32 teams were decided to play in the FIFA World Cup 2006. The host, Germany got a guaranteed place, as per the rule. The automatic place of Brazil was scraped and it competed through the qualifying process. The procedure for qualifying is given below according to the zones:

Europe

It has 14 slots, including Germany. 51 teams competed for the 13 slots from 8 groups. The winners of eight group and two best runner-up teams qualified. The other six second-place teams played with each other over two-legged play-offs to complete the final three berths.

South America

The 10 teams played with each other, home and away, and the top 4 teams qualified. The fifth place team played two-leg home and away play-off against the top team from the Oceania group. The winner of it qualified.

Africa

30 nations were drawn into 5 groups of 6 teams. The teams played each other home and away. The winners of five group qualified.

Asia

32 nations were drawn into 8 groups of 4 teams. The winners moved on to the Final Stage. The 8 teams in it were divided in two groups. The top 2 teams qualified. The two third place teams met in a home and away play-off to decide. The winner faced the fourth-place team from the North America, Central America and the Caribbean Zone in a two-leg play-off. The winner qualified.

North America, Central America and the Caribbean

12 teams had advanced from the first round of matches. These 12 entered the 2nd stage with 3 groups of 4 teams. The top 2 teams from each group reached the final stage of a final round of 6 teams. It was played as 1 group and the top 3 teams qualified. The 4th place team faced the 5th place of Asian team in a two-leg play-off. The winner qualified.

Oceania

The winner of the group undergone a play-off over two legs against the 5th placed team from South America. The winner qualified.