FIFA World Cup qualification - wikipedia FIFA World Cup qualification For the recent qualifying tournament, see 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification. The FIFA World Cup qualification is the process that a national association football team goes through to qualify for the FIFA World Cup finals. The FIFA World Cup is the largest international team sport competition in the world with a qualification process required to reduce the large field of countries from 211 to just 32 for the World Cup finals. 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 places in the finals allocated to each of the continental zones, based on the numbers or relative strength of the confederations ' teams. The hosts of the World Cup receive an automatic berth. 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 this is no longer the case. The most recent qualification process was the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification which commenced in 2015 and finished in 2017. Contents 1 History 1.1 Qualification spots by continent 1.2 Qualification competition entrants over time 1.3 First appearance in qualification by team 1.4 National teams results in World Cup preliminary competition ( 1934 -- 2018 ) 1.5 Top scorers in preliminary competition ( 1934 -- 2018 ) 1.6 First games and goalscorers in preliminary competition ( 1934 -- 2018 ) 2 Current format 2.1 Africa 2.2 Asia 2.3 Europe 2.4 North and Central America and Caribbean 2.5 Oceania 2.6 South America 2.7 Intercontinental play - offs 3 Qualification tournament rules 3.1 Groups 3.2 Home - and - away ties 4 See also 5 References 6 External links History Over many years, the World Cup 's qualification has evolved, from having no qualification at all in 1930, when the tournament was invitational and only 13 teams entered, to the current two - year process. The first World Cup qualifying match was played on 11 June 1933 when Sweden defeated Estonia 6 -- 2 in Stockholm. The first ever goal in a World Cup qualifying match was scored 7 minutes into the game : it was scored according to some sources by Swedish captain Knut Kroon, or according to other sources by Estonian goalkeeper Evald Tipner ( own goal ). While the number of teams which qualified for the finals has increased steadily, from 16 between 1934 and 1978, to 24 between 1982 and 1994, and finally to 32 starting from 1998, the qualification format has been basically the same throughout the history of the World Cup. The teams have been grouped continentally, and they competed for a fixed number of places, with one or two places awarded to the winners of intercontinental play - offs. Qualification spots by continent The table below lists the numbers of spots allocated by FIFA for each continent in each tournament. If no places were allocated to a continent as per the case of Oceania prior to 1966 and Africa in 1938 - 1954 and 1966, this does not indicate an exclusion of those continents by FIFA, but rather that no country from those continents made an entry to the aforementioned Cups. It should be noted that a large part of Africa was under European colonial rule for the majority of the 20th century. Consequently, only three African countries were affiliated to FIFA in 1954 : Egypt ( since 1923 ), Sudan ( since 1948 ) and Ethiopia ( since 1952 ). Egypt entered the 1934, 1938 and 1954 Cups, but not the 1930 or 1950 Cups, while Sudan and Ethiopia did not enter the Cup until 1958. Though an African country, Egypt entered in 1938 and 1954 in the European group, and therefore the table below gives no data about Africa for these two Cups. Places in the intercontinental play - offs count as 0.5 spots, and numbers in bold represent the winners of the intercontinental play - offs. `` + C '' denotes an additional spot for defending champions ( 1938 - 2002 ), and `` + H '' denotes an additional spot for host nations ( from 1938 ). Places allocated for continents Continental zone 1934 ( 16 ) 1938 ( 15 ) 1950 ( 13 ) 1954 ( 16 ) 1958 ( 16 ) 1962 ( 16 ) 1966 ( 16 ) 1970 ( 16 ) ( 16 ) 1978 ( 16 ) 1982 ( 24 ) 1986 ( 24 ) 1990 ( 24 ) 1994 ( 24 ) 1998 ( 32 ) 2002 ( 32 ) 2006 ( 32 ) ( 32 ) 2014 ( 32 ) 2018 ( 32 ) 2022 ( 32 ) 2026 ( 48 ) Africa 0 0.5 0.5 0 5 5 5 5 + H 5 5 5 9 Asia 0.5 3.5 2.5 + 2H 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 + H 8 Oceania did not exist 0.5 0.5 0.25 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 Europe 12 11 + C + H 7 + C 11 + H 9.5 + C + H 8+ 2 × 0.5 9 + H 8 + C 8.5 + H 8.5 + C 13 + H 12.5 + C 13 + H 12 + C 14 + H 13.5 + C 13 + H 13 13 13 + H 13 16 North and Central America and Caribbean 0.5 + H + H 1.25 + H 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 6 South America + H + C 3.5 + C + H + C 2.5 + C 2.5 + H + C 2.5 + C 3.5 + C 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 + H 4.5 4.5 6 Play - off tournament did not exist Total 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 24 24 24 24 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 48 In 1938, Austria withdrew after qualifying after being annexed by Germany and were not replaced, so only 15 teams, 12 of them European, played in the finals. In 1950, India, Scotland, and Turkey withdrew after qualifying and were not replaced, so only 13 teams, none of them Asian and 6 of them European, played in the finals. Initially in 1958, Africa and Asia together were given 1 spot, while Europe was given 9 spots. However, after Israel won the African and Asian zone without playing any matches due to withdrawals of other teams, a special play - off was arranged between them and a European team ( Wales ). So in effect, Africa and Asia together were given 0.5 spots, while Europe was given 9.5 spots. In 1962, Europe was given 8 automatic spots, plus 2 additional spots in the intercontinental play - offs, in effect giving them 9 spots. The two European teams played an African team and an Asian team respectively, and both European teams won. Therefore, 10 European teams played in the finals. In 1966, Africa and Asia were given one place, contested between the winner of a four team Asian tournament and three group winners from the second round of African qualifiers. All 15 African teams subsequently withdrew to protest FIFA 's failure to allocate a place to an African team, leaving North Korea to qualify. In 1994, there were two rounds of intercontinental play - offs. First, an Oceanian team played a team from North and Central America and Caribbean, and the winner then played a South American team. From the 2006 qualifiers