1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
Tournament details
Dates21 March 1992 – 17 November 1993
Teams147 (from 6 confederations)
Tournament statistics
Matches played497
Goals scored1,446 (2.91 per match)
Top scorer(s)Japan Kazuyoshi Miura (13 goals)

The 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. The 1994 FIFA World Cup featured 24 teams with one place reserved for the host nation, United States, and one place for the defending champions, Germany. The remaining 22 places were determined by a qualification process, in which 147 teams, from the six FIFA confederations, competed. Most of the successful teams were determined within these confederations, with a limited number of inter-confederation play-offs occurring at the end of the process.

Fifteen teams withdrew: Liechtenstein, Cuba, Gambia, Burkina Faso, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Myanmar and Western Samoa, and three teams were excluded: Yugoslavia and Libya due to UN sanctions, and Chile for the El Maracanazo cheating incident during 1990 qualification.

A total of 130 teams played at least one qualifying match. A total of 497 qualifying matches were played, and 1446 goals were scored (an average of 2.91 per match).[1]

The first qualification match, between Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, was played on 21 March 1992, and the Puerto Rican forward Marcos Lugris scored the first goal in qualification.[2] Qualification ended on 17 November 1993, when European qualification ended and the OFC–CONMEBOL play-off match was played. Eighteen of FIFA's twenty-four top-ranked countries eventually qualified.[3]

Qualified teams

  Country qualified for World Cup
  Country failed to qualify
  Country did not enter World Cup
  Country not a FIFA member

[4][5]

Team Method of

qualification

 Date of

qualification

 Finals

appearance

 Streak Previous best

performance

 FIFA Ranking[lower-alpha 1]
 United States Hosts 4 July 1988 5th 2 Third place (1930) 27
 Germany Defending champions 8 July 1990 13th[lower-alpha 2] 11 Winners (1954, 1974, 1990)[lower-alpha 3] 3
 Mexico CONCACAF Final Round Winners 9 May 1993 10th 1 (Last: 1986) Quarter-finals (1970, 1986) 17
 Greece UEFA Group 5 Winners 23 May 1993 1st 1 – 32
 Russia UEFA Group 5 Runners-up 2 June 1993 8th[lower-alpha 4] 4 Fourth place (1966) 14
 Colombia CONMEBOL Group A Winners 5 September 1993 3rd 2 Round of 16 (1990) 21
 Bolivia CONMEBOL Group B Runners-up 19 September 1993 3rd 1 (Last: 1950) Group stage (1930, 1950) 59
 Brazil CONMEBOL Group B Winners 19 September 1993 15th 15 Winners (1958, 1962, 1970) 4
 Nigeria CAF Final Round Group A Winners 8 October 1993 1st 1 – 16
 Cameroon CAF Final Round Group C Winners 10 October 1993 3rd 2 Quarter-finals (1990) 24
 Morocco CAF Final Round Group B Winners 10 October 1993 3rd 1 (Last: 1986) Round of 16 (1986) 30
 Norway UEFA Group 2 Winners 13 October 1993 2nd 1 (Last: 1938) Round of 16 (1938) 5
 South Korea AFC Final Round Runners-up 28 October 1993 4th 3 Group stage (1954, 1986, 1990) 39
 Saudi Arabia AFC Final Round Winners 28 October 1993 1st 1 – 38
 Sweden UEFA Group 6 Winners 13 October 1993 9th 2 Runners-up (1958) 11
 Belgium UEFA Group 4 Runners-up 17 November 1993 9th 4 Fourth place (1986) 22
 Bulgaria UEFA Group 6 Runners-up 17 November 1993 6th 1 (Last: 1986) Round of 16 (1986) 23
 Italy UEFA Group 1 Winners 17 November 1993 13th 9 Winners (1934, 1938, 1982) 1
 Netherlands UEFA Group 2 Runners-up 17 November 1993 6th 2 Runners-up (1974, 1978) 2
 Republic of Ireland UEFA Group 3 Runners-up 17 November 1993 2nd 2 Quarter finals (1990) 13
 Romania UEFA Group 4 Winners 17 November 1993 6th 2 Round of 16 (1934, 1938, 1990) 12
 Spain UEFA Group 3 Winners 17 November 1993 9th 5 Fourth place (1950) 7
  Switzerland UEFA Group 1 Runners-up 17 November 1993 7th 1 (Last: 1966) Quarter-finals (1934, 1938, 1954) 9
 Argentina Inter-confederation play-off Winners 17 November 1993 11th 6 Winners (1978, 1986) 9
  1. ↑ The rankings are shown as of 19 November 1993. These are the rankings used for the final draw.[6]
  2. ↑ This is the 3rd appearance of Germany at the FIFA World Cup. However, FIFA considers West Germany's results as Germany's.
  3. ↑ Germany's best result is third place in 1934. However, FIFA considers West Germany's results as Germany's.
  4. ↑ This is the 1st appearance of Russia at the FIFA World Cup. However, FIFA considers Russia as the successor team of the USSR.

