| abstract | - In the qualification process for the 2006 FIFA World Cup started with the preliminary draw held in Zurich in December 2003, 197 teams from the six FIFA confederations were allocated a share of the 31 spots available on the basis of the strength of their teams. The final distribution was as follows:
* Europe - represented by UEFA : 49 teams competing for 12 places (? qualified automatically as host nation for a total of 13 places)
* Africa - the CAF : 48 teams, 6 places
* South America - CONMEBOL : 10 teams, 3 or 4 places
* Asia - the AFC : 39 teams, 5 or 6 places
* North, Central American and Caribbean - CONCACAF : 28 teams, 3 or 4 places
* Oceania - the OFC : 12 teams, 0 or 1 place (not guaranteed a position). Each .5 indicates a place in inter-confederation matchups for the last two spots, namely playoffs between AFC and CONCACAF and between CONMEBOL and OFC. A total of 194 teams played at least one qualifying match. A total of 847 qualifying matches were played, and 2464 goals were scored (an average of 2.91 per match).
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