on, the defending champion no longer has an automatic spot secured. Qualification competition entrants over time The number of teams entering the qualification process and the number of matches played have been steadily growing over time. Although Egypt, an African country, entered qualifying in 1938 and 1954, it was in the European group ; thus, the number of teams for Africa is considered to be zero in these years. Number of teams entering qualification ( including automatic qualifiers ) Continental zone 1934 ( 16 ) 1938 ( 15 ) 1950 ( 13 ) 1954 ( 16 ) 1958 ( 16 ) 1962 ( 16 ) 1966 ( 16 ) 1970 ( 16 ) ( 16 ) 1978 ( 16 ) 1982 ( 24 ) 1986 ( 24 ) 1990 ( 24 ) 1994 ( 24 ) 1998 ( 32 ) 2002 ( 32 ) 2006 ( 32 ) ( 32 ) 2014 ( 32 ) 2018 ( 32 ) 2022 ( 32 ) 2026 ( 48 ) Africa 0 0 0 11 6 21 13 24 26 29 29 26 40 38 51 51 53 52 54 Asia 5 7 18 22 21 27 26 29 36 42 39 43 43 46 Oceania 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 7 10 10 12 11 11 11 Europe 21 26 19 29 29 30 33 31 33 32 34 33 33 39 50 51 52 53 53 54 North and Central America and Caribbean 7 5 6 8 10 14 14 17 15 18 16 23 30 35 34 35 35 35 South America 8 6 9 9 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 9 10 10 10 10 10 10 Total entrants 32 37 34 45 55 56 74 75 99 107 109 121 116 147 174 199 198 205 204 210 Teams played 27 21 19 33 46 49 51 68 90 95 103 110 103 130 168 193 194 200 203 208 Matches played 27 22 26 57 89 92 127 172 226 252 306 308 314 497 643 777 847 853 828 872 Goals scored 141 96 121 208 341 325 393 542 620 723 797 801 735 1446 1922 2452 2464 2344 2303 2454 Average goals per match 5.22 4.36 4.65 3.65 3.83 3.53 3.09 3.15 2.74 2.87 2.60 2.60 2.34 2.91 2.99 3.16 2.91 2.75 2.81 2.81 Because the Oceania Football Confederation has used the World Cup Qualifiers as a phase of ( or as the entire ) OFC Nations Cup, there is the possibility that non-FIFA countries may play in matches that double as World Cup qualifiers. In the 2006 qualifiers, New Caledonia were included in the tournament although they were not FIFA members at the date of close of entries. They are, however, included in the 12 nations listed as they joined FIFA during the course of qualification, even though they had been technically eliminated from contention a few days earlier ( a similar situation occurred in the entries for 2010, with Montenegro 's entry accepted prior to their admission by FIFA ). By contrast, Tuvalu competed in the 2007 South Pacific Games football tournament, which doubled as qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup. As they were not FIFA members at the time of the completion of the competition, they are not included in the 11 OFC entrants, although their results counted towards the qualification of other teams. From 1973 to 1989, the CONCACAF Championship and its qualifying tournament determined CONCACAF 's entrant in the World Cup. The confederation 's champion qualified outright. `` Teams played '' is the total number of teams that played at least one qualifying match. This number includes Tuvalu ( see note 1 ) and South Africa. Although South Africa qualified automatically for 2010 as hosts, they competed in the CAF qualifiers, becoming the first hosts to compete in World Cup qualifying since 1934. This is because the Confederation of African Football used its 2010 World Cup qualifiers as the qualifying phase for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, a tournament for which South Africa had attempted to qualify. First appearance in qualification by team Note : Only teams that played at least one match are considered for the purposes of first appearance. Teams that withdrew prior to the qualification, or that qualified to the World Cup by walkover due to other teams ' withdrawals, are not considered. Teams that succeeded in their first qualification attempt are in bold. Teams that have never qualified for the World Cup finals are in italic. World Cup Europe South America North, Central America and Caribbean Asia Africa Oceania Total 1934 Austria Belgium Bulgaria Czechoslovakia Estonia France Germany Greece Hungary Irish Free State Italy Lithuania Luxembourg Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Spain Sweden Switzerland Yugoslavia none Cuba Haiti Mexico United States Palestine, British Mandate Egypt none 27 1938 Finland Latvia Norway none none none none none 1950 England Ireland Scotland Turkey Wales none none Syria none none 6 1954 Saar Brazil Chile Paraguay none Japan South Korea none none 6 1958 Denmark East Germany Iceland Soviet Union Argentina Bolivia Colombia Peru Uruguay Canada Costa Rica Guatemala Territory of Curaçao China PR Indonesia Sudan none 16 1962 Cyprus Ecuador Dutch Guyana Honduras none Ethiopia Ghana Morocco Nigeria Tunisia none 9 1966 Albania Venezuela Jamaica Trinidad and Tobago North Korea none Australia 6 1970 none none Bermuda El Salvador none Algeria Cameroon Libya Rhodesia Senegal Zambia New Zealand 9 Malta none Antigua and Barbuda Puerto Rico Hong Kong Iran Iraq Kuwait Malaysia South Vietnam Thailand Congo Dahomey Guinea Ivory Coast Kenya Lesotho Mauritius Sierra Leone Tanzania Togo Zaire none 21 1978 none none Barbados Dominican Republic Guyana Panama Bahrain Qatar Republic of China Saudi Arabia Singapore Malawi Mauritania Niger Uganda Upper Volta none 14 1982 none none Grenada Macau Gambia Liberia Madagascar Mozambique Somalia Fiji 8 1986 none none none Bangladesh Brunei Jordan India Nepal North Yemen South Yemen United Arab Emirates Angola none 9 1990 none none none Oman Pakistan Gabon none 1994 Faroe Islands San Marino none Nicaragua Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Lebanon Sri Lanka Botswana Burundi Namibia South Africa Swaziland Solomon Islands Tahiti Vanuatu 15 1998 Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatia Georgia Liechtenstein Macedonia Moldova Slovakia Slovenia Ukraine none Aruba Belize Cayman Islands Dominica Saint Kitts and Nevis Cambodia Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Maldives Philippines Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan Guinea - Bissau Rwanda Cook Islands Papua New Guinea Tonga Western Samoa 31 2002 Andorra none Anguilla Bahamas British Virgin Islands Montserrat Turks and Caicos Islands U.S. Virgin Islands Guam Laos Mongolia Palestine Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Djibouti Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Mali São Tomé and Príncipe Seychelles American Samoa 21 2006 none none none Afghanistan none New Caledonia Montenegro none none Myanmar Timor - Leste Comoros Tuvalu 