This guide describes how to stack the qualifying achievements from each region while working towards this achievement. In all qualifying regions, you play each team in your group twice in a home and away. All playoffs are home and away matches as well.
Asia, Africa, and CONCACAF all require playing multiple group stages. This makes in impossible to guarantee you will play all the teams from a region you need to defeat (although the USA is by far the best team in its starting group in CONCACAF). Europe and Africa also advance final stage winners direct to Finals, meaning you may not play all teams necessary. Europe, Asia and Africa seed the final groups with a random draw.
You are able to select multiple teams at the start of a tournament setup, so for Europe, Asia and Africa, you can pick the teams you need to defeat the necessary teams. It will take longer to get the qualification achievements, you'll get the Mastery achievement sooner.
Play as: Canada (3 Stars), Costa Rica (3 stars)
Must defeat: Honduras, Mexico, USA
CONCACAF starts as three groups of four teams. With Canada, you'll start in group with Honduras and Mexico. Finish in the top two to advance to Stage 4 and the USA will be waiting. Finish top 3 in the final stage to advance directly to Finals. If you finish fourth, you must win a playoff with the fifth place team from South America.
Using Canada can also net the Second Trip, First Goal achievement in the Finals.
Play as: Columbia (3.5 Stars)
Must defeat: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay
South America starts as one group of ten teams. Finish in the top four of the group to qualify directly for the Finals. If you finish fifth, you have to beat the fourth place team from CONCACAF in a playoff.
Play as: New Caledonia (half Star)
Must defeat: New Zealand
Oceania is one group of four teams. After winning the group stage, you must defeat the fifth place team from Asia in a playoff to advance to the Finals.
Play as: Iran (3 stars, best of the rest), Iraq (2.5 stars in group with Australia), Bahrain (2.5 stars, in group with Japan), Jordan or Turkmenistan (half star, in group with N. Korea and S. Korea)
Must defeat: Australia, Japan, Korea PRK (N. Korea), Korea Republic (S. Korea)
Asia starts as 20 teams in five groups of four. Finish top two in the first stage to advance to the final stage. Finish top two in the final stage to advance directly to Finals. The two third place teams meet in a playoff to play the winner of Oceania in another playoff for a spot in the Finals.
Play as: Morocco, Mali (3.5 stars, best of the rest), Sierra Leone (1.5 stars, in group with Nigeria and South Africa), Cape Verde (1.5 stars, in group with Cameroon), Gabon (2.5 stars, in group with Ghana), Senegal (3 stars, in group with Algeria), Mozambique (2 stars, in group with Cote Ivoire)
Must defeat: Algeria, Cameroon, Cote Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa
Africa starts with 10 groups of four and 2 groups of three in the first round of qualifying. All group winners and top 8 runners-up advance, for twenty teams advancing as five groups of four. Final stage group winners advance direct to Finals.
Europe is a different animal altogether, with all nine group winners qualifying directly into the Finals, while the top eight group runners-up play a playoff against one other runner-up to advance to the Finals. Just pick a group and get started, playing the remaining teams later in other modes. With thirteen European teams advancing to the Finals, you will draw either one or two European teams when you play the Finals after qualifying from another region.
Group A (Denmark, Portugal): Play as Sweden
Group B (Greece, Switzerland): Play as Israel
Group C (Slovakia, Slovenia): Play as Czech Republic
Group D (Germany): Play as Russia
Group E (Spain): Play as Turkey
Group F (England): Play as Croatia
Group G (France, Serbia): Play as Romania
Group H (Italy): Play as Ireland
Group I (Holland/Netherlands): Play as Norway