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The qualification for the greatest event on the planet is a complex task. With around 180 teams battling for just 32 spots, you can never predict what might happen.
So, here is a list of 5 often ignored teams who still have a very good theoretical chance of playing in next year’s World Cup.
# 5 – Venezuela – CONMEBOL (South America)
History : Venezuela are the only South American team to have never made it to the World Cup. They often went through the entire qualification without registering a single win. But with the increasing popularity of Football, the Venezuelan team has been doing well in the last 2-3 years, reaching the semifinals of the 2011 Copa America and rising to No.36 in the FIFA rankings.
Format of Qualification - The CONMEBOL region has 10 teams and since Brazil are the hosts, they gain automatic qualification. The remaining 9 teams will fight it out for 4 spots. The fifth placed team in CONMEBOL will play a play-off against the 5th placed AFC (Asian) qualification team to determine the final entrant to the World Cup.
How can Venezuela qualify – Direct entry is out of the question for Venezuela. They now have 16 points from 13 matches with three more matches to play. The top four teams, Argentina, Columbia, Ecuador and Chile are very much safe, all having 21 or more points.
Venezuela is currently 6th in the table with Uruguay, with the last year’s semifinalists occupying the 5th spot (the playoff spot) with the same number of points.
But if Venezuela can get a win in at least two of their three remaining matches, they will snatch the 5th place from Uruguay and can gain an entry to the play-offs probably against teams like Oman, Uzbekistan or Australia against whom they will have a realistic chance.
But kicking out Uruguay, one of the most successful teams in South America, would be a mighty task for this minnows.
Players to watch out – The strikers are Venezuela’s major strength. Jose Salamon Rondon who plays for FC Rubin Kazan has a great physical presence and has scored some very important goals during qualification. Despite being 33, Juan Arango still remains Venezuela’s poster boy. He has played more than 180 games for Mallorca scoring 45 goals from the midfield. He currently plays for Borussia Mönchengladbach and helped them qualify for the Champions League playoffs last season.
# 4 – Oman – AFC (Asia)
History : Oman is a country whose Football Association was established only in 2005. They began qualifying for the Asian Cup only after 2004 and have never had a chance for qualifying to the World Cup. But today, on paper, they still have a good chance to make it to Brazil.
Format of qualification - Two groups of five teams and the two top placed teams in each group gain direct entries. The two third placed teams fight it off for the fifth spot and the winner faces off against the 5th placed CONMEBOL team.
Oman are currently placed 3rd in Group B with only one point behind Australia. If Australia slip in their final match against Iraq, and if Oman manage to beat Jordon, they will gain direct entry.
How can Oman qualify - If they do not gain direct entry and if they remain in the third place, they will first have to fight it against the third placed team in another AFC group (most probably Uzbekistan) and if they win, they will have to play against the 5th placed CONMEBOL team (like mentioned above, it could be Uruguay or Venezuela).
The chances of Oman qualifying through play-offs are pretty slim but if they manage to win their last match, and if Australia slip even a bit, they will gain direct entry into a competition that they have only dreamt about.
Players to watch out – Their strongest player without a doubt is their Captain, Wigan Athletic‘s stopper, Ali Al-Habsi. Amad Al-Hosni, a striker who plays for Al-Ahli, a major team in the Saudi Premier League is their best scorer netting 40 goals in 90 appearances.
# 3 – Congo – CAF (Africa)
History – Congo is another African team that has never made it to the World Cup finals. But now, they top their group and are certain to make it to the final stage of qualification from the CAF region. Congo had earlier won the African Cup of Nations in 1972.
Format of qualification - 40 teams, 10 groups of four each, and the winners of each group move to the next round of playoffs. In the next round, 5 two-legged knockout matches will be played. The winners of these matches will gain the 5 CAF spots to Brazil.
How can Congo qualify - They have already won their relatively easy group comprising Burkina Faso, Gabon and Niger. So, they will make it to the final round of two-legged knockout matches. The draw to that has still not been made but given Congo’s form, most teams would find it difficult to beat them.
So, if Congo manage to avoid powerhouses like Ivory Coast or Egypt, they will have a great chance at making it to the finals at Brazil.
Players to watch out – Delvin N’Dinga who plays for AS Monaco is an exciting talent. He starts in a defensive midfield position and can win back balls. Oscar Ewalo who plays in the French 2nd division is also a very good player. Christopher Samba is the most famous player from Congo and is a seasoned English Premier League player. He is also their captain.
# 2 – Malawi – CAF (Africa)
History – They have never play at any World Cup and have qualified for the African Nations Cup only twice. But if they can win one more match in their group, they will have a realistic chance of making it to the finals.
Format of Qualification - Same as Congo’s. Malawi too are a team from the CAF region.
How can Malawi Qualify - To gain a place into the 5 two-legged knockout stages of CAF qualification, you have to win your group.Malawi are now second placed in the group with Nigeria, who lead the group with 10 points, along with Namibia and Kenya, who don’t have a chance.
There is still one more matchday where Malawi, who have 9 points will face the leaders Nigeria who have 10 points. Nigeria are one of the strongest CAF teams, but the last team these two teams met, Malawi managed to get a draw. If they can summon all their strengths, they could pull off an upset and gain an entry to the third and final round.
Assuming they qualify, their chances in the next round playoffs would still be very low but they will may just pull it off again. Will this small country with absolutely no experience or expectations make it to the finals of the World Cup? We’ll know it on September 6th where a knockout between Nigeria and Malawi awaits us.
Players to watch out – Joseph Kamwendo, a midfielder, who has played for major teams in Malawi and South Africa is one of Malawi’s star players. He made his international debut when he was just 17 years old and has been present there ever since. Striker Esau Kanyenda who plays for Polokwane City FC, South Africa is one of Malawi’s most established players having played in Russia amongst other countries.
# 1 – Montenegro – UEFA (Europe)
History – Montenegro detached itself from Serbia only after the 2006 World Cup and are one of the youngest nations in the overall qualification process. They were not eligible for the 2008 Euros and failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. But now they have a great chance to qualify to the Brazil World Cup.
Format of qualification - UEFA qualification is a complex process. There will be eight groups of six teams and only one group with five teams. The winners of these nine groups will gain direct entry.
Now, there will be nine 2nd placed teams one from each group, but one group had only five teams. So, after all matches get over, the results that these second placed teams obtained against the last placed team in their group will be eliminated (to bring a balance between all teams). After this, the best eight teams from the nine groups will be taken into the next round play-offs.
In the play-offs, four two-legged knockout matches will take place, and the winners of these knockouts will move to the finals at Brazil.
How Montenegro can qualify - Montenegro has a chance to qualify directly as the winner of the group without having to go through all the above explained complications. They are in Group H along and England, and Ukraine are their strongest competition. Montenegro have 14 points from 7 games while England and Ukraine have 12 and 11 points with a game in hand.
However, England and Ukraine have a match against each other, which could be a plus to Montenegro. Then, Montenegro have a match against England and if they win in that match, they would pretty much guarantee themselves a spot in the finals. With England and Ukraine having four more matches and Montenegro having to play 3 more matches, this could be one of the most open groups in the qualification process.
If Montenegro qualify directly, it would be a mammoth achievement for this team.
And as of now, England are the worst second placed team amongst all groups (after eliminating their result against the bottom placed team in the group). So, if the draws were made today, England would not qualify for the World Cup.
Players to watch out - Montenegro’s success is because of their striking prowess. Their forward line is led by the pairing of Juventus striker Mirko Vucinic and Fiorentina’s Stevan Jovetic. Both of them are deadly with great skills, and on their day, they could take down any team.
