1958 FIFA World Cup qualification

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1958 FIFA World Cup Qualification
Tournament details
Teams55 (from 6 confederations)
Tournament statistics
Matches played89
Goals scored341 (3.83 per match)
Top scorer(s)England Tommy Taylor (8 goals)
← 1954
1962 →

A total of 55 teams entered the 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, competing for a total of 16 spots in the final tournament. Sweden as the hosts and West Germany, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 14 spots open for competition.

The qualification rounds for the four previous World Cups were very confusing, with controversial rules and many withdrawals. From this tournament onwards, FIFA decided to divide the teams into several continental zones, assign a pre-determined number of places in the final tournament to each zone, and delegate the organization of the qualifying tournaments to its confederations: UEFA of Europe, CONMEBOL of South America, NAFC of North America, CCCF of Central America and Caribbean, CAF of Africa and AFC of Asia (and OFC of Oceania after it was formed later). This led to a more organized qualification process with clearer rules, but not yet withdrawal-proof.

The 16 spots available in the 1958 World Cup would be distributed among the continental zones as follows:

  • Europe (UEFA): 11 places, 2 of them went to automatic qualifiers Sweden and West Germany, while the other 9 places were contested by 27 teams.
  • South America (CONMEBOL): 3 places, contested by 9 teams.
  • North, Central America and Caribbean (NAFC/CCCF): 1 place, contested by 6 teams.
  • Africa (CAF) and Asia (AFC): 1 place, contested by 11 teams (including Israel, Cyprus and Turkey).

However, FIFA also imposed a rule that no team would qualify without playing at least one match because many teams qualified for previous World Cups without playing due to withdrawals of their opponents. Because Israel won the African and Asian zone under this circumstance, FIFA required them to enter a play-off against a team from Europe who initially did not qualify, with the winner of this play-off qualifying. Therefore, effectively in the end, a total of 11.5 places were granted to Europe while only 0.5 places were granted to Africa and Asia.

A total of 46 teams played at least one qualifying match. A total of 89 qualifying matches were played, and 341 goals were scored (an average of 3.83 per match).

Listed below are the dates and results of the qualification rounds.

Europe[]

The 27 teams were divided into 9 groups, each featuring 3 teams. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would qualify.

Denmark, East Germany, Iceland and the Soviet Union made their debuts in World Cup qualification.

UEFA Group 1[]

Main article: 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA – Group 1)
Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GAv
1  England 7 4 3 1 0 15 5 3.00
2  Republic of Ireland 5 4 2 1 1 6 7 0.86
3  Denmark 0 4 0 0 4 4 13 0.31
3 October 1956 Republic of Ireland  2–1  Denmark Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Curtis Goal 27'
Gavin Goal 45' (pen.)		 Report Aa. Jensen Goal 85' Stadium: Dalymount Park
Attendance: 32,600
Referee: Bond (England)
5 December 1956 England  5–2  Denmark Wolverhampton, England
Taylor Goal 2', 22', 53'
Edwards Goal 66', 77'		 Report O. Nielsen Goal 27', 32' Attendance: 54,083
Referee: Guigue (France)
8 May 1957 England  5–1  Republic of Ireland London, England
Taylor Goal 10', 19', 40'
Atyeo Goal 38', 90'		 Report Curtis Goal 56' Attendance: 52,000
Referee: Phillips (Scotland)
15 May 1957 Denmark  1–4  England Copenhagen, Denmark
J. Jensen Goal 27' Report Haynes Goal 28'
Taylor Goal 71', 86'
Atyeo Goal 75'		 Attendance: 35,000
Referee: Dusch (West Germany)
19 May 1957 Republic of Ireland  1–1  England Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Ringstead Goal 3' Report Atyeo Goal 90' Attendance: 36,000
Referee: Philips (Scotland)
2 October 1957 Denmark  0–2  Republic of Ireland Copenhagen, Denmark
Report Cummins Goal 53'
Curtis Goal 61'		 Attendance: 28,000
Referee: Schulz (East Germany)

England qualified.

