The European zone of qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup saw 53 teams competing for 13 places in the finals in Brazil.

Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, England, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Russia, Spain, and Switzerland qualified in the first round by winning their groups.

All 53 UEFA national teams entered qualification, aiming to secure one of the 13 European Zone slots for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

In consideration of the delicate political situations of the relationships between Armenia and Azerbaijan as well as relations between Russia and Georgia, UEFA requested that FIFA maintain the current UEFA policy not to draw these teams into the same qualification groups – although as Armenia and Azerbaijan were in the same pot they could not be drawn together anyway.

The team with the most points in each group secured direct qualification for the final tournament of the World Cup.

If two or more teams are equal on the basis of the above three criteria, their rankings shall be determined as follows: The eight best group runners-up contested the second round, where they were paired into four two-legged (home-and-away) fixtures.

UEFA's Control and Disciplinary body has the ability to increase the automatic one match ban for a red card (e.g., for violent conduct).