5 2014 none none none none none none 0 2018 Gibraltar Kosovo none none Bhutan South Sudan none Total 215 Notes ^ The Czechoslovakia team was officially renamed as the Representation of Czechs and Slovaks during the 1994 qualification, and was then succeeded by the Czech Republic ( first appearance : 1998 ). ^ Germany was later succeeded by West Germany ( first appearance : 1954 ), which in turn was succeeded by the reunified Germany ( first appearance : 1994 ). ^ The Irish Free State was later succeeded by Ireland ( first appearance : 1950 ), which later became officially known as the Republic of Ireland ( first appearance : 1954 ). ^ Italy had to qualify for the tournament despite being the host. ^ The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was later succeeded by the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia ( first appearance : 1950 ), which was then succeeded by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia ( first appearance : 1998 ), which was later renamed as Serbia and Montenegro ( first appearance : 2006 ), which in turn was succeeded by Serbia ( first appearance : 2010 ). ^ Mandatory Palestine was later succeeded by Israel ( first appearance : 1950 ). ^ Egypt was later succeeded by the United Arab Republic, a political union between Egypt and Syria, which entered the 1962 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches. Later, Egypt entered the 1966 qualification independently but still under the name `` United Arab Republic '', but withdrew yet again before playing any matches. The team 's first appearance after it changed its name back to Egypt came in 1974. ^ Ireland was later succeeded by Northern Ireland ( first appearance : 1954 ). ^ Turkey entered the 1934 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches. ^ Brazil entered the 1934 and 1938 qualifications, but on both occasions qualified by walkover due to other teams ' withdrawals. It also qualified automatically for the 1950 World Cup as host. ^ Chile entered the 1934 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches. It also entered the 1950 qualification, but qualified by walkover due to other teams ' withdrawals. ^ Paraguay entered the 1950 qualification, but qualified by walkover due to other teams ' withdrawals. ^ Japan entered the 1938 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches. ^ The Soviet Union was later succeeded by Russia ( first appearance : 1994 ). ^ Argentina entered the 1934 qualification, but qualified by walkover due to other teams ' withdrawals. It also entered the 1938 and 1950 qualifications, but on both occasions withdrew before playing any matches. ^ Bolivia entered the 1950 qualification, but qualified by walkover due to other teams ' withdrawals. ^ Colombia entered the 1938 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches. ^ Peru entered the 1934, 1950 and 1954 qualifications, but on all three occasions withdrew before playing any matches. ^ Uruguay entered the 1950 qualification, but qualified by walkover due to other teams ' withdrawals. It also qualified automatically for the 1954 World Cup as defending champion. ^ Costa Rica entered the 1938 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches. ^ The Territory of Curaçao ( six islands ) was later succeeded by the Netherlands Antilles ( first appearance : 1962 ), which in turn was succeeded by Curaçao ( one island ; first appearance : 2014 ). ^ Indonesia entered the 1938 qualification as Dutch East Indies, but qualified by walkover due to other teams ' withdrawals. It also entered the 1950 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches. ^ Cyprus entered the 1958 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches. ^ Ecuador entered the 1950 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches. ^ Dutch Guyana entered the 1938 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches. It was later succeeded by Suriname ( first appearance : 1978 ). ^ Venezuela entered the 1958 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches. ^ El Salvador entered the 1938 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches. ^ Algeria entered the 1966 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches. ^ Cameroon entered the 1966 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches. ^ Libya entered the 1966 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches. ^ Rhodesia was later succeeded by Zimbabwe ( first appearance : 1982 ). ^ Senegal entered the 1966 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches. ^ South Vietnam was later succeeded by Vietnam ( first appearance : 1994 ). ^ Dahomey was later renamed as Benin ( first appearance : 1986 ). ^ Guinea entered the 1966 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches. ^ Zaire was renamed as DR Congo during the 1998 qualification. ^ The Republic of China entered the 1954 and 1958 qualifications, but on both occasions withdrew before playing any matches. It later became officially known as Chinese Taipei ( first appearance : 1982 ). ^ Upper Volta was later renamed as Burkina Faso ( first appearance : 1990 ). ^ Liberia entered the 1966 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches. ^ Madagascar entered the 1974 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches. ^ India entered the 1950 qualification, but qualified by walkover due to other teams ' withdrawals, and subsequently withdrew from participation in the finals. It also entered the 1974 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches. ^ North Yemen was later succeeded by Yemen ( first appearance : 1994 ). ^ The United Arab Emirates entered the 1978 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches. ^ Oman entered the 1986 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches. ^ Gabon entered the 1966 and 1974 qualifications, but on both occasions withdrew before playing any matches. ^ Lebanon entered but was disqualified during the 1986 qualification, and the team 's matches from that campaign were annulled. ^ Sri Lanka entered the 1974 and 1978 qualifications, but on both occasions withdrew before playing any matches. ^ Liechtenstein entered the 1994 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches. ^ The Maldives entered the 1990 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches. ^ The Philippines entered the 1950 and 1974 qualifications, but on both occasions withdrew before playing any matches. ^ Rwanda entered the 1990 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches. ^ Western Samoa entered the 1994 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches. It was later renamed as Samoa ( first appearance : 2002 ). ^ The Bahamas entered the 1998 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches. ^ The Central African Republic entered the 1978 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches. It also entered the 1982 qualification, but was disqualified before playing any matches. ^ Mali entered the 1966, 1994 and 1998 qualifications, but on all three occasions withdrew before playing any matches. ^ São Tomé and Príncipe entered the 1994 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches. ^ Myanmar entered the 1950 ( as Burma ), 1994 and 2002 qualifications, but on all three occasions withdrew before playing any matches. ^ Tuvalu was not a member of FIFA at the time of qualification and had not entered the FIFA World Cup, although matches in the Football tournament of the South Pacific Games did count towards the qualification tournament for the OFC, and Tuvalu 's results did count in determining advancement from this stage. ^ Bhutan entered the 2010 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches. ^ Confederation subtotals are not given because a few teams have appeared in World Cup qualifiers in multiple confederations. National teams results in World Cup preliminary competition ( 1934 -- 2018 ) Legend Team has won the World Cup 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 n't participated there because it withdrew ( India ) Team has n't qualified for the main tournament but is assured of an automatic spot in 2022 as host ( Qatar ) Team has n't qualified for the main tournament Defunct team that has 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 ) Up to and including the 2018 qualification. No. Team App 's Overall qualification record Points Confederation Pld GF GA GD Total Avg Mexico 19 175 113 37 25 436 126 + 310 376 2.149 CONCACAF Costa Rica 16 172 85 43 44 295 176 + 119 298 1.733 CONCACAF Australia 14 141 82 36 23 362 113 + 249 282 2.000 AFC South Korea 14 135 82 36 17 264 86 + 178 282 2.089 AFC 5 Netherlands 18 125 82 24 19 296 93 + 203 270 2.160 UEFA 6 Spain 18 117 81 25 11 276 76 + 200 268 2.291 UEFA 7 Iran 10 128 78 34 16 267 81 + 186 268 2.094 AFC 8 United States 18 154 77 36 41 266 181 + 85 267 1.734 CONCACAF 9 Sweden 19 131 80 21 30 267 121 + 146 261 1.992 UEFA 10 Portugal 20 139 76 33 30 262 139 + 123 261 1.878 UEFA 11 Argentina 13 136 75 36 25 235 127 + 108 261 1.919 CONMEBOL 12 Serbia ( 2010 -- ) Serbia and Montenegro ( 2006 ) FR Yugoslavia ( 1998 -- 2002 ) SFR Yugoslavia ( 1950 -- 1990 ) Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( 1934 -- 1938 ) 19 128 75 31 22 269 114 + 155 256 2.000 UEFA 13 Belgium 19 133 77 25 31 277 141 + 136 256 1.925 UEFA 14 Czech Republic ( 1998 -- ) Representation of Czechs and Slovaks ( 1994 ) Czechoslovakia ( 1934 -- 1994 ) 19 138 75 29 34 266 116 + 150 254 1.841 UEFA 15 England 16 112 76 25 11 275 67 + 208 253 2.259 UEFA 16 Uruguay 16 154 69 42 43 218 164 + 54 249 1.617 CONMEBOL 17 Italy 16 109 74 26 9 221 69 + 152 248 2.275 UEFA 18 Honduras 14 150 69 40 41 255 173 + 82 247 1.647 CONCACAF 19 Russia ( 1994 -- ) Soviet Union ( 1958 -- 1990 ) 15 115 73 23 19 227 75 + 152 242 2.104 UEFA 20 Germany ( 1994 -- ) West Germany ( 1954 -- 1990 ) Germany ( 1934 -- 1938 ) 14 94 74 18 292 70 + 222 240 2.553 UEFA 21 Brazil 12 110 68 30 12 240 70 + 170 234 2.127 CONMEBOL 22 Saudi Arabia 11 118 68 28 22 232 93 + 139 232 1.966 AFC 23 Japan 14 120 68 26 26 247 85 + 162 230 1.917 AFC 24 Paraguay 17 154 66 30 58 201 189 + 12 228 1.481 CONMEBOL 25 Romania 17 128 67 26 35 223 134 + 89 227 1.773 UEFA 26 Switzerland 19 132 64 33 35 205 146 + 59 225 1.705 UEFA 27 France 17 111 65 23 23 216 88 + 128 218 1.964 UEFA 28 El Salvador 13 140 63 28 49 233 168 + 65 217 1.550 CONCACAF 29 Colombia 16 152 57 46 49 180 159 + 21 217 1.428 CONMEBOL 30 China PR 11 108 66 16 26 230 74 + 156 214 1.981 AFC 31 Scotland 18 125 62 28 35 192 136 + 56 214 1.712 UEFA 32 Chile 15 146 61 29 56 217 195 + 22 212 1.452 CONMEBOL 33 Republic of Ireland ( 1954 -- ) Ireland ( 1950 ) Irish Free State ( 1934 -- 1938 ) 20 141 56 43 42 199 169 + 30 211 1.496 UEFA 34 Bulgaria 19 129 60 27 42 209 177 + 32 207 1.605 UEFA 35 Austria 18 123 59 28 36 212 136 + 76 205 1.667 UEFA 36 Denmark 15 122 58 30 34 212 141 + 71 204 1.672 UEFA 37 Nigeria 14 104 58 29 17 175 80 + 95 203 1.952 CAF 38 Poland 18 117 60 21 36 228 143 + 85 201 1.718 UEFA 39 Hungary 18 122 58 26 38 216 163 + 53 200 1.639 UEFA 40 Tunisia 14 104 57 28 19 180 84 + 96 199 1.913 CAF 41 Trinidad and Tobago 14 137 55 27 55 201 183 + 18 192 1.401 CONCACAF 42 Morocco 14 111 51 38 22 150 80 + 70 191 1.721 CAF 43 Greece 19 128 54 29 45 159 171 − 12 191 1.492 UEFA 44 Guatemala 15 122 49 31 42 194 150 + 44 178 1.459 CONCACAF 45 Canada 14 117 48 34 35 161 136 + 25 178 1.521 CONCACAF 46 New Zealand 13 96 53 18 25 221 99 + 122 177 1.844 OFC 47 Cameroon 13 87 51 22 14 144 66 + 78 175 2.011 CAF 48 Egypt 14 93 52 19 22 165 89 + 76 175 1.882 CAF 49 Ecuador 15 143 47 33 63 169 202 − 33 174 1.217 CONMEBOL 50 Qatar 11 112 50 22 40 181 121 + 60 172 1.536 AFC 51 Iraq 11 101 48 24 29 201 103 + 98 168 1.663 AFC 52 Uzbekistan 6 94 49 19 26 177 95 + 82 166 1.766 AFC 53 Peru 16 149 43 37 69 164 211 − 47 166 1.114 CONMEBOL 54 Turkey 17 128 47 24 57 176 187 − 11 165 1.289 UEFA 55 Northern Ireland ( 1954 -- ) Ireland ( 1950 ) 18 134 43 36 55 149 161 − 12 165 1.231 UEFA 56 Norway 18 126 44 30 52 170 178 − 8 162 1.286 UEFA 57 Kuwait 12 93 48 14 31 160 92 + 68 158 1.699 AFC 58 Zambia 13 96 45 20 31 145 88 + 57 155 1.615 CAF 59 Israel ( 1950 -- ) Palestine, British Mandate ( 1934 -- 1938 ) 20 122 40 34 48 166 178 − 12 154 1.262 UEFA 60 Ivory Coast 11 78 41 25 12 144 67 + 77 148 1.897 CAF 61 United Arab Emirates 9 97 42 20 35 163 111 + 52 146 1.505 AFC 62 Bolivia 16 150 39 29 82 177 284 − 107 146 0.973 CONMEBOL 63 Algeria 13 89 40 23 26 126 91 + 35 143 1.607 CAF 64 Ghana 13 83 40 22 21 132 66 + 66 142 1.711 CAF 65 Jamaica 11 104 37 27 40 115 132 − 17 138 1.327 CONCACAF 66 Wales 18 120 37 26 57 151 170 − 19 137 1.142 UEFA 67 North Korea 10 83 39 19 25 116 77 + 39 136 1.639 AFC 68 Haiti 14 90 39 17 34 152 120 + 32 134 1.489 CONCACAF 69 Syria 14 84 36 20 28 174 97 + 77 128 1.524 AFC 70 Ukraine 6 70 35 22 13 108 52 + 56 127 1.814 UEFA 71 Croatia 6 62 36 18 8 108 47 + 61 126 2.032 UEFA 72 DR Congo ( 1998 -- ) Zaire ( 1974 -- 1998 ) 10 76 36 17 23 128 84 + 44 125 1.645 CAF 73 Finland 19 129 32 23 74 134 287 − 153 119 0.922 UEFA 74 Bahrain 10 