Nigeria, France, Portugal & the nations that have qualified for the World Cup
Nov 21, 2013 1:00:00 AM
Goal lines up all 32 of the teams that will battle it out next summer for the most prestigious prize in football
With the completion of the European and African play-offs, as well as the intercontinental ties between New Zealand and Mexico, and Uruguay and Jordan, we now know the identity of every participant in the 2014 World Cup.
Tuesday's games saw Portugal book their ticket for next summer's tournament at the expense of Sweden, as Cristiano Ronaldo netted four goals over two matches to help his side to a 4-2 aggregate win.
France, meanwhile, completed an impressive comeback at the Stade de France as they beat Ukraine 3-0 to overturn their 2-0 surprise loss from last Friday.
Elsewhere, Croatia eliminated Iceland as they recorded a 2-0 home win after a scoreless draw in the first leg last week. The final European ticket went to Greece, who sealed qualification with a 1-1 draw versus Romania after a 3-1 first-leg victory.
In Africa, Nigeria became the first team to make it to next year's finals as they beat Ethiopia 2-0 at the weekend to make it 4-1 on aggregate. Cote d'Ivoire also booked their ticket on Saturday as they held Senegal to a 1-1 draw following their first-leg win.
On Sunday, Cameroon qualified with a 4-1 home win over Tunisia, while Ghana eliminated Egypt 7-3 on aggregate despite their 2-1 defeat on Tuesday. Finally, Algeria sealed their World Cup berth following a 1-0 home-win over Burkina Faso that saw them qualify on away goals.
Wednesday's intercontinental play-off between Mexico and New Zealand then saw the former become the penultimate team to reach next summer's tournament. A 4-2 away-win more than proved enough after a heavy 5-1 victory in the first leg.
Later in the day, two-time champions Uruguay were surprisingly held to a 0-0 draw by Jordan in Montevideo, but still cruised through 5-0 on aggregate to become the 32nd and final side to qualify for next summer's finals in Brazil.