Qualification process

Madison Square Garden in New York City hosted the qualification draw

The draw was made in New York on 8 December 1991 at Madison Square Garden.[7]

For the first time, three teams qualified from the African zone, because of its performance in the previous tournament. The 24 spots available in the 1994 World Cup were distributed among the continental zones as follows:

  • Europe (UEFA): 13 places. 1 of them went to automatic qualifier Germany, while the other 12 places were contested by 38 teams (including Israel).
  • South America (CONMEBOL): 3.5 places, contested by 9 teams.
  • North, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF): 2.25 places, 1 of them went to automatic qualifier United States, while the other 1.25 places were contested by 22 teams.
  • Africa (CAF): 3 places, contested by 40 teams.
  • Asia (AFC): 2 places, contested by 29 teams.
  • Oceania (OFC): 0.25 places, contested by 7 teams.

UEFA, AFC and CAF have a guaranteed number of places, whereas the number of qualifiers from other confederations is dependent on play-offs between OFC's first-placed team and CONCACAF's second-placed team and the winner of this fixture against CONMEBOL's fourth-placed team.

After the first round of 1994 FIFA World Cup finals, the percentage of teams from each confederation that passed through to the round of 16 was as follows:[8]

  • AFC (Asia): 50% (1 of 2 places)
  • CAF (Africa): 33% (1 of 3 places)
  • CONCACAF (North, Central American and Caribbean): 100% (2 of 2 places)
  • CONMEBOL (South America): 50% (2 of 4 places)
  • OFC (Oceania): n/a (0 of 0 places)
  • UEFA (Europe): 77% (10 of 13 places)

Summary of qualification

Confederation Teams started Teams that secured qualification Teams that were eliminated Total places in finals Qualifying start date Qualifying end date
AFC 29 2 27 2 8 April 1993 28 October 1993
CAF 40 3 37 3 9 October 1992 10 October 1993
CONCACAF 22+1 1+1 21 1+1 21 March 1992 15 August 1993
CONMEBOL 9 4 5 4 18 July 1993 17 November 1993
OFC 7 0 7 0 7 June 1992 17 November 1993
UEFA[lower-alpha 1] 38+1 12+1 26 12+1 22 April 1992 17 November 1993
Total 145+2 22+2 123 22+2 21 March 1992 17 November 1993
  1. ↑ Israel did not become a full member of UEFA until 1994, but competed in European qualification in the run-up to membership.

Tiebreakers

For FIFA World Cup qualifying stages using a league format, the method used for separating teams level on points is the same for all Confederations. If teams are even on points at the end of group play, the tied teams will be ranked by:

  1. goal difference in all group matches
  2. greater number of goals scored in all group matches

For FIFA World Cup qualifying stages using a home-and-away knockout format, the team that has the higher aggregate score over the two legs progresses to the next round. In the event that aggregate scores finish level, the away goals rule is applied, i.e. the team that scored more goals away from home over the two legs progresses. If away goals are also equal, then thirty minutes of extra time are played, divided into two fifteen-minutes halves. The away goals rule is again applied after extra time, i.e. if there are goals scored during extra time and the aggregate score is still level, the visiting team qualifies by virtue of more away goals scored. If no goals are scored during extra time, the tie is decided by penalty shoot-out.

Confederation qualification

AFC

Qualification for AFC teams consisted of two rounds. Round one saw the teams divided into 6 groups, each team playing the others in their group twice. The winner of each group then went into a final group where they played each other once.

The qualification process began with 29 national teams vying for two spots. Saudi Arabia and Korea Republic qualified.[1]

Legend
Countries that directly qualified for the 1994 World Cup

Final positions (final round)

Rank Team Pld Pts
1  Saudi Arabia 5 7
2  South Korea 5 6
3  Japan 5 6
4  Iraq 5 5
5  Iran 5 4
6  North Korea 5 2

CAF

Qualification for CAF teams also consisted of two rounds. Round one saw the teams divided into 9 groups, each team playing the others in their group twice. The winners of these groups then went into three final groups where they played each other twice.