UEFA Group 2[]

Main article: 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA – Group 2)
Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GAv
1  France 7 4 3 1 0 19 4 4.75
2  Belgium 5 4 2 1 1 16 11 1.45
3  Iceland 0 4 0 0 4 6 26 0.23
11 November 1956 France  6–3  Belgium Paris, France
Cisowski Goal 13', 15', 44', 72', 88'
Vincent Goal 18'		 Report Houf Goal 16'
Willems Goal 61', 67'		 Attendance: 46,049
Referee: Clough (England)
2 June 1957 France  8–0  Iceland Nantes, France
C. Oliver Goal 6', 11'
Vincent Goal 29', 83'
Dereuddre Goal 36'
Piantoni Goal 45', 81'
Brahimi Goal 49'		 Report Attendance: 15,080
Referee: Ellis (England)
5 June 1957 Belgium  8–3  Iceland Brussels, Belgium
Orlans Goal 4', 57'
Piters Goal 11'
Vandenberg Goal 12'
Mees Goal 22', 26'
Coppens Goal 42', 44' (pen.)		 Report Þórðarson Goal 33', 77'
R. Jónsson Goal 81'		 Attendance: 6,792
Referee: Blitgen (Luxembourg)
1 September 1957 Iceland  1–5  France Reykjavík, Iceland
Goal 64' Report Cisowski Goal 29', 32'
Ujlaki Goal 48', 66'
Wisnieski Goal 53'		 Attendance: 9,000
Referee: Davidson (Scotland)
4 September 1957 Iceland  2–5  Belgium Reykjavík, Iceland
R. Jónsson Goal 1'
Goal 65'		 Report Van Herpe Goal 9'
Willems Goal 40'
Vandenberg Goal 64', 81', 89'		 Attendance: 7,000
Referee: Davidson (Scotland)
27 October 1957 Belgium  0–0  France Brussels, Belgium
Report Attendance: 56,497
Referee: Helge (Denmark)

France qualified.

UEFA Group 3[]

Main article: 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA – Group 3)
Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GAv
1  Hungary 6 4 3 0 1 12 4 3.00
2  Bulgaria 4 4 2 0 2 11 7 1.57
3  Norway 2 4 1 0 3 3 15 0.20
22 May 1957 Norway  1–2  Bulgaria Oslo, Norway
Hennum Goal 47' Report G. Dimitrov Goal 38', 75' Stadium: Ullevaal
Attendance: 27,542
Referee: Lindberg (Sweden)
12 June 1957 Norway  2–1  Hungary Oslo, Norway
Hennum Goal 10'
K. Kristiansen Goal 78'		 Report Tichy Goal 43' Attendance: 25,724
Referee: Helge (Denmark)
23 June 1957 Hungary  4–1  Bulgaria Budapest, Hungary
Machos Goal 5', 14', 30'
Bozsik Goal 52'		 Report Kolev Goal 69' Stadium: Nepstadion
Attendance: 60,000
Referee: Guigue (France)
15 September 1957 Bulgaria  1–2  Hungary Sofia, Bulgaria
Diev Goal 43' Report Hidegkuti Goal 2', 34' Stadium: Vasil Levski
Attendance: 50,000
Referee: Bernardi (Italy)
3 November 1957 Bulgaria  7–0  Norway Sofia, Bulgaria
Iliev Goal 6', 60', 74'
Panayotov Goal 29', 32'
Yanev Goal 59'
Debarski Goal 77'		 Report Stadium: Vasil Levski
Attendance: 22,120
Referee: Macko (Czechoslovakia)
10 November 1957 Hungary  5–0  Norway Budapest, Hungary
Sándor Goal 12'
Csordás Goal 20', 71'
Machos Goal 69'
Falch Goal 74' (o.g.)		 Report Attendance: 91,000
Referee: Dusch (West Germany)

Hungary qualified.

