International qualifiers are often more than just football matches, but battles of identity, pride and perseverance. With varying stakes, qualifying tournaments have produced moments of extraordinary skill and courage that have captured the world’s imagination.
FIFA allocates a number of spots at each edition of the World Cup to each of its confederations, with the top teams in each zone automatically qualified and the remaining berths allocated to winners of intercontinental play-offs. The tournament has been expanded over the years, but the format has remained relatively unchanged.
The European qualifying process started this month, but with a large number of teams already in action for their Nations League groups, the first group stage qualifiers won’t be played until September — because fixture slots must be freed up for those matches. Six of the 12 groups have four or five teams, and those who finish in the top two will qualify for the World Cup. The other two runners-up will advance to the second round of qualifiers.
South America’s qualification tournament is a bit closer to completion, with Colombia and Bolivia fighting it out for one of the three automatic places at next summer’s World Cup, as well as an additional berth in the intercontinental playoff. Los Cafeteros currently hold a five point lead over Bolivia and four points over Venezuela, so they could seal the deal with a win over their rivals this week in Barranquilla.
Elsewhere, Harry Kane became England’s all-time leading goal scorer with a pair of goals in a 2-1 victory over Italy, while Dion Charles scored twice as Northern Ireland beat San Marino 2-0. The four top-two finishers in each of the nine African groups – along with the best two runners-up from each group who aren’t among those automatic qualifiers – will advance to the World Cup second round of qualifiers, which will see them compete in a two-legged play-off tie for two of the remaining places at the finals.