World Cup Qualifying Playoff Weekend Infographics
Qualification for the World Cup is a long, often complicated journey. However, the road to Brazil 2014 is almost complete.
Over the last three days, we have seen 14 teams in action across seven games, with several results still hanging in the balance. Nigeria, the Ivory Coast and Cameroon became the first three African nations to book their places in next summer's tournament, with two spots still to be decided in the CAF region.
Next week, Europe's four remaining berths will be filled, as the UEFA teams battle it out in the second leg of deciding matches. Two places are also still available in the intercontinental play-offs: Jordan vs. Uruguay and Mexico vs. New Zealand.
Over the following slides, we take a look back at the weekend's World Cup Qualifying play-offs and present some of the most interesting facts and statistics as infographics.
Arranged in chronological order, we begin with Friday's European ties and work through to Saturday and Sunday's all-African match-ups.
Iceland vs. Croatia
1 of 8
We kick off the slideshow with a look back at Friday's 0-0 stalemate between Iceland and Croatia.
As the infographic from the BBC Sport website shows, Croatia had a lot more time on the ball. Niko Kovac's side enjoyed 68 per cent of possession and registered 14 shots, with six shots on target—in comparison with Iceland's four shots, all of which were off target.
Lars Lagerback's side were lucky to hold on. After having Olafur Skulason sent off in the 49th minute, the hosts were forced to play with 10 men for the rest of the game.
The second leg is in Zagreb on Tuesday. If Iceland qualify for the 2014 World Cup, they will be the first country with a population of less than one million to play in the competition.
Portugal vs. Sweden
2 of 8
As expected, there was little to separate the two sides when Sweden travelled to the Estadio da Luz to take on Portugal last Friday.
As the infographic from Whoscored.com demonstrates, Portugal just edged out the first leg of their World Cup qualifier.
The home side had more shots and a greater percentage of possession than the visitors, who only registered six shots in total.
In an era when both sides are dependent largely upon their respective star players, in Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, it's perhaps fitting that a strike from the former in the 82nd minute was the only goal of the game.
The second leg will take place on Tuesday in Stockholm. Maybe this will be Ibrahimovic's time to shine.
Greece vs. Romania
3 of 8
Two goals from Olympiacos striker Kostas Mitroglou helped Greece to a 3-1 win over Romania last Friday.
Mitroglou, currently top scorer in the Greek Super League, notched a goal in either half in a game where his side converted 30 per cent of their shots on goal.
As the Whoscored.com graphic shows, Greece had 10 attempts on goal, with eight of those chances coming through open play.
Most of the action happened in the first 20 minutes of the game, when the home side scored two goals and Bogdan Stancu pulled one back for the visitors.
In the 66th minute, Mitroglou put the game beyond Romania's grasp. The two teams will meet for the second leg on Tuesday, at the Bucharest National Arena.
Ukraine vs. France
4 of 8
If France cannot beat the Ukraine this week, it will be the first time they have not qualified for the World Cup in 20 years.
Following last Friday's 2-0 defeat at the hands of the Ukraine, Didier Deschamp's men face an uphill battle in the second leg, which will be played on Tuesday at the Stade de France.
The graphic above, from FIFA.com, offers an overview of Les Bleus performances during the World Cup qualification process, where they have scored 15 goals and conceded eight during the group stage.
The Ukraine have not lost away from home in their last 11 games, including international friendlies.
Nigeria vs. Ethiopia
5 of 8
After beating Ethiopia 2-0 on Sunday, Nigeria became the first African nation to cement their place in Brazil for the 2014 World Cup.
A penalty from Liverpool'sVictor Moses (on loan from Chelsea) opened the scoring, with a strike from Victor Obinna sealing the win for Stephen Keshi's side, who won 4-1 on aggregate.
As the results from FIFA.com show above, the Super Eagles were unbeaten in all of their qualifying matches.
Keshi's Nigeria also won the African Cup of Nations in 2013. Expect big things from his side next summer.
Senegal vs. Ivory Coast
6 of 8
The Ivory Coast booked their spot at the 2014 World Cup, after drawing 1-1 with Senegal on Sunday.
The Elephants won the first leg play-off 3-1 but were trailing a goal to nil against Senegal, until a late equaliser from former Chelsea man Salomon Kalou secured their passage to Brazil.
As the FIFA.com graphic above shows, Sabri Lamouchi's team had an impressive record that involved no losses during the qualifying campaign.
Cameroon vs. Tunisia
7 of 8
Cameroon have qualified for the World Cup, following a resounding 4-1 win against Tunisia in Yaounde.
Pierre Webo opened the scoring for the Indomitable Lions after three minutes, with Benjamin Moukandjo notching a second on the half-hour mark. Tunisia pulled one back in the 51st minute, before Jean Makoun found the back of the net in the 65th and 86th minute.
As shown on the FIFA.com graphic above, Cameroon became the third African nation to seal their passage to next year's tournament.
The final two spots are up for grabs, with Egypt and Ghana set to lock horns in Cairo and Burkina Faso travelling to Blida to take on Algeria. Both matches will take place on November 19.
Football Federations by the Numbers
8 of 8
This graphic, from FIFA.com, breaks down each football federations statistics for players used and goals scored.
A total of 2281 goals have been scored across 810 matches. With only ten games left to play, the World Cup is closer than ever.
Are you as excited as we are?
