2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group A

Belgium defending against a Serbian corner in an away match

The 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group A was a UEFA qualifying group for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The group comprised Belgium, Croatia, Macedonia, Scotland, Serbia and Wales.

The group winners, Belgium, qualified directly for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Croatia placed among the eight best runners-up and advanced to the play-offs, where they were drawn to play home-and-away matches against Iceland.^[1][2] They drew the first match and won the second, thus also qualifying for the World Cup.^[3]

Standings

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Belgium 10 8 2 0 18 4 +14 26  Croatia 10 5 2 3 12 9 +3 17  Serbia 10 4 2 4 18 11 +7 14  Scotland 10 3 2 5 8 12 −4 11  Wales 10 3 1 6 9 20 −11 10  Macedonia 10 2 1 7 7 16 −9 7

Belgium  — 1–1 1–0 2–0 2–1 1–1 Croatia  1–2 — 1–0 0–1 2–0 2–0 Macedonia  0–2 1–2 — 1–2 1–0 2–1 Scotland  0–2 2–0 1–1 — 0–0 1–2 Serbia  0–3 1–1 5–1 2–0 — 6–1 Wales  0–2 1–2 1–0 2–1 0–3 —

  Winner qualified directly for the 2014 FIFA World Cup

  Runner-up (ranked as one of the eight best runners-up among all nine groups) advanced to the play-offs

Matches

The match schedule was determined at a meeting in Brussels, Belgium, on 23 November 2011.^[4]

Croatia  v  Macedonia

7 September 2012 20:15 UTC+2

Croatia	1–0	Macedonia
Jelavić  69'	Report

Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb Attendance: 13,883 Referee: Alon Yefet (Israel)

Wales  v  Belgium

7 September 2012 19:45 UTC+1

Wales	0–2	Belgium
	Report	Kompany  42' Vertonghen  83'

Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 20,156 Referee: Stefan Johannesson (Sweden)

Scotland  v  Serbia

8 September 2012 15:00 UTC+1

Scotland	0–0	Serbia
	Report

Hampden Park, Glasgow Attendance: 47,369 Referee: Jonas Eriksson (Sweden)

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Serbia  v  Wales

11 September 2012 20:30 UTC+2

Serbia	6–1	Wales
Kolarov  16' Tošić  24' Đuričić  37' Tadić  55' Ivanović  80' Sulejmani  90'	Report	Bale  31'

Stadion Karađorđe, Novi Sad Attendance: 10,660 Referee: Duarte Gomes (Portugal)

Belgium  v  Croatia

11 September 2012 20:45 UTC+2

Belgium	1–1	Croatia
Gillet  45+1'	Report	Perišić  6'

King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels Attendance: 39,987 Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)

Scotland  v  Macedonia

11 September 2012 20:00 UTC+1

Scotland	1–1	Macedonia
Miller  43'	Report	Noveski  11'

Hampden Park, Glasgow Attendance: 32,430 Referee: Sergei Karasev (Russia)

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Macedonia  v  Croatia

12 October 2012 20:30 UTC+2

Macedonia	1–2	Croatia
Ibraimi  16'	Report	Ćorluka  33' Rakitić  60'

Philip II Arena, Skopje Attendance: 25,230 Referee: Peter Rasmussen (Denmark)

Serbia  v  Belgium

12 October 2012 20:30 UTC+2

Serbia	0–3	Belgium
	Report	Benteke  34' De Bruyne  68' Mirallas  90+1'

Stadion Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade Attendance: 21,650 Referee: Pavel Královec (Czech Republic)

Wales  v  Scotland

12 October 2012 19:45 UTC+1

Wales	2–1	Scotland
Bale  80' (pen.), 87'	Report	Morrison  27'

Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 23,249 Referee: Florian Meyer (Germany)

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Croatia  v  Wales

16 October 2012 20:00 UTC+2

Croatia	2–0	Wales
Mandžukić  27' Eduardo  57'	Report

Stadion Gradski vrt, Osijek Attendance: 17,500 Referee: Alexandru Tudor (Romania)

