WORLD CUP ’94 : WORLD CUP / USA 1994 : Road to the Finals : THE QUALIFYING GROUPS
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It took more than two years of qualifying matches for 22 national teams, of 140 entries, to earn a berth in the World Cup finals. The United States, as host, and Germany, as defending champion, qualified automatically, rounding out the 24-team field. Here is how the teams qualified:
EUROPE
38 entries (39 members, Liechtenstein withdrew)
Top two teams in each group qualify.
GROUP 1
WIN DRAW LOSS ITALY 7 2 1 SWITZERLAND 6 3 1 Portugal 6 2 2 Scotland 4 3 3 Malta 1 1 8 Estonia 0 1 9
*
GROUP 2
WIN DRAW LOSS NORWAY 7 2 1 HOLLAND 6 3 1 England 5 3 2 Poland 3 2 5 Turkey 3 1 6 San Marino 0 1 9
GROUP 3
WIN DRAW LOSS SPAIN 8 3 1 REP. IRELAND 7 4 1 Denmark 7 4 1 N. Ireland 5 3 2 Lithuania 2 3 7 Latvia 0 5 7 Albania 1 2 9
*
GROUP 4
WIN DRAW LOSS ROMANIA 7 1 2 BELGIUM 7 1 2 Czechoslovakia 4 5 1 Wales 5 2 3 Cyprus 2 1 7 Faroe Islands 0 0 10
*
GROUP 5
WIN DRAW LOSS GREECE 6 2 0 RUSSIA 5 2 1 Iceland 3 2 3 Hungary 2 1 5 Luxembourg 0 1 7
*
GROUP 6
WIN DRAW LOSS SWEDEN 6 3 1 BULGARIA 6 2 2 France 6 1 3 Austria 3 2 5 Finland 2 1 7 Israel 1 3 6
*
AFRICA
37 entries (48 members)
Winners from each of the nine first-round groups qualify for the second round or three mini leagues of three teams each. Winners qualify for finals.
GROUP A
WIN DRAW LOSS NIGERIA 2 1 1 Ivory Coast 2 1 1 Algeria 0 2 2
*
GROUP B
WIN DRAW LOSS MOROCCO 3 0 1 Zambia 2 1 1 Senegal 0 1 3
*
GROUP C
WIN DRAW LOSS CAMEROON 3 0 1 Zimbabwe 2 0 2 Guinea 1 0 3
*
CONCACAF:
23 entries (27 members; Cuba withdrew)
Preliminary and first rounds determine the teams in second round. Winners and runners-up in second round advance to final round. Winner advances to finals. Runner-up plays Oceania winner for right to play South America Group A runner-up for a place in the finals. (United States qualifies as host.)
GROUP A
WIN DRAW LOSS MEXICO 4 1 1 HONDURAS 4 1 1 Costa Rica 3 0 3 St. Vincent 0 0 6
*
GROUP B
WIN DRAW LOSS EL SALVADOR 4 1 1 CANADA 2 3 1 Jamaica 1 2 3 Bermuda 1 2 3
FINAL ROUND
WIN DRAW LOSS MEXICO 5 0 1 Canada (1) 3 1 2 El Salvador 2 0 4 Honduras 1 1 4
(1) Canada qualifies for playoff with Australia. Canada wins first leg, 2-1. Australia wins second leg, 2-1. Australia wins, 4-1, on penalty kicks to qualify for play-off with Argentina.
*
SOUTH AMERICA:
9 entries (10 members, Chile suspended)
Winners of Group A and winners and runner-up in Group B qualify for finals. Group A runner-up plays winner of CONCACAF/Oceania for a place in finals.
GROUP A
WIN DRAW LOSS COLOMBIA 4 2 0 ARGENTINA (1) 3 1 2 Paraguay 1 4 1 Peru 0 1 5
*
(1) Argentina qualifies for playoff with Australia. Argentina defeats Australia, 1-1 and 1-0,to advance to the finals.
GROUP B
WIN DRAW LOSS BRAZIL 5 2 1 BOLIVIA 5 1 2 Uruguay 4 2 2 Ecuador 1 3 4 Venezuela 1 0 7
ASIA:
29 entries (36 members)
The six group winners qualify for second round, to be played as (home and away) mini league. Winner and runner-up qualify for finals.
SECOND ROUND
WIN DRAW LOSS SAUDI ARABIA 2 3 0 SOUTH KOREA 2 2 1 Japan 2 2 1 Iraq 1 3 1 Iran 2 0 3 North Korea 1 0 4
