World Cup European Qualifying: Group-by-Group Guide to How Things Stand
The competition may be a little under two years away but World Cup fever is well and truly in full swing with qualifying now underway.
October brings more qualification action and it’s now that the tournament’s make-up begins to take shape—the UEFA group stage is but one facet of the fight to make it to Rio.
With the exception of just a few nations, most UEFA hopefuls have already played two of their group games, giving us an early interpretation of just who might make the cut.
Before we enjoy what October has to offer us, it’s important that we consider exactly what we’ve seen so far and how each country is faring in their journey to the 2014 World Cup.
Group A
1 of 9The only group to contain two British nations, Group A remains wide open in terms of who we might see advance but is looking slightly more assured with who might see the drop.
Wales have no points after two matches and have conceded an average of four goals per game, sticking them firmly at the bottom of the pile.
Group A also consists of three countries that used to be a part of the former Yugoslavia—Croatia, Serbia and Macedonia—making for some promising encounters.
Serbia sit atop the pool thanks to their 6-1 thrashing of Wales but are level on points with both Belgium and Croatia as things stand.
Many look upon Belgium as an emerging power on the international level given the amount of their players that feature in elite European leagues, but now need to prove those predictions correct and form as a unit.
The Taming of the Dragon: Despite the tragedy of Gary Speed’s death in 2011, many were under the impression that the good work the former Premier League star had put in meant a bright future for Wales.
However, Chris Coleman has failed to pick up where Speed left off and there’s an evident gulf in quality between Wales and their competitors, although stars such as Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey are a joy to watch at times.
Qualification Dark Horses: It’s hard to look past Belgium as the dark horses of this group. Croatia have featured in three of the last four World Cups and Serbia successfully competed in South Africa even though they only played their first fixture as an independent country in 2006.
Belgium haven’t played in a major international tournament since 2002 and, judging by their quality of football at times, certainly have what it takes to make it to 2014.
As things stand, the Belgians sit in second, level on points with Serbia and Croatia, and just need one vital result to claim that edge over their opponents.
Group B
2 of 9After making it to the final of Euro 2012, it’s no wonder that Italy have realised an early grip on Group B matters and currently head the race.
Cesare Prandelli’s side managed to draw their match in Bulgaria and eased to a 2-0 win when they welcomed Malta to Modena in September.
However, Bulgaria remain within touching distance of the 2006 World Champions and will be looking to stage a Group B upset, rather than settling for a second-placed finish and risk not making it to Rio.
At the other end of the spectrum, Malta are yet to earn a point and are living up to the expectations they held as whipping boys heading into this qualification campaign.
Slow Starters: Having only played one fixture (against each other), it’s understandable that Denmark and the Czech Republic remain down in third and fourth spot, respectively.
However, both were impressive in the European Championships earlier in 2012 and held their own against bigger opposition when the occasion called for it.
Czech Republic missed out on the 2010 World Cup and are hoping to appear in their second finals after making their debut in 2006.
Group C
3 of 9Team | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 6 | |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
It’s difficult to see past a Germany romp to victory in Group C and Joachim Löw’s outfit have already gone about things in a dominant fashion thus far.
The three-time world champions are three points ahead of the nearest opposition and it would seem that the group’s other five inhabitants are in a race for second place.
Löw is fortunate to have an incredibly youthful side that averaged just over 23 years old when they travelled to Euro 2012. Despite their lack of years, the Germans don’t have a lack of experience and are all performing at the top level in the Bundesliga and La Liga.
Sweden and the Republic of Ireland both featured at Euro 2012 and are three points behind leaders Germany at this stage. However, the Bavarians have played one more match than the aforementioned two, opening up the door for an upset when Germany travel to Dublin and Solna.
Three-Horse Race: It is, of course, too early to make such early predictions, but recent displays would suggest that the Faroe Islands and Kazakhstan will have a hard time being anything but spectators this time around.
Austria are fortunate to have a host of youthful talent, but their home loss against Germany might suggest that they’re still just a touch off the pace to mount a serious qualifying challenge.
Group D
4 of 9Prior to the beginning of qualification proceedings, Bert van Marwijk marked out Turkey as his side’s “top opponents” and Holland established an early dominance over the Crescent Stars with a 2-0 victory in Amsterdam.
However, it would seem Holland aren’t the only team to watch in Group D, after Romania won their first two fixtures against Andorra and Estonia to go level at the top with the Oranje.
Hungary and Turkey have both won one of their two opening matches but lost the other, drawing them level in the middle of the table, while both Estonia and Andorra are yet to claim a point between them.
One to Watch: The battle between Romania and the Netherlands at the summit of Group D is bound to take its first turn later this month when the two nations clash in the next international break.
With Louis van Gaal now at the helm, Holland travel to Bucharest on the 16th October hoping to put some distance between them and the Tricolours, but are we in store for an upset?
Group E
5 of 9Just about as open as any of the nine UEFA qualifying groups, Group E technically has four sides currently tied for second spot, separated only by goal difference.
Iceland, Albania, Cyprus and Norway have all won and lost a game each and are all realistic candidates for qualification, making for a particularly interesting pool, albeit not displaying the highest quality of football.