Macedonia  v  Serbia

16 October 2012 20:30 UTC+2

Macedonia	1–0	Serbia
Ibraimi  59' (pen.)	Report

Philip II Arena, Skopje Attendance: 26,181 Referee: Bas Nijhuis (Netherlands)

Belgium  v  Scotland

16 October 2012 20:45 UTC+2

Belgium	2–0	Scotland
Benteke  68' Kompany  71'	Report

King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels Attendance: 44,132 Referee: Tom Harald Hagen (Norway)

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Croatia  v  Serbia

22 March 2013 18:00 UTC+1

Croatia	2–0	Serbia
Mandžukić  23' Olić  37'	Report

Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb Attendance: 35,722 Referee: Cüneyt Çakır (Turkey)

Macedonia  v  Belgium

22 March 2013 20:45 UTC+1

Macedonia	0–2	Belgium
	Report	De Bruyne  26' Hazard  62' (pen.)

Philip II Arena, Skopje Attendance: 15,947 Referee: Deniz Aytekin (Germany)

Scotland  v  Wales

22 March 2013 20:00 UTC±0

Scotland	1–2	Wales
Hanley  45+2'	Report	Ramsey  72' (pen.) Robson-Kanu  74'

Hampden Park, Glasgow Attendance: 39,365 Referee: Antony Gautier (France)

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Serbia  v  Scotland

26 March 2013 20:30 UTC+1

Serbia	2–0	Scotland
Đuričić  60', 66'	Report

Stadion Karađorđe, Novi Sad Attendance: 6,500 Referee: István Vad (Hungary)

Belgium  v  Macedonia

26 March 2013 20:45 UTC+1

Belgium	1–0	Macedonia
Hazard  62'	Report

King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels Attendance: 44,230 Referee: Olegário Benquerença (Portugal)

Wales  v  Croatia

26 March 2013 19:45 UTC±0

Wales	1–2	Croatia
Bale  21' (pen.)	Report	Lovren  77' Eduardo  87'

Liberty Stadium, Swansea Attendance: 12,534 Referee: Luca Banti (Italy)

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Croatia  v  Scotland

7 June 2013 20:15 UTC+2

Croatia	0–1	Scotland
	Report	Snodgrass  26'

Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb Attendance: 25,016 Referee: David Fernández Borbalán (Spain)

Belgium  v  Serbia

7 June 2013 20:45 UTC+2

Belgium	2–1	Serbia
De Bruyne  13' Fellaini  60'	Report	Kolarov  87'

King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels Attendance: 45,844 Referee: Stéphane Lannoy (France)

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Macedonia  v  Wales

6 September 2013 19:00 UTC+2

Macedonia	2–1	Wales
Tričkovski  20' Trajkovski  80'	Report	Ramsey  39' (pen.)

Philip II Arena, Skopje Attendance: 18,000 Referee: Sascha Kever (Switzerland)

Serbia  v  Croatia

6 September 2013 20:45 UTC+2

Serbia	1–1	Croatia
Mitrović  66'	Report	Mandžukić  53'

Stadion Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade Attendance: 30,000 Referee: Felix Brych (Germany)

Scotland  v  Belgium

6 September 2013 20:00 UTC+1

Scotland	0–2	Belgium
	Report	Defour  34' Mirallas  89'

Hampden Park, Glasgow Attendance: 40,284 Referee: Paolo Tagliavento (Italy)

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Macedonia  v  Scotland

10 September 2013 20:30 UTC+2

Macedonia	1–2	Scotland
Kostovski  85'	Report	Anya  60' Maloney  89'

Philip II Arena, Skopje Attendance: 14,093 Referee: Fredy Fautrel (France)

Wales  v  Serbia

10 September 2013 19:45 UTC+1

Wales	0–3	Serbia
	Report	Đorđević  8' Kolarov  38' Marković  55'

Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 10,923 Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland)

