Until recently, winning the World Cup guaranteed automatic qualification to the next finals. France was the last team to do so, and this changed in 2002. Other World Cup winners have since been required to qualify via the regular qualification process, including Germany, Brazil, and Australia. This year, there are three other World Championship winners, and Portugal, Spain, and Italy will be among them. In addition to these four, England, Scotland, and Wales will also be participating in the tournament.
However, in the past, the World Cup winners did not automatically qualify. In fact, the only teams that did not make the finals were Brazil, Italy, and Argentina. The 2010 and 2018 World Champions are yet to participate. The defending champions of each tournament did not advance to the quarterfinals. They finished bottom of their groups in both competitions. In 2014, the defending champions finished third in their group. In 2018, Germany failed to make it out of their group.
The top three qualifying teams will qualify directly for the World Cup finals, with the fourth-placed team going through the inter-continental play-offs. The teams in the bottom three are not automatically qualified, but they will go through the qualification process to ensure their place at the tournament. The winning side in each group will face the winner of the finals, with the fourth-placed side moving on to the inter-continental play-offs to determine which teams will get a place in the tournament.
As previously mentioned, only the World Cup winners automatically qualify. In addition, the other 12 nations that qualify are divided into two groups of six teams. The top three teams in each group will qualify directly. The fourth place team will then compete in a playoff for the final spot. In 2022, all 11 FIFA-affiliated nations will be represented in the final tournament. The host nation will also get one place. This is the best way to determine which teams should be in the tournament.
After the World Cup, the teams that did not qualify will be automatically qualified. The countries with the most points will be automatically qualified. Those that did not qualify will be given an extra spot in the finals. In addition, the winner of the World Cup will receive an automatic spot in the tournament. The teams that did not qualify will play the semifinals. But a win is not guaranteed. The first place qualifier will get the automatic qualifying spot.
As of today, the World Cup winners will not automatically qualify to the 2006 finals. All of the countries that are currently in the group will have to earn their places. In addition, all other teams will have to enter the qualifiers. As a result, the remaining twelve countries will be involved in a mini four-nation bracket, with each team playing each other once. If a team is eliminated in the second round, they will be automatically removed from the tournament.
