2014 World Cup Soccer in Brazil

Teams in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) were spit up into 3 groups: teams ranked 1 to 5 made it to the third round; teams ranked 6 to 27 made it to the second round; and teams ranked 28 and up compete in the first round.

In the third round the five automatic qualifiers will meet the 15 winners from the second round. Winners and runners-up of the third round will play in two groups of five which will culminate in the fifth round.

The top 2 teams from each of the 5 groups qualify for 2014 FIFA World Cup finals. Teams that end up in the 3rd place in round four compete with each other for the 5th qualifier. The fifth round winner will play CONMEBOL's fifth-placed team and the winner will qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals.

Teams in the Confederation of African Football (CAF) were split into two groups based on July 2011 FIFA rankings. Teams ranked between 1 to 28 qualified for the second round. Teams ranked 29 and up, compete in the first round which consists of two groups of 12 teams each.

In the second round the top 28 ranked teams meet the 12 winners of the first round. These teams placed in 10 groups of four teams will compete and winners of each group advance to the third round and five winning teams from the third round will advance to the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals.

Of the 53 teams that form the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), 13 teams will qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals. For the first round, the teams are segregated into 8 groups of 6 teams and 1 group of 5 teams from which 9 best teams qualify for to the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals. In the second round, eight runners-up compete with each other from which 4 teams qualify for the World Cup finals.

Teams in the Confederation of North, Central American & Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) confederation undergo a four round qualification format. Of the 35 teams, the first four highest ranking teams (based on the FIFA world rankings) move to the third round. Teams ranked 7 to 25 compete in the second round. And teams ranked 26 and up compete in the first round that consist of 2 groups of 5 teams each.

Winners of the first round compete with teams ranked 7 to 25 which are split up in 6 groups. The top 6 winners from the second round compete with top 6 ranked teams in the third round. In the fourth round, 3 winning teams along with 3 runners-up compete in one group.

The 3 winning teams from this round will advance to the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals. As well as, the 4th placed team competes with OFC's first-placed team in a home-and-away play-off and the winner qualifies for the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals.

Teams in the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) ranked 1 to 6 (based on FIFA world rankings) advance to the second round. Teams ranked 7 to 10 compete in 2 groups. Winners of first round proceed to the second round in which teams are seeded into 2 groups.

In the third round the four top teams compete in a double round-robin format. The winner of this qualification competes with CONCACAF's fourth-placed team and the winner of this match up qualifies for the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals.

Teams in the Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol in South America (CONMEBOL) compete twice with each of the other teams. The top four winners qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals.

The 5th placed team competes in the intercontinental play-offs of the 5th placed team from the AFC's World Cup qualifying tournament.

Arena Mineirão is located in the city of Belo Horizonte, translated as "Beautiful Horizon" in Portuguese.

This stadium is one of the existing six which will undergo an upgrade and has a planned capacity of approximately 70,000.

Belo Horizonte is surrounded by beautiful mountains and is known for its large parks, museums, cathedrals and contemporary architecture.

Photo: Wikipedia

Estádio Nacional de Brasília is located in Brasília which is the capital city of Brazil.

This stadium will be upgraded for the 2014 world cup and has a planned capacity of 71,500.

Brasília is known for its modern architecture and structures some of which have been designed by notable Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer.

It also houses some historic sties and museums.

Photo: Wikipedia

Arena Pantanal is located in the city of Cuiabá. This stadium is one of the six new stadium which will be built and is expected to have a capacity of 42,500.

Cuiabá is Brazil's hottest cities with temperatures often over 40 degrees Celsius. It is located amid three Brazilian ecosystems: Amazonia, Cerrado and Pantanal. It is known as the Southern gate to the Amazon.

The city is also known for its mixed and rich culture with Portuguese, African and Indian influences.

Photo: Wikipedia

Arena da Baixada is located in the city of Curitiba in southern Brazil. The stadium will be renovated for the Brazil 2014 and is expected to have a seating capacity of over 41,000 soccer fans.

Curtiba, which means "Pine Nut Land" in Portuguese, is the capital of the Brazilian state Paraná. It is surrounded by rocky hills and mountain ranges.

Some of the attractions in Curtiba are the botanical garden, forests, parks, museums and their unique carnival (a festive public parade held in March).

Photo: Wikipedia

Castelão is located in the city of Fortaleza. This is another stadium which will be upgraded and is expected to have a capacity of 66,700.

Fortaleza, which means "Fortress" in Portuguese, is located in northeastern Brazil. The city is known for its hot climate and sandy beaches, so it makes it a great tourist attraction.

Fortaleza being is one of the most popular tourist locations in Brazil, also attracts a high rate of violence, crime and prostitution.

Photo: Wikipedia

Arena da Amazônia is located in the city of Manaus which means "mother of gods". This is one of the six new stadiums which is being built and is expected to have a capacity of 50,000.

Manaus is the largest city in northern Brazil and has a tropical rainforest climate. The city is located in the Amazon which is home to over a third of all species in the world.

Major tourist attractions are the Amazon rainforests, wildlife, parks waterfalls, beaches and museums.

Photo: Wikipedia

Arena das Dunas is located in the city of Natal which translates "Christmas" in Portuguese. This stadium will be newly built and will hold a capacity of 45,000.

Natal is known to be the safest capital city in Brazil. Being the closest of the capital cities of Brazil to Europe and Africa, it attracts tourism from all over.

Some of the major tourist attractions are its natural parks, sandy beaches, coral reefs, the world's largest Cashew tree, museums and historic monuments.

Photo: Wikipedia

Estádio Beira-Rio is located in the city of Porto Alegre. This stadium once renovated and restored, is expected to have a capacity of 62,000.

Porto Alegre translates as "Happy Port" in Portuguese and is the southernmost capital city of Brazilian state. Being located at the intersection of 5 rivers, is has become an important port in Brazil.

This city is known for its historic architecture, museums, parks, botanical gardens and beaches.

Photo: Wikipedia

Arena Cidade da Copa is located in the city of Recife which means "Reef" in Portuguese.

Once completed, this new stadium will approximately hold over 46,000 capacity.

Recife is one of the most culturally diverse cities and prime business centers in Brazil.

The city has an international airport and two ports, shopping centers, museums and a number of beaches.

Photo: Wikipedia

Maracanã is located in the city of Rio de Janeiro. The stadium will be upgraded to accommodate a capacity of 90,000.

Rio de Janeiro which is translated as "River of January" in Portuguese, is the second largest city in Brazil. It is commonly referred to as Rio.

Rio is the most popular touristic location in South America. The city is famous for its beaches, Corcovado and Sugarloaf mountains, and the towering statue of "Christ the Redeemer".

Photo: Wikipedia

Fonte Nova is located in the city of Salvador which translates as "Savior" in Portuguese.

This stadium is being demolished and rebuilt. It will hold approximately 55,000 capacity.

The city was a former capital of Brazil and has a large African population.

Salvador is notable for its long coastal line and beaches. Other touristic attractions are parks, museums and theaters.

Photo: Wikipedia

Estádio do Morumbi is located in the city of São Paulo which translates as "St. Paul" in Portuguese. A decision has not yet been made with regards to using this stadium for the 2014 World Cup.

São Paulo is the largest and the most ethnically diverse cities in Brazil. It is also the financial capital of Brazil.

The city is notable for its skyscrapers, cultural events, many landmarks, shopping malls, diverse cuisine and museums.

Photo: Wikipedia

This is the official FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) website which will provide you detailed information on all the happenings in the world of soccer, especially the World Cup 2014.

This is the official FIFA news web page which keeps you abreast on the happenings and latest news of the 2014 World Cup.

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