From Caspar:

• The last time a country qualified from Oceania: New Zealand in 1982
• The 2006 edition of the World Cup will feature the most debutant countries since 1934 with six new qualifiers: Ukraine, Angola, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Trinidad & Tobago
• Highest ranked country to miss qualifying: Turkey (11)
• Lowest ranked country to qualify: Angola (60)
• The only three times the reigning European champions have missed qualifying: Czechoslovakia (1978), Denmark (1994) and Greece (2006).