UEFA Group 4[]

Main article: 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA – Group 4)
Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GAv
1  Czechoslovakia 6 4 3 0 1 9 3 3.00
2  Wales 4 4 2 0 2 6 5 1.20
3  East Germany 2 4 1 0 3 5 12 0.42
1 May 1957 Wales  1–0  Czechoslovakia Cardiff, Wales
Vernon Goal 75' Report Referee: Bronkhorst (Netherlands)
19 May 1957 East Germany  2–1  Wales Leipzig, East Germany
Wirth Goal 21'
Tröger Goal 61'		 Report M. Charles Goal 6' Referee: Latyshev (Soviet Union)
26 May 1957 Czechoslovakia  2–0  Wales Prague, Czechoslovakia
Daniel Goal 21' (o.g.)
Kraus Goal 65'		 Report Referee: Wyssling ()
16 June 1957 Czechoslovakia  3–1  East Germany Brno, Czechoslovakia
Kraus Goal 60'
Bubník Goal 81'
Molnár Goal 89'		 Report Wirth Goal 18' Referee: Jörgensen (Denmark)
25 September 1957 Wales  4–1  East Germany Cardiff, Wales
Palmer Goal 38', 44', 73'
Jones Goal 42'		 Report Kaiser Goal 57' Referee: Leafe (England)
27 October 1957 East Germany  1–4  Czechoslovakia Leipzig, East Germany
H. Müller Goal 35' Report Kraus Goal 4', 88'
Moravčík Goal 23'
Novák Goal 43'		 Referee: Schwinte (France)

Czechoslovakia qualified. Wales received another chance to qualify after being drawn to play against Israel in a special play-off; see CAF / AFC Final Round and Play-off.

UEFA Group 5[]

Main article: 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA – Group 5)
Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GAv
1  Austria 7 4 3 1 0 14 3 4.67
2  Netherlands 5 4 2 1 1 12 7 1.71
3  Luxembourg 0 4 0 0 4 3 19 0.16
30 September 1956 Austria  7–0  Luxembourg Vienna, Austria
Hanappi Goal 18', 25'
Walzhofer Goal 51'
Wagner Goal 62', 77'
Kozlicek Goal 71'
Haummer Goal 79'		 Report Referee: Liverani (Italy)
20 March 1957 Netherlands  4–1  Luxembourg Rotterdam, Netherlands
Van der Gijp Goal 27', 30'
Dillen Goal 72'
Brusselers Goal 80'		 Report Goal 34' Referee: Treichel (West Germany)
26 May 1957 Austria  3–2  Netherlands Vienna, Austria
Koller Goal 47'
Buzek Goal 80'
Stotz Goal 89' (pen.)		 Report Van Melis Goal 30', 32' Referee: Schmetzer (West Germany)
11 September 1957 Netherlands  5–2  Luxembourg Rotterdam, Netherlands
Lenstra Goal 15', 28'
Wilkes Goal 26'
Van Melis Goal 35'
Rijvers Goal 54'		 Report Fiedler Goal 5'
Letsch Goal 58'		 Referee: Murdoch (England)
25 September 1957 Netherlands  1–1  Austria Amsterdam, Netherlands
Lenstra Goal 63' Report Hanappi Goal 29' Referee: Ellis (England)
29 September 1957 Luxembourg  0–3  Austria Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Report Dienst Goal 19'
Buzek Goal 47'
Senekowitsch Goal 66'		 Referee: Versyp (Belgium)

Austria qualified.

UEFA Group 6[]

Main article: 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA – Group 6)
Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GAv
1=  Soviet Union 6 4 3 0 1 16 3 5.33
1=  Poland 6 4 3 0 1 9 5 1.80
3  Finland 0 4 0 0 4 2 19 0.11
23 June 1957 Soviet Union  3–0  Poland Moscow, Soviet Union
Tatushin Goal 9'
Simonyan Goal 55'
Ilyin Goal 77'		 Report Stadium: Lenin Central Stadium
Attendance: 102,000
Referee: Clough (England)
5 July 1957 Finland  1–3  Poland Helsinki, Finland
Goal 72' Report Jankowski Goal 19', 56', 65' Referee: Nilsen (Norway)
27 July 1957 Soviet Union  2–1  Finland Moscow, Soviet Union
Voinov Goal 23'
Netto Goal 62'		 Report Lahtinen Goal 42' Stadium: Dynamo Stadium
Attendance: 50,000
Referee: Mayer (Austria)
15 August 1957 Finland  0–10  Soviet Union Helsinki, Finland
Report Netto Goal 6'
Simonyan Goal 9', 13', 31'
Isayev Goal 12', 20'
Streltsov Goal 29', 49'
Ilyin Goal 60', 87'		 Referee: A. Asmussen (Denmark)
20 October 1957 Poland  2–1  Soviet Union Chorzów, Poland
Cieślik Goal 43', 50' Report Ivanov Goal 80' Referee: Clough (England)
3 November 1957 Poland  4–0  Finland Warsaw, Poland
Gawlik Goal 2'
Brychczy Goal 4', 48'
Jankowski Goal 60'		 Report Referee: Dusch (West Germany)

Poland and USSR finished level on points, a play-off on neutral ground was played to decide who would qualify.

