It seems like the 2010 World Cup just ended, doesn't it? Nevertheless, FIFA in all its wackiness held the preliminary draw for the 2014 tournament in Brazil on Saturday. In fact, qualifying has already started. There are more than 200 countries in FIFA and some of the lowest-ranked ones have already been eliminated by nations that are ranked slightly higher (but still pretty low) and also have no chance of actually making it to Brazil.
Of course, all of the best countries don't have to start qualifying until next summer at the earliest (the European teams don't start until after Euro 2012 is over), and Brazil, as host, doesn't have to qualify at all. But since the draw has been made and I can't think of anything else to blog about today, looking ahead three years and trying to figure out who might be there sounds like fun.
Africa (5 places): In the final round, there are 10 groups. The group winners are drawn into five home-and-home series for places in the World Cup.
Group Winners: South Africa, Tunisia, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Gabon, Nigeria, Egypt, Mali, Cameroon, Senegal
World Cup Qualifiers: Ghana, Nigeria, Egypt, Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon
Asia (4.5 places): Final round is two groups of five. Top two in each go to the World Cup, the third place teams play a home-and-home, and the winner of that plays a team from South America for another spot.
Final Round: China, Iraq, South Korea, Kuwait, Japan, North Korea, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Qatar
World Cup Qualifiers: Japan, Australia, South Korea, Saudi Arabia (Third-place playoff: Iran def. North Korea)
CONCACAF (3.5 places): This is the fancy name for the USA's zone. The final round is six teams. Three go to the World Cup, whoever finishes fourth plays a team from Oceania.
Final Round: United States, Jamaica, Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama
World Cup Qualifiers: United States, Mexico, Costa Rica (Playoff Qualifier: Honduras)
Europe (13 places): There are 53 teams in UEFA, which divides nicely into nine groups (one only has five teams because they don't seem interested in having a nice, even 54). The nine group winners advance. The top eight second-place teams play home-and-homes for four more spots.
World Cup Qualifiers: (Group Winners:) Serbia, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, Slovenia, Portugal, Slovakia, England, Spain, (Second-place teams:) Czech Republic, Russia, Ukraine, France
Oceania (0.5 places): Soccer in Oceania is so bad, they don't even get a guaranteed spot in the World Cup (which is one of the reasons why Australia competes in Asia). Whoever wins the four-team final round goes to a playoff with a CONCACAF team.
Final Round: Vanuatu, American Samoa, Fiji, New Zealand
Playoff Qualifier: New Zealand
South America (4.5 places): There are only 10 teams in the region, and Brazil doesn't have to qualify, so half of the remaining nine teams will advance to either the World Cup or a playoff. They'll play 16 games, a home-and-home with everybody.
World Cup Qualifiers: Brazil (host), Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile (Playoff Qualifier: Colombia)
Playoffs: Iran vs. Colombia: Iran qualifies, Honduras vs. New Zealand: New Zealand qualifies
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