What is the World Cup qualifier system? How are the World Cup qualifiers selected?

The World Cup qualifiers are divided into three stages: first, the qualifying rounds; the winning teams after the qualifying rounds form teams for the top 12; and finally, they are divided into groups for a double round-robin competition. So how many teams must finish in the World Cup qualifiers to qualify for the World Cup? Do you want to know? Then open the following encyclopedia knowledge network to learn more!

Contents of this article

1. What is the World Cup qualifier system?

2. How are the World Cup qualifiers selected?

3. You have to be in the top few in the World Cup qualifiers to qualify for the World Cup

What is the World Cup qualifier system?

The first stage: Qualifying. The last 14 teams in Asia, i.e. the 34th to 47th teams, will play a home and away knockout match according to the FIFA ranking. The winning 7 teams will enter the second stage.

The second stage: the top 40 matches, the teams ranked 1st to 33rd in the FIFA rankings, plus the 7 teams that advanced from the qualifiers, a total of 40 teams, will be divided into 8 groups of 5 teams each. The group stage will be played in a home-and-away system, and the group rankings will be determined by points. The 8 group first places, plus the 4 best second places, a total of 12 teams, will enter the third stage of the top 12 matches. At the same time, these 12 teams will also qualify for the 2023 Asian Cup finals.

The third stage: the top 12 matches, the 12 teams are divided into two groups according to the FIFA rankings, with 6 teams in each group, all playing in a home and away system. The top two teams in each group will get tickets to the Qatar World Cup, and the third teams in the two groups will participate in the play-offs to determine the fifth place. The fifth place will then participate in the inter-continental play-offs to compete for the last ticket to Qatar.

How are the World Cup qualifiers chosen?

Each continent participates in the qualifiers and conducts preliminaries according to the allocated quota. The world's continents play in the group qualifiers, and then advance to the top 32 for the World Cup. The quota of each continent's group is determined by FIFA.

The World Cup qualifiers are divided into three stages: first, the qualifying round; the winning teams after the qualifying round form a team for the top 12; and finally, they are divided into groups for a double round-robin competition. South America: There are a total of ten teams. Through a double round-robin home and away games, the World Cup finalists are determined in order according to the final points ranking. South America has a total of 4.5 places. The top four teams directly qualify for the World Cup. This time, the fifth place needs to compete with the fourth place in Central America and North America for the only qualified place. Europe (13 places): More than 50 teams are divided into 8 groups, and the first place in 8 groups and the best second place are directly selected. The second place in the other six groups needs to compete for the remaining three places through the play-offs. Africa (5 places): Divided into 5 groups, the first place in each group directly qualifies for the World Cup. Asia (4.5): Divided into eight groups in advance, the first place in each group will participate in the Asian quarter-finals. The quarter-finals will be divided into two groups, and the top two groups will qualify directly. The third place in the two groups will go through the play-offs. The winning team needs to compete with the Oceania champion for the qualification place.

World Cup qualifiers to enter the World Cup

Different regions have different quotas: 13 in Europe, 5 in Africa, 4 in Asia, 4 in South America, and 3 in North America and the Caribbean. The top two teams in Asia will directly advance to the World Cup finals in Russia, and two groups will determine the third place in the play-offs, competing with other continents for another World Cup spot. A total of 53 teams from Europe participated in the qualifiers, they were divided into 9 groups and enjoyed 13 qualifying places. FIFA still allocated 4.5 places for South American teams to participate in the World Cup finals. That is, the top 4 players will advance directly, and the 5th player will compete with the Central and North American teams for a qualification to participate in the finals, and the winner will advance. A total of 51 teams from Africa participated in the qualifiers, with a total of 5 qualifying places. The top 3 teams in Central and North America will directly win the World Cup championship, and the 4th and 5th teams in South America will play home and away knockout games, and the winner will get a place in the World Cup.