A total of 32 teams will take part in the world’s biggest sporting event in 2014. But for now, 203 nations will compete for 31 spots.
Canada plays in the CONCACAF region, which encompasses North and Central America and the Caribbean, along with 34 other countries. Among them, five have been already eliminated in Round 1.
The highest seeded teams in CONCACAF—USA, Mexico, Cuba, Honduras, Jamaica, and Costa Rica—get an automatic bye to Round 3, while Canada will begin in Round 2.
Round 2 for Canada is a round-robin tournament, home and away, against the likes of St. Kitts and Nevis, Puerto Rico, and St. Lucia. Canada must win this round-robin tournament to progress to Round 3.
This mini-tournament will take place from September to November with Canada hosting games at BMO Field in Toronto, home of Toronto FC.
Based on the July 27 rankings, Canada (No. 105) is ranked highest in its group. St. Kitts and Nevis is ranked No. 122, Puerto Rico No. 141, and St. Lucia No. 183.
“I think it’s a decent draw. The main thing is you have to take care of business at home, and if you get results [on the road], you should be okay,” said Hart on FIFA.com
Where It Gets Tough
Round 3 was the stumbling block for Canada in the lead-up to the 2006 World Cup in Germany. This time, should Canada reach Round 3, Honduras (No. 51), Cuba (No. 99), and one of Panama, Dominica, Nicaragua, or the Bahamas will join them.
In 2006, Honduras qualified for the World Cup and would be Canada’s most difficult opponent in Round 3. Canada is fortunate not to have to face Mexico or USA in Round 3. USA and Jamaica headline one of the groups in Round 3, while Mexico and Costa Rica headline the other one.
Canada needs to finish in the top two in its Round 3 group to reach Round 4. Round 4 is a six-team best of the best of CONCACAF, where the top three qualify for the World Cup and the fourth-place team will advance to a playoff against the champion from Oceania, likely New Zealand.
Other Regions
In Europe, 53 teams will be fighting for 13 spots in Brazil. The qualifying tournament is organized into nine groups. The group winners automatically qualify while the eight best second place finishers will be paired off with four advancing after a home-and-away matchup.
Some interesting matchups in the nine groups include Croatia and Serbia in Group A and Spain and France in Group I. On the surface, Group E looks fairly wide open with Norway, Slovenia, and Switzerland all with a chance at top spot. Similarly, Group G with Greece, Slovakia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina could be hard to predict.
Germany is in a fairly tough group with Sweden, Ireland, and Austria for competition.
Perhaps the fairest qualification tournament takes place in South America, where all nine teams play one big round-robin tournament. The tournament kicks off in October and runs until September 2013. Up to five teams can make it from South America, with four guaranteed.
