Nigeria, France, Portugal & the nations that have qualified for the World Cup

Nov 21, 2013 2:00:00 AM

Goal lines up all 32 of the teams that will battle it out next summer for the most prestigious prize in football

With the completion of the European and African play-offs, as well as the intercontinental ties between New Zealand and Mexico, and Uruguay and Jordan, we now know the identity of every participant in the 2014 World Cup.

Tuesday's games saw Portugal book their ticket for next summer's tournament at the expense of Sweden, as Cristiano Ronaldo netted four goals over two matches to help his side to a 4-2 aggregate win.

France, meanwhile, completed an impressive comeback at the Stade de France as they beat Ukraine 3-0 to overturn their 2-0 surprise loss from last Friday.

Elsewhere, Croatia eliminated Iceland as they recorded a 2-0 home win after a scoreless draw in the first leg last week. The final European ticket went to Greece, who sealed qualification with a 1-1 draw versus Romania after a 3-1 first-leg victory.

In Africa, Nigeria became the first team to make it to next year's finals as they beat Ethiopia 2-0 at the weekend to make it 4-1 on aggregate. Cote d'Ivoire also booked their ticket on Saturday as they held Senegal to a 1-1 draw following their first-leg win.

On Sunday, Cameroon qualified with a 4-1 home win over Tunisia, while Ghana eliminated Egypt 7-3 on aggregate despite their 2-1 defeat on Tuesday. Finally, Algeria sealed their World Cup berth following a 1-0 home-win over Burkina Faso that saw them qualify on away goals.

Wednesday's intercontinental play-off between Mexico and New Zealand then saw the former become the penultimate team to reach next summer's tournament. A 4-2 away-win more than proved enough after a heavy 5-1 victory in the first leg.

Later in the day, two-time champions Uruguay were surprisingly held to a 0-0 draw by Jordan in Montevideo, but still cruised through 5-0 on aggregate to become the 32nd and final side to qualify for next summer's finals in Brazil.

NATIONS QUALIFIED FOR 2014 WORLD CUP

TEAM	CONFEDERATION	LAST APPEARANCE	BEST PERFORMANCE
Brazil	Conmebol	2010	Winners
Argentina	Conmebol	2010	Winners
Colombia	Conmebol	1998	Round of 16
Chile	Conmebol	2010	Third place
Ecuador	Conmebol	2006	Round of 16
Uruguay	Conmebol	2010	Winners
Netherlands	Uefa	2010	Runners-up
Italy	Uefa	2010	Winners
Belgium	Uefa	2002	Fourth place
Germany	Uefa	2010	Winners
Switzerland	Uefa	2010	Quarter-finals
Russia	Uefa	2002	Fourth place
Bosnia-Herzegovina	Uefa	-	-
Spain	Uefa	2010	Winners
England	Uefa	2010	Winners
France	Uefa	2010	Winners
Croatia	Uefa	2006	Third place
Greece	Uefa	2010	Group stage
Portugal	Uefa	2010	Third place
Japan	AFC	2010	Round of 16
Australia	AFC	2010	Round of 16
Iran	AFC	2006	Group stage
South Korea	AFC	2010	Fourth place
Costa Rica	Concacaf	2006	Round of 16
USA	Concacaf	2010	Third place
Honduras	Concacaf	2010	Group stage
Mexico	Concacaf	2010	Quarter-finals
Nigeria	Caf	2010	Round of 16
Ghana	Caf	2010	Quarter-finals
Algeria	Caf	2010	Group stage
Cameroon	Caf	2010	Quarter-finals
Cote d'Ivoire	Caf	2010	Group stage -------- goal.com