2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ) sent 13 participants to the Football World Cup 2014. Among the 54 European associations all members took to Gibraltar which is only since 2013 a full member of UEFA, but not a member of FIFA in the qualifying part.
The draw for the qualifying groups was held in Rio de Janeiro on 30 July 2011. The group stage of the European Qualifications took place between September 7, 2012, and October 15, 2013, the playoff games were played from 15 to 19 November 2013.
FIFA regulations
According to FIFA regulations the preliminaries may take the form of group games or games according to the knockout system, respectively, in home and away matches, will be played or not., In exceptional cases, as a tournament in one of the countries concerned or on neutral ground In the group matches, three points are awarded for a win and one for a draw. It decided the following criteria:
Cut two teams according to these criteria the same as, a play can be set.
In the knockout system counts Torgleichheit after two games, the higher number of away goals scored. Is the number of goals the same, an extension is played. If no goal in extra time, the match will be decided on penalties. Both teams score in the extension of the same number of goals, the away team qualified due to the away goals.
Mode
UEFA decided in March 2011 to hold the qualification procedure of the previous tournament.
The 53 teams were drawn into nine groups, eight groups of six teams and one group of five teams. The nine group winners qualified directly for the finals. Following the group stage, the remaining four starting places in play-offs (outbound and return ) were awarded between the eight best runners-up. The worst group Second retired. In order to compare the performance of runners, the games of the runners against the latest group were not included in the groups of six.
Group stage
Draw
Before the draw, the teams based on the FIFA World Ranking were divided as of July 27, 2011 to six Lostöpfe. From each of these pots a group was randomly assigned a team ever. For group I remained only five teams.
Group A
Table
Match Results
Group B
Table
Match Results
Group C
Table
Match Results
Group D
Table
Match Results
Group E
Table
Match Results
Group F
Table
Match Results
Group G
Table
Match Results
Group H
Table
Match Results
Group I
Table
Match Results
Balance sheet of the group stage
- Teams are qualified as a group first.
- Teams among the eight best runners-up. ( In italics ) Four of them have qualified via the play-offs.
- Teams are eliminated in the group stage.
Play off
The eight best runners-up played in a play-off round of the four teams that qualify in addition to the nine group winners for the World Cup finals. Denmark failed to qualify for the play-offs as the worst group runners. (Note: The games of runners against the respective - sixth were not counted (see section "Mode "). )
The draw was held in Zurich on 21 October 2013. The eight best runners-up were divided according to their current place in the FIFA world rankings in two Lostöpfe so that each of the four higher-ranked teams in the list has been drawn against one of the worse placed. It was drawn which team first has home advantage. The meetings were held on 15 and 19 November 2013.
After the games of October 15 2013, the following distribution was obtained ( with space in the FIFA world rankings ):
After the draw on 21 October, following meetings were as follows:
The last World Cup places for European teams were highly competitive. Overall, there were 33 yellow and three red - yellow and red cards in the eight games. Top Scorer in the relegation play was Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored all four goals for Portugal. France, it became the first team to qualify to the play -offs after a two-goal deficit from the first leg.
Top scorers
Fat seeded players qualified with their teams for the World Cup.