The qualification process began with 40 national teams vying for three spots. Nigeria, Morocco and Cameroon qualified.[1]

Legend
Countries that directly qualified for the 1994 World Cup

Final positions (final round)

Group A
Team Pld Pts
 Nigeria 4 5
 Ivory Coast 4 5
 Algeria 4 2
 Group B
Team Pld Pts
 Morocco 4 6
 Zambia 4 5
 Senegal 4 1
 Group C
Team Pld Pts
 Cameroon 4 6
 Zimbabwe 4 4
 Guinea 4 2

CONCACAF

There were three rounds of play for CONCACAF teams. Mexico and Canada received byes and advanced to the second round directly. The remaining teams were divided into Caribbean and Central American zones. In the Caribbean zone, 14 teams played in knockout matches on a home-and-away basis to determine three winners advancing to the second round. In the Central American zone, the six teams were paired up to play knockout matches on a home-and-away basis. The winners advanced to the second round.

In the second round, the eight teams were divided into two groups of four teams each. They played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners and runners-up advanced to the final round.

In the final round, the four teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winner qualified. The runner-up advanced to the CONCACAF–OFC intercontinental play-off. Mexico took the guaranteed spot and Canada qualified for the play-off.[1]

Legend
Countries that directly qualified for the 1994 World Cup
Countries that advanced to the CONCACAF–OFC play-off

Final positions (final round)

Rank Team Pld Pts
1  Mexico 6 10
2  Canada 6 7
3  El Salvador 6 4
4  Honduras 6 3

CONMEBOL

Nine CONMEBOL teams entered the competition (Chile was banned by FIFA due to the 1989 Maracanazo incident). The nine teams were divided into two groups. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. Group A had one guaranteed place and one play-off spot, while Group B had two spots for the finals. Colombia, Brazil and Bolivia qualified automatically and Argentina qualified for the play-off.[1]

Legend
Countries that directly qualified for the 1994 World Cup
Countries that advanced to the CONCACAF/OFC–CONMEBOL play-off

Final positions (group stage)

Group A
Team Pld Pts
 Colombia 6 10
 Argentina 6 7
 Paraguay 6 6
 Peru 6 1
 Group B
Team Pld Pts
 Brazil 8 12
 Bolivia 8 11
 Uruguay 8 10
 Ecuador 8 5
 Venezuela 8 2

OFC

Qualification for OFC teams consisted of two rounds. Seven teams entered initially and were divided into two groups, but Western Samoa withdrew. The two group winners then played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The winner advanced to the CONCACAF–OFC intercontinental play-off. Australia won the tie and advanced.[1]

Second round

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
New Zealand  0–4  Australia 0–1 0–3

UEFA

38 were initially involved in UEFA qualifying, but Liechtenstein withdrew and Yugoslavia was suspended.

The thirty-six teams were divided into six groups: one group of five teams, four groups of six teams each, and one group of seven teams. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners and runners-up qualified.

Italy, Switzerland, Norway, Netherlands, Spain, Ireland, Romania, Belgium, Greece, Russia, Sweden, and Bulgaria all qualified.[1]

Legend
Countries that directly qualified for the 1994 World Cup

Final positions (group stage)

Inter-confederation play-offs

For the first time ever, there were two rounds of play in the inter-confederation play-offs. The teams from CONCACAF and OFC first played each other on a home-and-away basis. The winner then played against the team from CONMEBOL on a home-and-away basis. The winner qualified.

Bracket

First roundSecond round
          
 Canada213 (1)
 Australia (p)123 (3)
 Australia101
 Argentina112

First round: CONCACAF v OFC

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Canada  3–3 (1–4 p)  Australia 2–1 1–2 (a.e.t.)

Second round: OFC v CONMEBOL

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Australia  1–2  Argentina 1–1 0–1

Top goalscorers

13 goals
9 goals
8 goals

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "History of the FIFA World Cup Preliminary Competition (by year)" (PDF). FIFA.com. 27 July 2007. p. 32. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2018.
  2. ↑ "World Cup 1994 qualifications". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  3. ↑ Stokkermans, Karel; Jarreta, Sergio Henrique (9 June 2016). "World Cup 1994 Qualifying". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  4. ↑ "History of the FIFA World Cup Preliminary Competition (by year)" (PDF). FIFA.com. 27 July 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  5. ↑ Smyth, Rob (15 February 2012). "The forgotten story of … 17 November 1993". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  6. ↑ "The FIFA World Ranking November 1993". FIFA.com. 19 November 1993. Archived from the original on 22 June 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  7. ↑ Holden, Stephen (11 September 1991). "New Paramount Theater to Give Radio City a Run for Its Music". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  8. ↑ "1994 FIFA World Cup USA". FIFA.com. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
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