As World Cup qualifying continues, teams from the 6 tournament confederations continue to build their resumes as each eye a berth in the 2014 Brazil games. With only two squads qualifying for next summer's cup -- Japan and host nation Brazil -- every remaining national team has a fair share of work to do in order to solidify a spot in one of the biggest sporting events on the planet.
Familiar faces Italy, Germany, Spain and Argentina continue to play well while teams like Croatia, Albania, Mexico and the United States remain extremely competitive but have plenty of work to do in order to put themselves in the upcoming tournament. As the qualifying stages continue on, expect the level of play to increase with each match becoming more important than the last.
Current Qualifying Standings for Each Confederation and Group - CONCACAF
One of the most competitive groups in the qualifying rounds is the CONCACAF pool that consists of Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Honduras, Jamaica and the United States. Entering the hexagonal round, Mexico was expected to be the team to beat but with only one win in five matches, El Tri has struggled to find offensive consistency. Luckily for the Mexican nationals, the lone victory along with four draws give them 7 points, putting them in a three-way tie with Costa Rica and the U.S. atop the pool.
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Costa Rica has played has also played well, winning twice and drawing with Panama while the United States earned themselves two wins and one draw with their only loss coming to Honduras. Still in the hunt for a top three spot and a trip to the World Cup is Panama. Sitting one point behind the aforementioned trio, Panama's next game against the United States will be pivotal in determining the top three CONCACAF squads. Honduras (4 points) and Jamaica (2 points) round out the pool.
AFRICA - 10 Groups
With 10 groups involved in World Cup qualifying, the African nations have proved to be legitimate forces in the game of soccer as many of the groups find themselves in tight races. The race between Ethiopia (10 points) and South Africa (8 points) continues to be an interesting point of focus in Group A while Zambia leads Ghana by only one point in Group D.
Group F is currently paced by Nigeria but Malawi is only two points behind while Libya and Cameroon are tied atop Group I with 6 points. Tunisia is currently pacing Group B with 10 points while Ivory Coast (Group C), Congo (Group E), Egypt (Group G), Algeria (Group H) and Senegal (Group J) continue to lead their respective pools.
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Asia - 2 Groups
Japan has already clinched a spot in next year's cup by winning Asia's Group B. Oman sits behind with 9 points while Australia and Jordan are tied with 7. Iraq rounds out the group with 5 points by way of 1 victory, 2 draws and 3 losses.
The Korea Republic is tied in overall points with Uzbekistan in Group A (11 points) but the Republic lead with a plus-6 goal differential as opposed to the plus-2 mark of Uzbekistan while Iran remains in the conversation with 10 points. The team finishing third in this group will face the third place finisher from Group B where the winner of that game will meet the fifth-place CONMEBOL team in a playoff.
Europe - 9 Groups
Europe's Group A boasts two talented units in Belgium and Croatia. As they continue to pace the Group, the Belgian's look poised for a strong run at next year's World Cup but Croatia remains in the hunt as well. Italy leads Group B with 14 points while Bulgaria continues to play from behind with 10 points while Germany looks strong once again with 5 wins in 6 matches, good enough for 16 points and a five-point lead in Group C over Austria.
The Netherlands looks strong in leading Group D with 18 points as does Switzerland, currently leading Group E with 14 points, 4 in front of Albania. Portugal is in a tough draw with Russia, currently leading their pool-mates by two points with Bosnia-Herzegovina (Group G), Montenegro (Group H) and defending World Cup champion Spain (Group I) leading their respective groups one year before the start of the World Cup.
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Oceania - 1 Group, 4 Nations
New Zealand raced ahead of New Caledonia in qualifying and never looked back. Winning the group with 18 points - six better than Caledonia - New Zealand advances to play the fourth-place finisher in CONCACAF for an automatic berth in the 2014 World Cup. Tahiti (3 points) and Solomon Islands (3 points) round out the four-team Oceania group.
South America - 1 Group, 9 Nations
While Colombia was able to play perennial power Argentina to a 0-0 draw earlier in qualifying, the Argentines still pace the South American group with 25 points. Colombia slips in at second with 20 points along with Ecuador. Chile and Venezuela come in with 18 and 16 points respectively while Peru (14 points), Uruguay (13 points), Bolivia (10 points) and Paraguay (8 points) finish out the draw. The top four teams in this group will advance to the World Cup.
With multiple matches still to be played as World Cup qualifying continues, fans of soccer can keep up-to-date with each match by visiting the FIFA website.
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