A total of 147 teams entered the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, competing for a total of 24 spots in the final tournament. United States, as the hosts, and Germany, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 22 spots open for competition. Qualifying countries The 1994 FIFA World Cup was held in the USA and was won by Brazil who beat Italy with 3-2 in a penalty shootout after the game ended 0-0 after extra-time. ...

For the first time, 3 teams would qualify from the African zone, due to the performance of African teams in the previous tournament. The 24 spots available in the 1994 World Cup would be 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. The winner of the 0.5 place would advance to the Intercontinental Play-offs (against a team from CONCACAF or OFC).
• 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. The winner of the 0.25 place would advance to the Intercontinental Play-offs (against a team from OFC).
• Africa (CAF): 3 places, contested by 40 teams.
• Asia (AFC): 2 places, contested by 29 teams.
• Oceania (OFC): 0.25 place, contested by 7 teams. The winner of the 0.25 place would advance to the Intercontinental Play-offs (against a team from CONCACAF).

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). World map showing Europe Political map Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of Earth; the term continent here referring to a cultural and political distinction, rather than a physiographic one, thus leading to various perspectives about Europes precise borders. ... UEFA logo The Union of European Football Associations, almost always referred to by the acronym UEFA (pronounced (you-AY-fuh) or (oo-Ay-fuh)), is the administrative and controlling body for European football. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... CONMEBOL or CSF (CONfederación sudaMEricana de FútBOL, South American Football Confederation) is the governing body of football in South America. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... Map of Central America Central America is a central region of the Americas. ... Central America and the Caribbean (detailed pdf map) The Caribbean (Spanish: Caribe; French: Caraïbe; Dutch: Caraïben; Portuguese: Caribe or Caraíbas) is a region of the Americas consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (most of which enclose the sea), and the surrounding coasts. ... CONCACAF (the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) is the continent-wide governing body for association football in North America, Central America and the Caribbean. ... For other uses, see Africa (disambiguation). ... CAF Logo The 53 member Confederation of African Football (CAF; French: Confédération Africaine de Football) represents international football in Africa, and organises the African Cup of Nations as well as the African Champions League. ... World map showing the location of Asia. ... Asian Football Confederation Logo The 45 member Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body of football in Asia, excluding Israel. ... Oceania is a geographical, often geopolitical, region consisting of numerous lands—mostly islands but sometimes including Australia—in the Pacific Ocean and vicinity. ... Oceania Football Confederation logo since 1998 The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) is one of the six continental confederations of international football. ...

Continental zones

To see the dates and results of the qualification rounds for each continental zone, click on the following articles:

• Europe (UEFA)

Group 1 - Italy and Switzerland qualified.

Group 2 - Norway and Netherlands qualified.

Group 3 - Spain and Republic of Ireland qualified.

Group 4 - Romania and Belgium qualified.

Group 5 - Greece and Russia qualified.

Group 6 - Sweden and Bulgaria qualified.

• South America (CONMEBOL)

Group 1 - Colombia qualified. Argentina advanced to the CONMEBOL / CONCACAF / OFC Intercontinental Play-off.

Group 2 - Brazil and Bolivia qualified.

• North, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF)

Mexico qualified. Canada advanced to the CONCACAF / OFC Intercontinental Play-off.

• Africa (CAF)

Group 1 - Nigeria qualified.

Group 2 - Morocco qualified.

Group 3 - Cameroon qualified.

• Asia (AFC)

Saudi Arabia and South Korea qualified.

• Oceania (OFC)

Australia advanced to the CONCACAF / OFC Intercontinental Play-off.

Intercontinental Play-offs

For the first time, there would be two rounds of play in the Intercontinental Play-offs. The teams from CONCACAF and OFC would first play against each other on a home-and-away basis. The winner would then play against the team from CONMEBOL on a home-and-away basis. The winner would qualify.

CONCACAF / OFC Intercontinental Play-off

July 31, 1993, Edmonton, Canada - Canada 2 - 1 Australia July 31 is the 212th day (213th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 153 days remaining. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta, situated in the north central region of the province, an area with some of the most fertile farm land on the prairies. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Canada. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Australia. ...