88 31 25 32 105 94 + 11 118 1.341 AFC 75 Guinea 12 75 35 10 30 114 97 + 17 115 1.533 CAF 76 Slovakia 6 64 32 14 18 110 64 + 46 110 1.719 UEFA 77 Oman 8 70 29 19 22 115 70 + 45 106 1.514 AFC 78 Panama 11 94 27 22 45 104 157 − 53 103 1.096 CONCACAF 79 Iceland 13 106 28 19 59 116 215 − 99 103 0.972 UEFA 80 Senegal 12 63 26 22 15 90 56 + 34 100 1.587 CAF 81 Venezuela 13 140 25 25 90 120 314 − 194 100 0.714 CONMEBOL 82 Jordan 9 70 28 14 28 105 92 + 13 98 1.400 AFC 83 Bosnia and Herzegovina 6 58 28 10 20 112 69 + 43 94 1.621 UEFA 84 Angola 9 61 24 22 15 79 57 + 22 94 1.541 CAF 85 South Africa 7 50 28 8 14 66 45 + 21 92 1.840 CAF 86 Slovenia 6 62 25 15 22 81 68 + 13 90 1.452 UEFA 87 Thailand 12 89 24 18 47 116 156 − 40 90 1.011 AFC 88 Burkina Faso ( 1990 -- ) Upper Volta ( 1978 ) 8 60 26 10 24 87 78 + 9 88 1.467 CAF 89 Kenya 12 68 23 16 29 77 91 − 14 85 1.250 CAF 90 Hong Kong 12 73 23 14 36 91 128 − 37 83 1.137 AFC 91 Cuba 12 68 20 20 28 85 102 − 17 80 1.176 CONCACAF 92 Zimbabwe ( 1982 -- ) Rhodesia ( 1970 ) 10 61 21 16 24 62 75 − 13 79 1.295 CAF 93 Togo 10 63 21 14 28 68 86 − 18 77 1.222 CAF 94 Libya 10 56 21 13 22 63 62 + 1 76 1.357 CAF 95 Congo 9 62 21 13 28 70 83 − 13 76 1.226 CAF 96 East Germany 9 47 22 8 17 87 65 + 22 74 1.574 defunct 97 Gabon 8 57 21 11 25 57 65 − 8 74 1.298 CAF 98 Indonesia ( 1958 -- ) Dutch East Indies ( 1938 ) 12 71 19 16 36 87 143 − 56 73 1.028 AFC 99 Solomon Islands 7 54 21 9 24 112 113 − 1 72 1.333 OFC 100 Latvia 8 75 19 15 41 82 130 − 48 72 0.960 UEFA 101 Lebanon 7 56 19 14 23 87 77 + 10 71 1.268 AFC 102 Suriname ( 1978 -- ) Dutch Guyana ( 1962 -- 1974 ) 14 65 19 14 32 91 111 − 20 71 1.092 CONCACAF 103 Fiji 9 53 20 10 23 111 98 + 13 70 1.321 OFC 104 Albania 12 104 18 14 72 72 188 − 116 68 0.654 UEFA 105 Singapore 11 68 19 10 39 74 121 − 47 67 0.985 AFC 106 Lithuania 9 73 17 16 40 59 111 − 52 67 0.918 UEFA 107 Malaysia 12 59 17 13 29 73 110 − 37 64 1.085 AFC 108 New Caledonia 35 18 8 9 87 36 + 51 62 1.771 OFC 109 Sudan 12 64 15 17 32 56 101 − 45 62 0.969 CAF 110 Tahiti 7 43 17 8 18 66 81 − 15 59 1.372 OFC 111 Estonia 9 76 16 11 49 65 166 − 101 59 0.776 UEFA 112 Malawi 10 58 14 16 28 56 83 − 27 58 1.000 CAF 113 Cyprus 15 114 15 13 86 87 299 − 212 58 0.509 UEFA 114 Liberia 9 58 15 12 31 39 84 − 45 57 0.983 CAF 115 Curaçao ( 2014 -- ) Netherlands Antilles ( 1962 -- 2010 ) Territory of Curaçao ( 1958 ) 16 60 13 18 29 53 116 − 63 57 0.950 CONCACAF 116 Turkmenistan 6 40 17 5 18 64 59 + 5 56 1.400 AFC 117 Bermuda 7 36 15 9 12 76 46 + 30 54 1.500 CONCACAF 118 Uganda 9 42 15 9 18 41 57 − 16 54 1.286 CAF 119 Macedonia 6 60 14 12 34 71 102 − 31 54 0.900 UEFA 120 Mali 5 40 14 11 15 50 52 − 2 53 1.325 CAF 121 Belarus 6 58 13 12 33 61 97 − 36 51 0.879 UEFA 122 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 7 58 14 8 36 77 170 − 93 50 0.862 CONCACAF 123 Yemen ( 1994 -- ) North Yemen ( 1986 -- 1990 ) 9 50 12 11 27 52 80 − 28 47 0.940 AFC 124 Kazakhstan 6 60 12 11 37 71 128 − 57 47 0.783 UEFA 125 Tajikistan 6 36 13 7 16 63 55 + 8 46 1.278 AFC 126 Benin ( 1986 -- ) Dahomey ( 1974 ) 8 44 13 7 24 46 89 − 43 46 1.045 CAF 127 Madagascar 9 36 12 8 16 45 51 − 6 44 1.222 CAF 128 Antigua and Barbuda 10 42 13 5 24 66 93 − 27 44 1.048 CONCACAF 129 Armenia 6 62 10 14 38 52 122 − 70 44 0.710 UEFA 130 Georgia 6 56 9 16 31 51 89 − 38 43 0.768 UEFA 131 Cape Verde 5 34 13 18 34 46 − 12 42 1.235 CAF 132 Sierra Leone 10 45 11 9 25 39 69 − 30 42 0.933 CAF 133 Saint Kitts and Nevis 6 30 11 8 11 64 54 + 10 41 1.367 CONCACAF 134 India 8 43 10 11 22 43 87 − 44 41 0.953 AFC 135 Montenegro 30 10 10 10 47 43 + 4 40 1.333 UEFA 136 Kyrgyzstan 6 31 12 15 38 49 − 11 40 1.290 AFC 137 Ethiopia 11 41 10 10 21 47 65 − 18 40 0.976 CAF 138 Vanuatu 7 37 12 22 76 89 − 13 39 1.054 OFC 139 Vietnam ( 1994 -- ) South Vietnam ( 1974 ) 8 41 11 27 43 81 − 38 36 0.878 AFC 140 Namibia 7 42 9 9 24 37 82 − 45 36 0.857 CAF 141 Dominican Republic 8 29 10 5 14 42 50 − 8 35 1.207 CONCACAF 142 Botswana 6 34 10 5 19 33 52 − 19 35 1.029 CAF 143 Azerbaijan 6 58 7 14 37 29 104 − 75 35 0.603 UEFA 144 Barbados 8 37 10 23 35 73 − 38 34 0.919 CONCACAF 145 Palestine 5 26 9 6 11 48 36 + 12 33 1.269 AFC 146 Mozambique 8 34 8 8 18 30 50 − 20 32 0.941 CAF 147 Niger 7 30 9 5 16 27 48 − 21 32 1.067 CAF 148 Bangladesh 9 48 9 5 34 33 122 − 89 32 0.667 AFC 149 Tanzania 9 33 7 10 16 35 50 − 15 31 0.939 CAF 150 Samoa ( 2002 -- ) Western Samoa ( 1998 ) 6 26 9 16 37 88 − 51 28 1.077 OFC 151 Faroe Islands 7 70 7 7 56 34 184 − 150 28 0.400 UEFA 152 Papua New Guinea 22 7 6 9 43 36 + 7 27 1.227 OFC 153 Belize 6 26 7 6 13 32 54 − 22 27 1.038 CONCACAF 154 Rwanda 6 36 6 9 21 29 54 − 25 27 0.750 CAF 155 Guyana 10 34 7 6 21 36 81 − 45 27 0.794 CONCACAF 156 Moldova 6 58 5 12 41 35 115 − 80 27 0.466 UEFA 157 Luxembourg 20 134 5 10 119 69 433 − 364 25 0.187 UEFA 158 Grenada 7 25 7 15 49 54 − 5 24 0.960 CONCACAF 159 Burundi 6 20 7 10 17 26 − 9 24 1.200 CAF 160 Gambia 8 24 6 6 12 20 36 − 16 24 1.000 CAF 161 Maldives 6 32 7 23 36 120 − 84 23 0.719 AFC 162 Nicaragua 7 22 7 14 25 44 − 19 22 1.000 CONCACAF 163 Saint Lucia 7 24 7 16 32 62 − 30 22 0.917 CONCACAF 164 Tonga 6 22 7 14 23 82 − 59 22 1.000 OFC 165 Chinese Taipei ( 1982 -- ) Republic of China ( 1978 ) 11 58 6 48 35 200 − 165 22 0.379 AFC 166 Puerto Rico 9 25 5 6 14 22 55 − 33 21 0.840 CONCACAF 167 Chad 5 16 6 9 15 23 − 8 19 1.187 CAF 168 Swaziland 7 19 11 15 39 − 24 16 0.842 CAF 169 Nepal 7 30 22 23 100 − 77 16 0.533 AFC 170 Malta 12 102 10 90 33 300 − 267 16 0.157 UEFA 171 Bahamas 5 14 7 20 43 − 23 15 1.071 CONCACAF 172 Philippines 21 14 16 57 − 41 15 0.714 AFC 173 Sri Lanka 7 31 6 22 21 75 − 54 15 0.484 AFC 174 Equatorial Guinea 5 20 14 17 36 − 19 14 0.700 CAF 175 Lesotho 7 24 8 14 14 51 − 37 14 0.583 CAF 176 Aruba 6 16 11 23 42 − 19 13 0.812 CONCACAF 177 Dominica 6 20 13 15 54 − 39 13 0.650 CONCACAF 178 Laos 26 20 23 124 − 101 12 0.462 AFC 179 Liechtenstein 6 60 6 52 23 185 − 162 12 0.200 UEFA 180 Myanmar 14 9 11 38 − 27 11 0.786 AFC 181 Macau 9 35 30 15 165 − 150 11 0.314 AFC 182 Mongolia 5 14 10 11 46 − 35 10 0.714 AFC 183 Afghanistan 14 10 10 45 − 35 10 0.714 AFC 184 Cook Islands 6 20 16 16 63 − 47 10 0.500 OFC 185 American Samoa 5 18 14 11 136 − 125 10 0.556 OFC 186 Mauritania 6 16 11 13 31 − 18 9 0.562 CAF 187 U.S. Virgin Islands 5 15 0 12 8 80 − 72 9 0.600 CONCACAF 188 Cambodia 5 26 21 16 90 − 74 9 0.346 AFC 189 Andorra 5 52 47 14 162 − 148 9 0.173 UEFA 190 Guinea - Bissau 6 12 7 8 19 − 11 7 0.583 CAF 191 São Tomé and Príncipe 8 5 22 − 18 7 0.875 CAF 192 Guam 10 7 51 − 48 7 0.700 AFC 193 Mauritius 7 18 14 14 49 − 35 6 0.333 CAF 194 Bhutan 10 0 8 