How do teams qualify for the World Cup?

With the World Cup inching ever closer to starting, here’s how the countries actually qualify for the prestigious competition.

World Cup qualification can be a long, arduous process that seems to last for years, partially because, well, it does last for years. The earliest start date for qualifying between six confederations was in March 2015 in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The latest qualifying start date was Union of European Football Associates (UEFA) began in September of 2016. All the federations ended on November 2017.

So how does a country qualify for the World Cup? There are hundreds of countries around the world that would love a place in the biggest sporting even in the world, so how is it whittled down to just 32?

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The basic answer is very simple and self-explanatory: win. The smallest country in the world could, potentially, participate in the World Cup if they win enough games.

There are six confederations bound by location that have countries that can qualify: Africa, Asia, North/Central America and Caribbean, South America, Oceania and Europe. However, every federation has a finite amount of spots available for qualification.

AFC: 4.5
CAF: 5
CONCACAF: 3.5
CONMEBOL: 4.5
OFC: 0.5
UEFA: 13+1

The smaller countries go through an initial round of games and the top portion go onto the next. Eventually, the countries are narrowed down and compete against each other in groups or in one large table similar to club/league play. The top points earners in each region will qualify for the World Cup.

Generally, the same few countries always make it out of their respective group. Germany, Spain and France all made it through UEFA qualification with ease, as did Brazil in CONMEBOL and Mexico did in CONCACAF.