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Croatia  v  Belgium

11 October 2013 18:00 UTC+2

Croatia	1–2	Belgium
Kranjčar  84'	Report	Lukaku  16', 38'

Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb Attendance: 13,000 Referee: Howard Webb (England)

Wales  v  Macedonia

11 October 2013 19:45 UTC+1

Wales	1–0	Macedonia
Church  67'	Report

Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 11,257 Referee: Suren Baliyan (Armenia)

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Serbia  v  Macedonia

15 October 2013 20:30 UTC+2

Serbia	5–1	Macedonia
Tošić  16' Basta  19' Kolarov  38' (pen.) Tadić  54' Šćepović  74'	Report	Jahović  83'

Stadion Jagodina, Jagodina Attendance: 8,294 Referee: Richard Trutz (Slovakia)

Belgium  v  Wales

15 October 2013 21:00 UTC+2

Belgium	1–1	Wales
De Bruyne  64'	Report	Ramsey  88'

King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels Attendance: 45,401 Referee: Sergei Karasev (Russia)

Scotland  v  Croatia

15 October 2013 20:00 UTC+1

Scotland	2–0	Croatia
Snodgrass  28' Naismith  73'	Report

Hampden Park, Glasgow Attendance: 30,172 Referee: Ovidiu Hațegan (Romania)

Goalscorers

There were 72 goals scored over 30 games, for an average of 2.40 goals per game.

4 goals

Aleksandar Kolarov

Gareth Bale

Kevin De Bruyne

3 goals

Filip Đuričić

Aaron Ramsey

Mario Mandžukić

2 goals

Dušan Tadić Eden Hazard Vincent Kompany

Romelu Lukaku Kevin Mirallas Christian Benteke

Agim Ibraimi Robert Snodgrass Eduardo

1 goal

Steven Defour Marouane Fellaini Guillaume Gillet Jan Vertonghen Vedran Ćorluka Nikica Jelavić Niko Kranjčar Dejan Lovren Ivica Olić Ivan Perišić Ivan Rakitić

Adis Jahović Jovan Kostovski Nikolče Noveski Aleksandar Trajkovski Ivan Tričkovski Ikechi Anya Grant Hanley Shaun Maloney Kenny Miller James Morrison Steven Naismith

Dušan Basta Filip Đorđević Branislav Ivanović Lazar Marković Aleksandar Mitrović Stefan Šćepović Miralem Sulejmani Zoran Tošić Hal Robson-Kanu Simon Church

1 own goal

Stefan Ristovski (playing against Serbia)

