Countries that have qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2014
10 teams have booked their places in the 2014 FIFA World Cup (Getty Images)
Following the latest round of qualifiers, a total 10 teams have qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup which will be held in Brazil.
Below is a breakup of the teams that have qualified* from their continental associations:
UEFA:
Netherlands: A comfortable qualification campaign for the Dutch as they won all of their matches except for a draw away at Estonia to take their tally to 22 points from 8 games with two games to play. The Netherlands have scored 24 goals and conceded just 4 in the qualifiers.
Italy: The Azzurri, too, sealed their place in the 2014 World Cup finals with two games to spare as a 2-1 win over the Czech Republic gave them an unassailable lead at the top of Group B. The Italians have taken 20 points from eight games with 6 wins and 2 draws. They drew away in the Czech Republic and in Bulgaria.
CONMEBOL:
Brazil (Host): Brazil qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup automatically as the host nation.
Argentina: A 5-2 thrashing of Paraguay ensured Argentina topped the CONMEBOL group as they have 29 points from 14 games, including 8 wins, a draw and a solitary loss to Venezuela last October.
CONCACAF:
Unites States of America: A 3-1 loss against Costa Rica and a 2-0 win over Mexico during the international break booked USA’s ticket to the 2014 FIFA World Cup. They now have 16 points from 8 games and are assured of a finish in the top 3 of the CONCACAF group.
Costa Rica: Costa Rica beat USA 3-1 but their 1-1 draw with Jamaica took them to 15 points with two games to play – out of reach of 4th placed Panama who have 8 points. Costa Rica lost 4 matches (two each to Mexico and the USA) but did enough in their other matches to seal qualification.
AFC:
Japan: The AFC qualifiers finished in June and Japan topped group B with 5 wins, 2 draws and a loss that saw them gain 17 points during the campaign. They scored 16 goals, conceding just 5.
South Korea: South Korea finished second in Group A with 14 points from their 8 games including 4 wins and two draws. They lost 1-0 twice to group toppers Iran as they scored 13 goals and conceded 7 as they narrowly qualified automatically ahead of Uzbekistan thanks to a goal difference that was superior by one.
Australia: The Australians finished second in Group B with 13 points, 4 behind leaders Japan. The Socceroos won just 3 matches out of 8, playing out 4 draws and losing a match away to Jordan.
Iran: Iran topped group A by finishing two points ahead of South Korea and Uzbekistan with 16 points from their 8 matches. They won 5 matches and drew just one as their strong defense conceded just the two goals, keeping 6 clean sheets. But a toothless attack saw them score only 8 goals which included 4 in one match.
* This list will be updated as and when more countries qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brazil.