After a nervy 2-0 victory over Poland at Wembley last night, England have guaranteed their place at the World Cup in Brazil next year by topping group H with 6 wins and 4 draws. This is England's fifth successive World Cup finals appearance and overall Roy Hodgson can look back at a qualification job well done.
Now that qualification is over, we can look forward to the main event kicking off next summer. We decided to put together an essential guide to next years World Cup with all the information you will need:
Pre-Tournament Friendlies
Although England have avoided the play-offs, that November international break could be used so that Hodgson can test his players further. Friendlies with potential World Cup opponents Germany and Australia have been lined up.
England then have their last mid-season outing against Denmark pencilled in for Wednesday 5th March. This will by Roy’s last chance to assess the players before naming his 23 man squad on June 2nd, this is three weeks after the end of the Premier league season. After this the FA will no doubt have a host of pre-tournament games lined up, in a bid to get England adjusted to the climate and ready for the World Cup.
When will we find out the Draw?
The 6th December is the date England will find out their opponents in Brazil, will it be the group of death or a relatively easy route to the next round? However we all know that, if the past is anything to go by, a favourable draw is no guarantee of easy England victories.
At the last few tournaments England have been amongst the top seeds, meaning they avoided a lot of the bigger teams in the draw, this time due to being placed 17th in the Fifa world rankings they will have to face one of the world's best sides.
There will be four pots of eight teams, with pot one comprising Brazil and the top seven qualifiers from the Fifa world rankings. Geography also plays a part in the whole process. Pots two, three and four will be split by regions, keeping teams from the same qualifying areas apart during the group stage.
The seeding will be announced on October 17th and the final draw will be screened worldwide on the 6th December.
Who’s there already?
Brazil have qualified as hosts, and will be joined by a total of 13 teams from Europe, five from Africa, four from South America, four from Asia, three from North and Central America and the Caribbean, with the remaining two places decided by inter-confederation play-offs.
The European teams who have already qualified include some who are likely to be among the favourites to progress in the tournament. Including Belgium, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, England and Spain. Plus the like of Russia, Switzerland, Bosnia-Hercegovina will be joining them. The final four places will be decided by play-off's in November.
Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador and Chile are the South American teams to have booked their places in Brazil, while Australia, Iran, Japan and South Korea have qualified from Asia. Costa Rica, United States and Honduras are through from North and Central America and the Caribbean federation.
When does it start?
The tournament open in Sao Paulo on 12th June and the group stages run until 26th June. That is 15 Consecutive days of football without a break, and then day three is the first in World Cup history to have four games running back to back!
The round of 16 matches take place from 28 June to 1 July, with two fixtures each day. The quarter-finals are on 4 and 5 July, also two a day, and the semi-finals on 8 and 9 July.
The World Cup final will be in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday 13 July.
What about Tickets?
There has been over 6 Million requests for tickets, almost double the total available. Some 96,780 requests were made from England. Tickets not allocated will be available on a first-come, first-served basis from 5 November. There will be further sets of tickets on sales on the 8th December and two more times in 2014.
What time do the games Kick-Off?
This World Cup is perfect for the working football fan, with three games per evening to take up your time. The early games kick off at 17:00 BST, followed by games at 20:00 BST and 23:00 BST. This could be one of the best World Cup’s yet for the European football fan.
What about Brazil?
Brazil are hosting their first world cup for over 50 years and the first one in South America since 1978. It almost seems ridiculous that one of the most passionate and dedicated football countries in the world has not hosted a World Cup for so long. The atmosphere is likely to be electric and one of the most memorable tournaments yet.
Brazil is the fifth biggest country in the world, so weather and conditions will vary greatly. However, this tournament takes place in Brazil's winter. Despite this humidity will still be a key factor, with that becoming less of a problem the further south you travel. Generally the tournament should not be as hot as people expect.
Six of the of twelve stadiums hosting the tournament are still being build. Brazils Maracana in Rio which will host the final, is one of the most iconic stadiums in the world up there with Wembley and the Nou Camp.
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