8 53 − 45 6 0.600 AFC 195 Cayman Islands 6 16 0 5 11 6 35 − 29 5 0.313 CONCACAF 196 Saar 8 − 4 1.000 defunct 197 Central African Republic 10 8 8 21 − 13 0.400 CAF 198 Djibouti 13 11 6 56 − 50 0.308 CAF 199 Pakistan 8 30 0 26 12 118 − 106 0.133 AFC 200 Eritrea 8 0 5 16 − 13 0.375 CAF 201 Comoros 8 0 5 18 − 14 0.375 CAF 202 Somalia 6 11 0 8 26 − 25 0.273 CAF 203 British Virgin Islands 5 10 0 7 7 34 − 27 0.300 CONCACAF 204 Turks and Caicos Islands 5 10 0 9 6 46 − 40 0.300 CONCACAF 205 Brunei 14 0 13 59 − 56 0.214 AFC 206 Seychelles 5 14 0 12 6 36 − 30 0.143 CAF 207 San Marino 7 66 0 64 11 310 − 299 0.030 UEFA 208 South Yemen 0 7 − 3 0.500 defunct 209 South Sudan 0 5 − 4 0.500 CAF 210 Tuvalu 0 22 − 20 0.250 OFC 211 Kosovo 10 0 9 24 − 21 0.100 UEFA 212 Montserrat 5 9 0 8 8 45 − 37 0.111 CONCACAF 213 Anguilla 5 10 0 9 41 − 39 0.100 CONCACAF 214 Gibraltar 10 0 0 10 47 − 44 0 0.000 UEFA 215 Timor - Leste 14 0 0 14 68 − 64 0 0.000 AFC Footnotes ^ Teams are ranked by total points, then by goal difference, then by goals scored. Note that this column does not represent any official rankings. ^ Only qualifying campaigns are counted where the team played at least one match that was not annulled. ^ The three points for a win system is used. Top scorers in preliminary competition ( 1934 -- 2018 ) This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( May 2018 ) # Nation Player Goals Games played Goal ratio Qualification tournaments Carlos Ruiz 39 47 0.75 2002 ( 8 goals ), 2006 ( 10 ), 2010 ( 6 ), 2014 ( 6 ), 2018 ( 9 ) Ali Daei 35 50 0.70 1994 ( 7 goals ), 1998 ( 9 ), 2002 ( 10 ), 2006 ( 9 ) Cristiano Ronaldo 30 38 0.79 2006 ( 7 goals ), 2014 ( 8 ), 2018 ( 15 ) Karim Bagheri 28 29 0.97 1998 ( 19 goals ), 2002 ( 8 ), 2010 ( 1 ) 5 Kazu Miura 27 25 1.08 1994 ( 13 goals ), 1998 ( 14 ) 6 Andriy Shevchenko 26 40 0.65 1998 ( 4 goals ), 2002 ( 10 ), 2006 ( 6 ), 2010 ( 6 ) 7 Tim Cahill 25 36 0.69 2006 ( 7 goals ), 2010 ( 4 ), 2014 ( 3 ), 2018 ( 11 ) 8 Carlos Pavón 25 37 0.68 1998 ( 2 goals ), 2002 ( 15 ), 2006 ( 1 ), 2010 ( 7 ) 9 Edin Džeko 24 31 0.77 2010 ( 9 goals ), 2014 ( 10 ), 2018 ( 5 ) 10 Jared Borgetti 23 24 0.96 2002 ( 6 goals ), 2006 ( 14 ), 2010 ( 3 ) 11 Robert Lewandowski 21 28 0.75 2010 ( 2 goals ), 2014 ( 3 ), 2018 ( 16 ) 12 Paulo Wanchope 21 37 0.57 1998 ( 6 goals ), 2002 ( 7 ), 2006 ( 8 ) 13 Lionel Messi 21 45 0.47 2010 ( 4 goals ), 2014 ( 10 ), 2018 ( 7 ) 14 Luis Suárez 21 48 0.44 2010 ( 5 goals ), 2014 ( 11 ), 2018 ( 5 ) 15 Archie Thompson 20 15 1.33 2002 ( 16 goals ), 2006 ( 2 ), 2014 ( 2 ) 16 Stern John 20 49 0.41 1998 ( 3 goals ), 2002 ( 3 ), 2006 ( 12 ), 2010 ( 2 ) 17 Vaughan Coveny 19 19 1.00 1998 ( 4 goals ), 2002 ( 9 ), 2006 ( 6 ) 18 Emmanuel Sanon 19 20 0.95 1974 ( 11 goals ), 1978 ( 8 ) 19 Pauleta 19 24 0.79 2002 ( 8 goals ), 2006 ( 11 ) 20 Zlatan Ibrahimović 19 29 0.66 2002 ( 1 goal ), 2006 ( 8 ), 2010 ( 2 ), 2014 ( 8 ) 21 Hernán Crespo 19 33 0.58 1998 ( 3 goals ), 2002 ( 9 ), 2006 ( 7 ) 22 Didier Drogba 18 19 0.95 2006 ( 9 goals ), 2010 ( 6 ), 2014 ( 3 ) 23 Moumouni Dagano 18 24 0.75 2002 ( 1 goal ), 2006 ( 5 ), 2010 ( 12 ) 24 Samuel Eto'o 18 29 0.62 2002 ( 3 goals ), 2006 ( 4 ), 2010 ( 9 ), 2014 ( 2 ) 25 Raúl Díaz Arce 18 29 0.62 1994 ( 2 goals ), 1998 ( 9 ), 2002 ( 7 ) 26 Marcelo Salas 18 32 0.56 1998 ( 11 goals ), 2002 ( 4 ), 2006 ( 1 ), 2010 ( 2 ) 27 Robbie Keane 18 37 0.49 2002 ( 2 goals ), 2006 ( 4 ), 2010 ( 6 ), 2014 ( 6 ) 28 Clint Dempsey 18 43 0.42 2010 ( 5 goals ), 2014 ( 8 ), 2018 ( 5 ) 29 Iván Zamorano 17 11 1.54 1990 ( 1 goal ), 1998 ( 12 ), 2002 ( 4 ) 30 Deon McCaulay 17 16 1.06 2010 ( 2 goals ), 2014 ( 11 ), 2018 ( 4 ) 31 Dimitar Berbatov 17 24 0.71 2002 ( 6 goals ), 2006 ( 8 ), 2010 ( 5 ) 32 Alexander Frei 17 25 0.68 2002 ( 5 goals ), 2006 ( 7 ), 2010 ( 5 ) 33 Álvaro Saborío 17 41 0.41 2006 ( 3 goals ), 2010 ( 6 ), 2014 ( 8 ) ( updated as of FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifiers ) First games and goalscorers in preliminary competition ( 1934 -- 2018 ) World Cup First game First goal 1934 11 June 1933 ; Sweden 6 -- 2 Estonia 11 June 1933 ; Knut Kroon for Sweden vs. Estonia 1938 16 June 1937 ; Sweden 4 -- 0 Finland 16 June 1937 ; Lennart Bunke for Sweden vs. Finland 1950 2 June 1949 ; Sweden 3 -- 1 Republic of Ireland 2 June 1949 ; Davy Walsh for Republic of Ireland vs. Sweden 1954 9 May 1953 ; Yugoslavia 1 -- 0 Greece 9 May 1953 ; Frane Matošić for Yugoslavia vs. Greece 1958 30 September 1956 ; Austria 7 -- 0 Luxembourg 30 September 1956 ; Gerhard Hanappi for Austria vs. Luxembourg 1962 21 August 1960 ; Costa Rica 3 -- 2 Guatemala 21 August 1960 ; Jorge Hernán Monge for Costa Rica vs. Guatemala 1966 24 May 1964 ; Netherlands 2 -- 0 Albania 24 May 1964 ; Daan Schrijvers for Netherlands vs. Albania 1970 19 May 1968 ; Austria 7 -- 1 Cyprus 19 May 1968 ; Erich Hof for Austria vs. Cyprus 14 November 1971 ; Malta 0 -- 2 Hungary 14 November 1971 ; Ferenc Bene for Hungary vs. Malta 1978 4 April 1976 ; Panama 3 -- 2 Costa Rica 4 April 1976 ; Javier Jiménez for Costa Rica vs. Panama 1982 26 March 1980 ; Israel 0 -- 0 Northern Ireland 26 March 1980 ; Cyprus 2 -- 3 Republic of Ireland 26 March 1980 ; Paul McGee for Republic of Ireland vs. Cyprus 1986 2 May 1984 ; Cyprus 1 -- 2 Austria 2 May 1984 ; Martin Gisinger for Austria vs. Cyprus 1990 17 April 1988 ; Guyana 0 -- 4 Trinidad and Tobago 17 April 1988 ; Paul Elliot - Allen for Trinidad and Tobago vs. Guyana 1994 21 March 1992 ; Dominican Republic 0 -- 4 Puerto Rico 21 March 1992 ; Marcos Lugris for Puerto Rico vs. Dominican Republic 1998 10 March 1996 ; Dominica 3 -- 3 Antigua and Barbuda 10 March 1996 ; Anthony Dominique for Dominica vs. Antigua and Barbuda 2002 4 March 2000 ; Trinidad and Tobago 5 -- 0 Netherlands Antilles 4 March 2000 ; Honduras 3 -- 0 Nicaragua 4 March 2000 ; Marvin Andrews for Trinidad and Tobago vs. Netherlands Antilles 2006 6 September 2003 ; Ecuador 2 -- 0 Venezuela 6 September 2003 ; Giovanny Espinoza for Ecuador vs. Venezuela 25 August 2007 ; Tahiti 0 -- 1 New Caledonia 25 August 2007 ; Pierre Wajoka for New Caledonia vs. Tahiti 2014 15 June 2011 ; Montserrat 2 -- 5 Belize 15 June 2011 ; Deon McCauley for Belize vs. Montserrat 2018 12 March 2015 ; Timor - Leste 0 -- 3 Mongolia ( forfeited ) 12 March 2015 ; Chan Vathanaka for Cambodia vs. Macau Current format Currently, 32 places are available in the final tournament until 2022. One of them is reserved for the host nation, but if two or more nations co-host the competition, each is awarded a place. From 1934 to 2002, one berth was reserved for the winners of the previous