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WHAT'S DIFFERENT IN QUALIFYING FOR 2006?
There are a few major differences you should know about. First, the defending champions had to qualify. Brazil didn't get an automatic berth. Second, as of THU 01 JUL 2004, golden goal overtime sessions can no longer be played, as specified at the 2004 meeting of the International Football Association Board. Although one match [in CAF first round series 18] was already decided on a golden goal, the regulations have now been amended so that any overtime periods go the full 30 minutes. Third, qualifying began earlier. Three confederations had begun already when the preliminary draw was made. And fourth, head to head is now the first tiebreaker. When teams are tied on points, they will be separated on results against one another before goal difference.
WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?
This is the 2006 Men's World Cup of football. It's held every four years, and it exists to determine the best men's national football team in the world.
HOW DOES THE FINAL TOURNAMENT WORK?
This time, the final tournament is in Germany from FRI 09 JUN 2006 to SUN 09 JUL 2006. 32 teams will play, drawn into eight groups. They'll play everyone else in their group once: that's three matches. They get three points when they win, one when they draw, and nothing when they lose. So the top two teams in each group move through to the elimination phase. Then they eliminate one another until we're down to the final match. [And the semifinal losers get to play in the third place match the day before the final.] Here's the match schedule for Germany 2006.
HOW DOES QUALIFYING WORK?
FIFA's got 204 member nations, and most of them entered qualifying. But only 32 of them can play in Germany. They played qualifying tournaments within their own regional confederation, each of which has been allocated a certain number of places.
HOW MANY PLACES DO THE CONFEDERATIONS HAVE?
Some of them have an integer number of places. There are also half integer numbers: the fifth team in the AFC had a playoff against the fourth team in CONCACAF, and the fifth team in CONMEBOL had a playoff against the winner in the OFC.
HOW DOES UEFA QUALIFYING WORK?
UEFA qualifying opened with all 51 participating teams in the group phase. There were eight groups, and the winners qualified directly. Out of the second place finishers, we looked at 1-3-4-5-6 results, meaning we add up their points against teams who finished first and third through sixth in their groups. The two best second place finishers also qualified, and then the other six were drawn into playoffs against one another.
HOW DOES CAF QUALIFYING WORK?
CAF qualifying began with the first round, wherein 42 teams played off in pairs. The 21 winners joined up with nine teams who earned byes into the second round. These teams played in five groups of six, and the group winners qualified. [By the way, the top three teams in each group also qualified for the 2006 African Nations Cup.]
HOW DOES AFC QUALIFYING WORK?
AFC qualifying started with the first round, with fourteen teams paired up. The seven winners joined 25 byed teams in the second round. The eight winners of the four team groups were drawn into two more groups in the third round. Here, the top two in each group qualified, and the third placed teams met in the playoff. The winner played off against the fourth placed team in CONCACAF.
HOW DOES CONCACAF QUALIFYING WORK?
CONCACAF qualifying began with the first round, with all 34 participating teams. There were twelve groups, each with a seeded team and one or two unseeded teams. If there were two, they played off first. Then, the winner met the seeded team. The winners went to the semifinal round, with three groups from which the top two advanced. These six teams were in a single group in the final round: the top three qualified, and the fourth placed team met the AFC's playoff winner.
HOW DOES CONMEBOL QUALIFYING WORK?
CONMEBOL qualifying started with the group phase. The ten teams all played around, and the top four qualified. The number five team met the winner of the OFC qualifying tournament.
HOW DOES OFC QUALIFYING WORK?
OFC qualifying opened with the first round, with ten teams in two groups. The top two in each group went to a single group in the second round along with two byed teams. The top two went head to head again in the third round, and the winner played off against the fifth placed team in CONMEBOL. [By the way, the top two in the second round also met head to head in the final of the 2004 OFC Nations Cup.]
WHAT IF THERE'S A TIE?
If a two leg series between two teams is tied on aggregate goals, the tiebreaker is away goals: whoever scored more goals when they were the visiting team wins. If that's tied too, the second leg is followed immediately by a thirty minute overtime period, and then a penalty shootout if needed.
If teams are tied in a group, here are the tiebreakers:
- Total points against tied teams
- Goal difference against tied teams
- Goals scored against tied teams
- Goal difference against all teams in the group
- Goals scored against all teams in the group
If these tiebreakers don't do it, the teams will play a single match at a neutral venue. At the final tournament, if teams cannot be separated, lots will be drawn at random.
Observe this article at FIFAworldcup.com for another rundown of the tiebreaking procedures, including why fair play makes a difference in UEFA.
WHEN ARE PLAYERS SUSPENDED?
A red card earns a player an automatic suspension for the next qualifying match. A player is also suspended for one match for every second yellow card accumulated. The list of accumulated yellow cards is erased at the start of the World Cup and at the end of the group phase.
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