1 | 1–1 |
| Iceland
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0–2 | Croatia
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0–0 | 0–2 |
Attendance
| Team | Highest | Lowest | Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group A | 47,369 | 6,500 | 26,869 |
| Group B | 37,027 | 3,517 | 18,573 |
| Group C | 72,369 | 4,300 | 30,007 |
| Group D | 53,329 | 723 | 26,686 |
| Group E | 30,712 | 1,600 | 10,583 |
| Group F | 54,212 | 1,324 | 23,127 |
| Group G | 26,211 | 1,112 | 9,150 |
| Group H | 86,645 | 736 | 31,559 |
| Group I | 78,329 | 12,607 | 38,985 |
Discipline
In the qualification tournament, a player would be suspended for the subsequent match in the competition for either getting red card or accumulating two yellow cards in two different matches. UEFA's Control and Disciplinary body has the ability to increase the automatic one match ban for a red card (e.g., for violent conduct). Single yellow card cautions would be erased prior to the play-off portion, and would not carry over. Single yellow cards and suspensions for yellow card accumulations do not carry over to the 2014 FIFA World Cup tournament matches.[8] The following players were suspended during the final tournament – for one or more games – as a result of red cards or yellow card accumulations:
Goalscorers
As of 15 November 2013, there have been 737 goals in 264 matches, for an average of 2.79 goals per match.
- 11 goals
- 10 goals
- 8 goals
- 7 goals
- 6 goals
- 5 goals
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- 4 goals
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- 3 goals
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- 2 goals
- 1 goal
- 1 own goal
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References
- ^ a b c "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil - Preliminary Competition Format and Draw Procedures - European Zone" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 29 July 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
- ^ "FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking - July 2011 (UEFA)". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 27 July 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
- ^ "Regulations 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil" (PDF). FIFA. p. 27. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
- ^ a b "Dates set for African and European qualifying draws". FIFA. 15 June 2013.
- ^ "World Cup play-off seeds confirmed". uefa.com. 17 October 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
- ^ "European play-off draw procedures explained". FIFA.com. 17 October 2013.
- ^ "European hopefuls learn play-off fate". FIFA.com. 21 October 2013.
- ^ "Regulations of the UEFA European Football Championship 2010–12" (PDF). UEFA. p. 27. Retrieved 18 June 2012.