Meanwhile, Switzerland sit pretty at the top of the table after winning their first two matches against Albania and the bottom-ranked side, Slovenia. The Slovenians made a stubborn appearance at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa but have failed to build on that showing so far.
The Swiss have taken part in the last two World Cup competitions and are fortunate to have a raft of young talent emerging through their ranks at the moment. Players such as Xherdan Shaqiri, Granit Xhaka and Valentin Stocker will undoubtedly be invaluable to the country in two years' time.
Group F
6 of 9Team | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 | |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 6 | |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
A two-horse race if ever there was one it would seem, Group F will seemingly be won by either Russia or Portugal, both of whom were impressive at Euro 2012.
So far, none of Group F’s other residents have been able to stand up to the pair as Portugal have seen off Azerbaijan and Luxembourg while the likes of Northern Ireland and Israel just weren’t enough for the Russians.
When the two table leaders weren’t concerned, the other four countries have been permitted to scrape points against each other, but all sit five points behind the real powerhouses of the pool.
Russia currently sit at the head of the group due to a superior goal difference and the first meeting with Portugal on 12 October 2012 promises to expose who is truly the weaker of the two.
Israel may be placed at the bottom of the group as things stand, but have the potential to throw up an upset when playing with the home advantage. Northern Ireland can be a similar obstacle but Michael O’Neill is finding it tough at the helm of the team.
Players to Watch: Portugal and Russia’s squads are both packed with talent that allowed them to advance past the group stages of the last European Championships.
The Portuguese obviously boast the world-beating talents of Cristiano Ronaldo but also have the likes of Joao Moutinho and Nani in midfield while Pepe brings some defensive steel.
Russia are pinning the future of their nation’s hopes on CSKA Moscow starlet Alan Dzagoev, but also have a lot of quality right now.
Igor Akinfeev and Alexander Anyukov are both defensive stalwarts while Andrey Arshavin has a habit of performing magnificently in country colours.
Group G
7 of 9Team | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 6 | |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 6 | |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 0 | |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 0 |
Usually in these qualifying groups, it’s easy to pick out a number of teams that are just certain not to make it, but Group G is a prime example of the exact opposite. In fact, Liechtenstein are the only real outsiders unlikely to be springing any surprises.
That would leave us with Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Greece and Bosnia-Herzegovina to battle it out for the automatic qualifying place.
The Slovaks made their World Cup debut in 2010 and are looking at Rio 2014 as the possibility of making it to the finals twice in a row.
Stanislav Griga’s outfit only drew in Lithuania, meaning they can’t afford to drop any points against the group’s two leaders lest they risk falling out of qualification contention altogether.
Greece are two-time participants at the World Cup and have started qualification impressively, bagging two wins from two.
However, the most impressive start has to belong to Bosnia-Herzegovina whose record is spotless—and a goal difference of +10 is like having another point. An 8-1 win in Liechtenstein was truly dominant and marks them as the team to beat in this pool.
Group H
8 of 9Team | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 4 | |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 4 | |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 4 | |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
England may have begun their qualification process in imperious style with a 5-0 win over Moldova, but Ukraine proved troublesome for the Three Lions and managed to snatch an invaluable point at Wembley.
The Yellow-Blues managed to make it to the 2006 World Cup and are one of two sides to have played only one match so far in Group H, giving them a slight edge over their opponents.
The other team to have only played once in this group is San Marino, although it would be a shock if they or Moldova managed to get even a point in their futile qualification attempts.
Roy Hodgson’s England will always be looked at as favourites to win a group like this but the Ukraine match prove that the English are far from invincible and could be surprised by the talent possessed by the likes of Poland and Montenegro, who are tied at the top of the group.
Irrepressible Force: Despite their lack of conviction when the tournaments actually begin, England can’t be looked upon as anything other than likely to progress from this group.
The Englishmen made it to the 2010 World Cup with two games to spare and have featured in seven of the last eight World Cups.
Roy Hodgson is trying out a bevy of new English talent in his qualifiers so far and we could be set to see a variety of fresh faces on the international scene in the coming months.
Group I
9 of 9The only group with just five participants, we can already look at Group I and know which two will struggle against one another for top spot.
That isn’t to say that an underdog story isn’t appreciated, but France and Spain are just too powerful for the likes of Georgia, Finland and Belarus and it’s already showing.
The Belarusians have already played twice and have so far failed to pick up a point alongside Finland, who have a goal difference advantage.
Georgia are in third with a win under their belts but have played a game more than second-placed Spain.
The clashes between Spain and France will be particularly entertaining views, showing us who makes it into the finals automatically and who has to rely on a second round win.
French Revolution: In their last two major international tournaments, Les Bleus have made it a point to crumble in sensational style for one reason or another.
In South Africa, there was a mutiny within the French camp that prevented any form of teamwork and togetherness, while a simple capitulation was the reason behind the failure of Euro 2012.
This time around, France have the opportunity to get into the tournament at the expense of the world champions, providing them with a real chance to make their statement prior to official proceedings in Rio.
All tables are owned by and come courtesy of FIFA.com.
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