World Cup, but in November 2001, FIFA announced that the defending champion would no longer get automatic entry to the subsequent tournament, starting with the 2006 finals. This decision was made to address the issue of the returning champions being at a disadvantage to their fellow competitors due to having not played a competitive match in the previous two years. The problem was amply demonstrated at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, as returning champions France tumbled out in the first round, finishing bottom of their group without scoring a single goal. 2002 winner Brazil qualified for 2006 at the top of their qualifiers group, but Italy, defending champions from 2006, finished bottom of their group in 2010, despite playing in the qualifying matches. At Brazil 2014, 2010 champions Spain finished third in their group and failed to advance to the Round of 16, despite having qualified as first in their group. FIFA decides beforehand the number of spots awarded to each of the continental zones. For the 2018 World Cup, the following numbers were used : UEFA ( Europe ) -- 13 berths, plus the host Russia CAF ( Africa ) -- 5 berths AFC ( Asia ) -- 4 berths CONMEBOL ( South America ) -- 4 berths CONCACAF ( North and Central America and Caribbean ) -- 3 berths 2 berths for the winners of intercontinental play - offs between the best team from the OFC ( Oceania ), as well as additional teams from the AFC, CONMEBOL and CONCACAF. The pairings for these play - offs were determined by an open draw. The number of berths allocated per continent is widely debated, with the main point of contention being the extent to which berths should be allocated to regions based on sheer population vs. talent. A historically weaker continent, Africa has called for more places, as they are allocated only five in comparison to Europe 's 13. In early October 2016, it was announced that the World Cup would have featured 40 teams starting with the 2026 tournament, then FIFA President Gianni Infantino stated his support for a 48 - team World Cup, mainly to address African concerns. On 10 January 2017, the FIFA Council voted unanimously to expand the World Cup to a 48 team tournament that will open with a group stage consisting of 16 groups of three teams, with two teams progressing from each group to a knockout tournament starting with a round of 32. The new format for the qualifying process has yet to be confirmed, other than a play - off tournament that consists of one team from each confederation ( except UEFA ) and one additional team from the confederation of the host country for the last two World Cup berths. These numbers vary slightly between tournaments ( see above ). 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 over time. The systems used in 2018 are outlined below. Africa The CAF qualification process began with two preliminary rounds to narrow the field of 53 entrants to 20 teams in October 2015 ( Zimbabwe were disqualified ). The group stage consisted of 5 groups of 4, with the group winners advancing to the World Cup finals. Asia Bhutan and Guam entered the AFC qualification process, while Indonesia were disqualified after being suspended for political interference. Qualifying was altered significantly from the 2014 method, with changes to the structure of the preliminary rounds -- which were held before the main draw. One home - and - away preliminary round reduced the 12 weakest entrants to 6, which then joined the 34 strongest sides in 8 groups of 5, with the winners and 4 best runners - up advancing to the final group stage, comprising two 6 - team groups. The winners and runners - up of the two final groups of 6 advanced to the World Cup finals with the two third - placed sides playing off in the fourth round for the right to play in an inter-confederation play - off for a final World Cup spot. The first two rounds also acted as the qualifiers for the expanded 2019 AFC Asian Cup. A total of 24 teams eliminated from World Cup qualification in the second round competed in the third round of 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification ( which was separate from the third round of 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification ), where they were divided into six groups of four teams and competed for the remaining slots of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. The 24 teams consisted of the 16 highest ranked teams eliminated in the second round, and the eight teams that advanced from the play - off round of 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification which were contested by the remaining 12 teams eliminated in the second round. Europe The European qualification was unchanged from the 2010 system. The 54 national teams were divided into nine groups of six teams, with the group winners qualifying directly to the finals, and the best eight runners - up playing home - and - away ties for the remaining four places. With the admission of Gibraltar and Kosovo as FIFA members in May 2016, both national teams made their debuts in World Cup qualifying. With two groups of only five teams in the first round, Kosovo was assigned to group I as it was decided that Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia should not play against Kosovo for security reasons, and Gibraltar was then added to group H. North and Central America and Caribbean See also : Hexagonal ( CONCACAF ) The 2018 CONCACAF qualification process changed significantly from the 2014 qualification cycle. The first three rounds had teams play home - and - away over two legs. A first preliminary round involved the 14 lowest ranked teams and the seven winners advanced to the second round. The 13 higher ranked sides received byes in the second round and were joined by the seven first round winners ; the ten winners advanced to the third round. Two higher ranked teams received byes in the third round and were joined by ten second round winners ; the six winners advanced to the preliminary group stage. As in 2014, the remaining 12 teams played in 3 semifinal groups of 4 teams with the top two in each group advancing to a final six - team group. The final round -- often referred to as the `` hexagonal '' because there are six teams involved -- saw the top three teams advance to the World Cup finals, while the fourth placed side entered an inter-confederation play - off for a final World Cup spot. Oceania Qualification in Oceania was held as part of a further competition. The first stage took place with