Discipline

Pos	Player	Country			Suspended for match(es)	Reason
DF	Milan Biševac	Serbia	4	0	vs Croatia (22 March 2013) vs Croatia (6 September 2013)	Booked in two 2014 World Cup qualifying matches Booked in two 2014 World Cup qualifying matches
MF	Guillaume Gillet	Belgium	2	0	vs Serbia (12 October 2012)	Booked in two 2014 World Cup qualifying matches
MF	Aaron Ramsey	Wales	2	0	vs Croatia (16 October 2012)	Booked in two 2014 World Cup qualifying matches
MF	Ognjen Vukojević	Croatia	3	0	vs Wales (16 October 2012)	Booked in two 2014 World Cup qualifying matches
FW	Goran Pandev	Macedonia	3	0	vs Serbia (16 October 2012)	Booked in two 2014 World Cup qualifying matches
DF	Daniel Georgievski	Macedonia	2	0	vs Belgium (22 March 2013)	Booked in two 2014 World Cup qualifying matches
DF	Aleksandar Kolarov	Serbia	2	0	vs Scotland (26 March 2013)	Booked in two 2014 World Cup qualifying matches
DF	Boban Grncarov	Macedonia	2	0	vs Belgium (26 March 2013)	Booked in two 2014 World Cup qualifying matches
MF	Muhamed Demiri	Macedonia	2	0	vs Belgium (26 March 2013)	Booked in two 2014 World Cup qualifying matches
DF	Matija Nastasić	Serbia	2	0	vs Belgium (7 June 2013)	Booked in two 2014 World Cup qualifying matches
MF	Charlie Adam	Scotland	2	0	vs Croatia (7 June 2013)	Booked in two 2014 World Cup qualifying matches
DF	Vedran Ćorluka	Croatia	3	0	vs Scotland (7 June 2013)	Booked in two 2014 World Cup qualifying matches
DF	Dejan Lovren	Croatia	2	0	vs Scotland (7 June 2013)	Booked in two 2014 World Cup qualifying matches
MF	Luka Modrić	Croatia	3	0	vs Scotland (7 June 2013)	Booked in two 2014 World Cup qualifying matches
MF	Ferhan Hasani	Macedonia	2	0	vs Wales (6 September 2013)	Booked in two 2014 World Cup qualifying matches
DF	Hal Robson-Kanu	Wales	2	0	vs Macedonia (6 September 2013)	Booked in two 2014 World Cup qualifying matches
GK	Allan McGregor	Scotland	2	0	vs Belgium (6 September 2013)	Booked in two 2014 World Cup qualifying matches
MF	Agim Ibraimi	Macedonia	2	0	vs Scotland (10 September 2013)	Booked in two 2014 World Cup qualifying matches
ST	Aleksandar Mitrovic	Serbia	2	0	vs Wales (10 September 2013)	Booked in two 2014 World Cup qualifying matches
MF	Zoran Tošić	Serbia	2	0	vs Wales (10 September 2013)	Booked in two 2014 World Cup qualifying matches
MF	Darijo Srna	Croatia	2	0	vs Belgium (11 October 2013)	Booked in two 2014 World Cup qualifying matches
DF	Steven Whittaker	Scotland	2	0	vs Croatia (15 October 2013)	Booked in two 2014 World Cup qualifying matches
MF	Andrew Crofts	Wales	2	0	vs Macedonia (11 October 2013)	Booked in two 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying match
MF	Ljubomir Fejsa	Serbia	2	0	vs Macedonia (15 October 2013)	Booked in two 2014 World Cup qualifying matches
MF	Marouane Fellaini	Belgium	2	0	vs Wales (15 October 2013)	Booked in two 2014 World Cup qualifying matches
DF	Vanče Šikov	Macedonia	2	0	vs Serbia (15 October 2013)	Booked in two 2014 World Cup qualifying matches
DF	James Collins	Wales	0	1	vs Serbia (11 September 2012)	Sent off in a 2014 World Cup qualifying match
DF	Nenad Tomović	Serbia	0	1	vs Croatia (22 March 2013)	Sent off in a 2014 World Cup qualifying match
MF	Robert Snodgrass	Scotland	4	1	vs Serbia (26 March 2013) vs Macedonia (10 September 2013)	Sent off in a 2014 World Cup qualifying match Booked in two 2014 World Cup qualifying matches
MF	Aaron Ramsey	Wales	0	1	vs Croatia (26 March 2013)	Sent off in a 2014 World Cup qualifying match
MF	Nemanja Matić	Serbia	2	1	vs Wales (10 September 2013)	Sent off in a 2014 World Cup qualifying match
DF	Josip Šimunić	Croatia	1	1	vs Belgium (11 October 2013) vs Scotland (15 October 2013)	Sent off in a 2014 World Cup qualifying match

References

1. "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil – Preliminary Competition Format and Draw Procedures – European Zone" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 29 July 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
2. "European play-off ties confirmed". FIFA. 18 October 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
3. "Ten-man Croatia sink Iceland to qualify". FIFA. 19 November 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
4. "Rode Duivels openen WK-kwalificatie met drieluik Wales-Kroatië-Servië" [Red Devils open World Cup qualifiers with Wales-Croatia-Serbia treble]. hln.be (in Dutch). 23 November 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2011.

External links

• Results and schedule for UEFA Group A (FIFA.com version)
• Results and schedule for UEFA Group A (UEFA.com version)