August 15, 1993, Sydney, Australia - Australia 2 - 1 Canada August 15 is the 227th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (228th in leap years), with 138 days remaining. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... The Sydney Opera House on Sydney Harbour Sydney (pronounced ) is the most populous city in Australia with a metropolitan area population of over 4. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Australia. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Canada. ...

Australia won 4-1 on penalties and advanced to the CONMEBOL / CONCACAF / OFC Intercontinental Play-off. Penalty shootouts (officially referred to as kicks from the penalty mark) are sometimes used to decide which team progresses to the next stage of a tournament following a draw in a game of association football (soccer). ...

CONMEBOL / CONCACAF / OFC Intercontinental Play-off

October 31, 1993, Sydney, Australia - Australia 1 - 1 Argentina [1] October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 61 days remaining. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... The Sydney Opera House on Sydney Harbour Sydney (pronounced ) is the most populous city in Australia with a metropolitan area population of over 4. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Australia. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Argentina. ...

November 17, 1993, Buenos Aires, Argentina - Argentina 1 - 0 Australia 17 November is also the name of a Marxist group in Greece, coinciding with the anniversary of the Athens Polytechnic uprising. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... Buenos Aires (English: Fair Winds; originally Ciudad de la Santísima Trinidad y Puerto de Santa María de los Buenos Aires, City of the Holy Trinity and Port of Saint Mary of the Fair Winds) is the capital of Argentina and its largest city and port, and one of... Image File history File links Flag_of_Argentina. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Australia. ...

Argentina qualified.

Qualified teams

Qualifying countries

Team	Appearance	Streak	Previous appearance
Argentina	11th	6	1990
Belgium	9th	4	1990
Bolivia	3rd	1	1950
Brazil	15th	15	1990
Bulgaria	6th	1	1986
Cameroon	3rd	2	1990
Colombia	3rd	2	1990
Germany (c)	13th(1)	11(1)	1990(1)
Greece	1st	1	-
Italy	13th	9	1990
Korea Republic	4th	3	1990
Mexico	10th	1	1986
Morocco	3rd	1	1986
Netherlands	6th	2	1990
Nigeria	1st	1	-
Norway	2nd	1	1938
Republic of Ireland	2nd	2	1990
Romania	6th	2	1990
Russia	1st(2)	1(2)	-(2)
Saudi Arabia	1st	1	-
Spain	9th	5	1990
Sweden	9th	2	1990
Switzerland	7th	1	1966
USA (h)	5th	2	1990

(h) - qualified automatically as hosts Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1357x628, 48 KB) FIFA World Cup 1994, made from Image:BlankMap-World-v5. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1357x628, 48 KB) FIFA World Cup 1994, made from Image:BlankMap-World-v5. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Argentina. ... The 1990 FIFA World Cup was designated by FIFA in 1984 to be held in Italy, making it the second country to host the event twice. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Belgium. ... The 1990 FIFA World Cup was designated by FIFA in 1984 to be held in Italy, making it the second country to host the event twice. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Bolivia_(state). ... Qualifying countries The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the only one not decided by a knockout final. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Brazil. ... The 1990 FIFA World Cup was designated by FIFA in 1984 to be held in Italy, making it the second country to host the event twice. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Bulgaria_(bordered). ... Qualifying countries The 1986 Football World Cup was held in Mexico from May 31 to June 29. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Cameroon. ... The 1990 FIFA World Cup was designated by FIFA in 1984 to be held in Italy, making it the second country to host the event twice. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Colombia. ... The 1990 FIFA World Cup was designated by FIFA in 1984 to be held in Italy, making it the second country to host the event twice. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany. ... The 1990 FIFA World Cup was designated by FIFA in 1984 to be held in Italy, making it the second country to host the event twice. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Greece. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... The 1990 FIFA World Cup was designated by FIFA in 1984 to be held in Italy, making it the second country to host the event twice. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_South_Korea_(bordered). ... The 1990 FIFA World Cup was designated by FIFA in 1984 to be held in Italy, making it the second country to host the event twice. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Mexico. ... Qualifying countries The 1986 Football World Cup was held in Mexico from May 31 to June 29. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Morocco. ... Qualifying countries The 1986 Football World Cup was held in Mexico from May 31 to June 29. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Netherlands. ... The 1990 FIFA World Cup was designated by FIFA in 1984 to be held in Italy, making it the second country to host the event twice. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Nigeria. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Norway. ... Qualifying countries The 1938 Football World Cup was played in France, the second tournament in a row to be played in Europe. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Ireland. ... The 1990 FIFA World Cup was designated by FIFA in 1984 to be held in Italy, making it the second country to host the event twice. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Romania. ... The 1990 FIFA World Cup was designated by FIFA in 1984 to be held in Italy, making it the second country to host the event twice. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Russia_(bordered). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Saudi_Arabia. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Spain. ... The 1990 FIFA World Cup was designated by FIFA in 1984 to be held in Italy, making it the second country to host the event twice. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Sweden. ... The 1990 FIFA World Cup was designated by FIFA in 1984 to be held in Italy, making it the second country to host the event twice. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Switzerland. ... Qualifying countries 1966 was a year of triumph for the host nation, England, which won the final beating West Germany 4-2. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... The 1990 FIFA World Cup was designated by FIFA in 1984 to be held in Italy, making it the second country to host the event twice. ...