one group of four lowest ranked teams and the winner advanced to the second stage ( which also acted as the 2016 OFC Nations Cup ). In the second stage the top three teams advanced to the third round, among them Nations Cup champions New Zealand. Two groups of three teams contested the third round, or final group stage, and the winners of each group entered a two - leg final. The winners of this final advanced to an inter-confederation play - off for a World Cup spot. South America As in recent qualification series CONMEBOL qualification consisted of a single group of all entrants. Unlike previous qualifying tournaments where the fixtures were pre-determined, the fixtures were determined by a draw, which was held as part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Preliminary Draw, on 25 July 2015. The top 4 teams from the 10 - team group advanced to the World Cup finals, while the fifth placed team entered an inter-confederation play - off for a World Cup spot. Intercontinental play - offs Like the previous 2014 tournament, the pairings for the two play - offs were determined by an open draw on 25 July 2015, as part of the aforementioned preliminary draw. Intercontinental play - offs are played as home - and - away ties. 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 : goal difference in all group matches greater number of goals scored in all group matches Where teams are still not able to be separated, the following tie - breakers are used : 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 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 the drawing of lot. 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, the second round of UEFA qualifying 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 National team appearances in the FIFA World Cup UEFA European Championship qualifying AFC Asian Cup qualification References ^ `` History of the FIFA World Cup preliminary competition ( by year ) '' ( PDF ). fifa.com. FIFA. November 2009. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. CS1 maint : BOT : original - url status unknown ( link ) ^ `` FIFA 's 209 member associations '' ( PDF ). fifa.com. FIFA. July 2012. ^ `` Fifa makes major policy shift ''. BBC News. 30 November 2001. ^ `` Current allocation of FIFA World Cup confederation slots maintained '' ( Press release ). FIFA. 30 May 2015. ^ `` Africa calls for FIFA to increase World Cup places ''. Ahram Online. Reuters. 18 January 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2013. ^ `` New Fifa chief backs 48 - team World Cup ''. heraldlive. 7 October 2016. It 's an idea, just as the World Cup with 40 teams is already on the table with groups of four or five teams. ^ `` World Cup could expand to 48 teams, Fifa 's Gianni Infantino suggests ''. The Guardian. 3 October 2016. ^ `` Fifa approves Infantino 's plan to expand World Cup to 48 teams from 2026 ''. The Guardian. 10 January 2017. ^ `` Bureau of the Council recommends slot allocation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup ''. FIFA. 30 March 2017. Archived from the original on 9 April 2017. ^ `` ExCo approves expanded AFC Asian Cup finals ''. AFC. 16 April 2014. ^ `` World Cup draw looms large in Asia ''. FIFA.com. 13 April 2015. Completing the tournament 's qualifying contenders will be the next 16 highest ranked teams, with the remaining 12 sides battling it out in play - off matches to claim the last eight spots. ^ `` Uefa retains 2010 World Cup qualifying format for 2014 ''. bbc.co.uk. 21 March 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2011. ^ `` FIFA Congress drives football forward, first female secretary general appointed ''. FIFA.com. 13 May 2016. ^ `` Kosovo to play in Group I in European Qualifiers ''. uefa.org. Union of European Football Associations ( UEFA ). 9 June 2016. ^ `` Kosovo and Gibraltar assigned to 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying groups ''. FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association ( FIFA ). 9 June 2016. ^ `` A unanimous decision : A draw will determine the classifications for the World Cup and CONMEBOL Tournaments ''. CONMEBOL.com. 23 January 2015. External links FIFA World Cup Preliminary Competition Statistics ( from FIFA.com ) FIFA World Cup Preliminary History ( from FIFA.com ) FIFA World Cup 2018 Regulations FIFA World Cup 2018 Guide ( from fifa-world-cup-2018.info ) FIFA World Cup Tournaments Uruguay 1930 Italy 1934 France 1938 Brazil 1950 Switzerland 1954 Sweden 1958 Chile 1962 England 1966 Mexico 1970 West Germany 1974 Argentina 1978 Spain 1982 Mexico 1986 Italy 1990 United States 1994 France 1998 South Korea -- Japan 2002 Germany 2006 South Africa 2010 Brazil 2014 Russia 2018 Qatar 2022 Canada -- Mexico -- United States 2026 2030 2034 Qualification 1930 1934 1938 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2014 2018 Finals 1930 1934 1938 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2014 2018 Squads 1930 1934 1938 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2014 2018 Seedings 1998 2002 2006 2014 2018 Broadcasters 1998 2002 2006 2014 2018 Bids 2014 2018 and 2022 2026 2030 Statistics 2002 2006 2014 2018 Disciplinary record 1994 1998 2002 2006 2014 2018 Team appearances AFC CAF CONCACAF CONMEBOL OFC UEFA Teams with no appearances Overall records All - time table Goalscorers top goalscorers finals goalscorers hat - tricks own goals Penalty shoot - outs Player appearances Red cards Referees Winners Miscellaneous Openings Stadiums Awards Balls Economics Final draw History Hosts Mascots Official films Official anthems & songs Organisers Trophy Video games Notes : There was no qualification for the 1930 World Cup as places were given by invitation only. In 1950, there was no final ; the article is about the decisive match of the final group stage. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=FIFA_World_Cup_qualification&oldid=853402127 '' Categories : FIFA World Cup qualification Hidden categories : CS1 maint : BOT : original - url status unknown Articles needing additional references from May 2018 All articles needing additional references Use dmy dates from June 2011 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Dansk Español فارسی Français 한국어 Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia עברית मराठी 日本 語 Português Română Русский Svenska Türkçe 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 4 August 2018, at 14 : 52 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: how many teams participate in world cup qualifiers
Answer: 211