© EuroFootball.com
During the draw for the European zone group stage of the World Cup qualifiers, the Lithuanian national team will be in the fourth out of six capacity baskets.
The compositions of the groups will be revealed on July 30 in Rio de Janeiro. The ceremony will start at 9 pm Lithuanian time.
The distribution of the baskets became clear after the publication of the FIFA ranking for the month of July, where our national team occupies the 58th place. Among the European teams, Raimondas Žutautas' pupils are ranked 31st, so they will definitely not face Bulgaria, Romania, Georgia, Albania, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Austria, and Poland in the same fourth basket.
Nine of the strongest teams from the Old Continent are in the first basket, the next lower nine in the second basket, and so on.
The teams will be divided into nine groups of six teams each. However, one group will have five teams (without one from the last basket) because UEFA unites 53 countries in total. The group winners automatically qualify for the World Cup, while the top 8 teams that finish in second place will compete for four additional tickets.
It is important to note that due to political disagreements, Russia and Georgia, as well as Armenia and Azerbaijan, cannot be placed in the same group.
The qualification cycle will run from September 7, 2012, to October 15, 2013.
European qualification zone baskets: (in parentheses - team's position in the latest FIFA ranking)
Basket 1: Spain (1), Netherlands (2), Germany (3), England (6), Portugal (7), Italy (8), Croatia (9), Norway (12), Greece (13)
Basket 2: France (15), Montenegro (17), Russia (18), Sweden (19), Denmark (21), Slovenia (22), Turkey (24), Serbia (27), Slovakia (29)
Basket 3: Switzerland (30), Israel (32), Ireland (33), Belgium (37), Czech Republic (38), Bosnia and Herzegovina (41), Belarus (42), Ukraine (45), Hungary (47)
Basket 4: Bulgaria (48), Romania (53), Georgia (57), Lithuania (58), Albania (59), Scotland (61), Northern Ireland (62), Austria (66), Poland (69)
Basket 5: Armenia (70), Finland (75), Estonia (79), Cyprus (80), Latvia (83), Moldova (85), Macedonia (96), Azerbaijan (111), Faroe Islands (112)
Basket 6: Wales (113), Liechtenstein (118), Iceland (121), Kazakhstan (126), Luxembourg (128), Malta (173), Andorra (203), San Marino (203)
Facts about World Cup qualifiers by numbers:
- In three cycles, the Lithuanian national team finished fifth in their group. This happened in 1994 (among seven national teams), 2002 (last place), and 2006 (second to last place).
- The most successful World Cup qualifiers were in 1998. Lithuania surpassed Macedonia, Iceland, and Liechtenstein and finished third, only one point behind Ireland who made it to the playoffs. A crucial defeat at home against the Irish in September 1997 cost Lithuania a chance to advance.
- In the last qualification cycle for the World Cup, the Lithuanian national team (12 points) finished fourth in their group, behind Serbia (22 points), France (21 points), and Austria (14 points) but ahead of Romania (12 points) and the Faroe Islands (4 points). The Lithuanian team impressively defeated Romania (3-0) away and also beat Serbia at home (2-1), but lost to the Faroe Islands (2-1).
- In the 2010 World Cup qualification cycle, 19.3 million people attended matches in stadiums across all continents. The average attendance was 23,000 spectators, with Mexico and England attracting the most: 82 and 80 thousand respectively.
- The match between Brazil and Colombia at the Maracanã stadium in the 1977 qualifiers was watched by 162,764 people.
- Over 78 years of qualifiers, 16,448 goals were scored, averaging 2.92 per match.
- A total of 824 matches will be played in the 2014 qualification cycle.
- A total of 203 teams will compete for 32 spots in the tournament, even though there were only 200 teams four years ago. The host country, Brazil, will not have to compete for a spot as they are guaranteed a place.
- The first qualification match took place in 1933, with Sweden defeating Estonia 6-2 at home.
- Seven countries - Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Korea, Spain, and the USA - have qualified for each of the last six World Cup final rounds.