(c) - qualified automatically as defending champions

The 1990 FIFA World Cup was designated by FIFA in 1984 to be held in Italy, making it the second country to host the event twice. ...

Notes

• Tragedy struck when the entire team of Zambia was killed on a plane crash in Gabon carrying them to a qualifier against Senegal.The nation virtually had to build a new team from scratch, but the new team was a formidable opponent, missing USA 1994 by one point
• San Marino’s Davide Gualtieri scored the fastest goal ever in World Cup competiton: the opener against England after just 8.3 seconds [2], although England went on to win the game 7-1. The English radio commentary on that day went like this: "Welcome to Bologna on Capital Gold for England versus San Marino with Tennent's Pilsner, brewed with Czechoslovakian yeast for that extra Pilsner taste...and England are one down."
• Emil Kostadinov scored the Bulgaria's winner against France in the dying seconds of their last World Cup qualifier in November 1993 at Parc des Princes. Bulgaria got the points and qualified for the finals, while denying France a ticket, as they would have qualified with a draw. The team was heavily criticized for the loss, especially David Ginola, who mistakenly gave Kostadinov the pass that would lead to the goal. Because of this, Ginola was never called for the French squad again.
• Japan also conceded a last-minute goal against Iraq in their final match, thus denying themselves a place in the finals and handing the spot to their rivals South Korea. The episode is called the Agony of Doha in Japan.

David Gualtieri (born 1971 in San Marino) was a San Marino international footballer. ... Bologna (pronounced , from Latin Bononia, Bulåggna in the local dialect) is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy, in the Pianura Padana, between the Po River and the Apennines, exactly, between Reno River and Sàvena River. ... Capital Gold, started in London in 1988 on Capital FMs AM frequency. ... Tennents is a popular Scottish lager brewed at the Wellpark Brewery (EST.1556) in Glasgow. ... Pilsener or pilsner is a type of lager beer. ... Czechoslovakia (Czech: Československo, Slovak: Česko-Slovensko/before 1990 Československo) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1918 until early 1993 (with government-in-exile during the World War II period). ... Emil Kostadinov (born August 12, 1967 in Sofia) is a Bulgarian football striker. ... The Parc des Princes (translation: Princes Park) is a 48527 capacity stadium in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. ... David Ginola (born January 25, 1967 in Gassin) is a former French international football (soccer) player and also a model. ... The Agony of Doha ) is a term used by fans of Japanese national football team to refer to the qualification match for the 1994 FIFA World Cup between Japan and Iraq, held in Doha, Qatar on October 28, 1993. ...

External links

• FIFA World Cup Official Site - 1994 World Cup Qualification
• RSSSF - 1994 World Cup Qualification