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Qualifying
Tournaments are held in six zones (Africa, Asia, North and Central America and Caribbean, South America, Oceania, Europe).
Currently, 32 places are available in the final tournament. One of them is reserved for the host nation, but if two or more nations host the competition jointly, each is awarded a place. The 2006 Finals were the first in which an automatic entry was not guaranteed to the previous champion; 2002 winner Brazil qualified for 2006 at the top of their qualifiers group. The decision to remove the reigning champions' automatic spot, announced in November 2001, was said by FIFA 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.[3] 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 having failed to score a single goal. However, Italy, defending champions from 2006, finished bottom of their group in 2010, despite playing in the qualifying matches.
FIFA decides beforehand the number of spots awarded to each of the continental zones. For the 2014 World Cup, the following numbers are being used:[4]
Currently, 32 places are available in the final tournament. One of them is reserved for the host nation, but if two or more nations host the competition jointly, each is awarded a place. The 2006 Finals were the first in which an automatic entry was not guaranteed to the previous champion; 2002 winner Brazil qualified for 2006 at the top of their qualifiers group. The decision to remove the reigning champions' automatic spot, announced in November 2001, was said by FIFA 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.[3] 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 having failed to score a single goal. However, Italy, defending champions from 2006, finished bottom of their group in 2010, despite playing in the qualifying matches.
FIFA decides beforehand the number of spots awarded to each of the continental zones. For the 2014 World Cup, the following numbers are being used:[4]