Asian and Caribbean upsets, tight battles in South America and a first-ever win for American Samoa were among the latest qualifying tales as the race for Brazil 2014 heated up.
Four of CONCACAF's representatives have already begun their attempts to reach Brazil 2014. Now a series of the region's other teams are set to follow suit.
With the South Africa 2010 field now completed, FIFA.com looks at the stories behind the numbers from a record-breaking qualifying phase.
The Bahamas barely slipped past BVI on Sunday to reach the second round of CONCACAF qualifying, where they will be joined by Bermuda.
Playing both legs of their qualifying series on the road in Nassau, the British Virgin Islands have their work cut out against the Bahamas.
Wednesday's slate of CONCACAF qualifiers had a little bit of everything - a 12-0 drubbing, a few upsets and a first-ever win on home soil.
