| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 15 June 2011 – 20 November 2013 |
| Teams | 203 (from 6 confederations) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 820 |
| Goals scored | 2,344 (2.86 per match) |
| Attendance | 17,854,160 (21,773 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Deon McCaulay Robin van Persie Luis Suárez(11 goals each) |
← 2010 2018 → | |
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.[1][2][3][4]
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.[5][6]
- ^ "2014 FIFA World Cup – Statistics". FIFA. Archived from the original on 17 November 2007. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
- ^ "Rio ready to welcome the world". FIFA. 26 July 2011. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
- ^ "Bahamas withdraw from 2014 World Cup Qualifiers". FIFA. 22 August 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
- ^ "Mauritius withdraw from FIFA World Cup qualifiers". FIFA. 31 October 2011. Archived from the original on 2 November 2011. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
- ^ Ukraine, who were ranked 20th, did not qualify.
- ^ "Who has the hardest World Cup 2014 draw?". The Guardian. 18 December 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2013.