24 November 1957 Soviet Union  2–0  Poland Leipzig, East Germany
Streltsov Goal 31'
Fedosov Goal 75'		 Report Referee: Clough (England)

USSR qualified.

UEFA Group 7[]

Main article: 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA – Group 7)
Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GAv
1  Yugoslavia 6 4 2 2 0 7 2 3.50
2  Romania 5 4 2 1 1 6 4 1.50
3  Greece 1 4 0 1 3 2 9 0.22
5 May 1957 Greece  0–0  Yugoslavia Athens, Greece
Report Referee: Devillers (France)
16 June 1957 Greece  1–2  Romania Athens, Greece
Goal 29' Report A. Ene Goal 15'
Ozon Goal 78'		 Referee: Harzic (France)
29 September 1957 Romania  1–1  Yugoslavia Bucharest, Romania
A. Ene Goal 78' Report Mujić Goal 79' Referee: Grill (Austria)
3 November 1957 Romania  3–0  Greece Bucharest, Romania
Petschovsky Goal 51' (pen.)
Tătaru Goal 64'
Cacoveanu Goal 67'		 Report Referee: Schwinte (France)
10 November 1957 Yugoslavia  4–1  Greece Belgrade, Yugoslavia
Mujić Goal 6', 61'
Krstić Goal 9'
Petaković Goal 67'		 Report Nestoridis Goal 28' Referee: Jonni (Italy)
17 November 1957 Yugoslavia  2–0  Romania Belgrade, Yugoslavia
Milutinović Goal 52', 58' Report Referee: Seipelt (Austria)

Yugoslavia qualified.

UEFA Group 8[]

Main article: 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA – Group 8)
Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GAv
1  Northern Ireland 5 4 2 1 1 6 3 2.00
2  Italy 4 4 2 0 2 5 5 1.00
3  Portugal 3 4 1 1 2 4 7 0.57
16 January 1957 Portugal  1–1  Northern Ireland Lisbon, Portugal
Vasques Goal 24' Report Bingham Goal 6' Referee: Lequesne (France)
25 April 1957 Italy  1–0  Northern Ireland Rome, Italy
Cervato Goal 3' Report Referee: Guigue (France)
1 May 1957 Northern Ireland  3–0  Portugal Belfast, Northern Ireland
Casey Goal 22'
Simpson Goal 60'
McIlroy Goal 70' (pen.)		 Report Referee: Phillips (Scotland)
26 May 1957 Portugal  3–0  Italy Lisbon, Portugal
Vasques Goal 41'
Teixeira Goal 81'
Matateu Goal 87'		 Report Referee: Treichel (West Germany)
22 December 1957 Italy  3–0  Portugal Milan, Italy
Gratton Goal 36', 72'
Pivatelli Goal 84'		 Report Referee: Damiani (Yugoslavia)
15 January 1958 Northern Ireland  2–1  Italy Belfast, Northern Ireland
McIlroy Goal 13'
Cush Goal 28'		 Report Da Costa Goal 56' Referee: Zsolt (Hungary)

The 15 January 1958 fixture of Italy at Northern Ireland was originally scheduled for 4 December 1957, but heavy fog in London prevented the referee (István Zsolt, manager of the Budapest Opera House) from arriving for the match in time. The fixture was postponed, but the match continued as a friendly, and ended in a 2–2 draw and a riot as the crowd (infuriated by the postponement and quite rough play from some Italian players) invaded the pitch. The 'friendly' match was dubbed the 'Battle of Belfast'.[1] Danny Blanchflower, Northern Ireland captain at the time, helped save the situation by ordering his players to escort their Italian counterparts off the field while the police dealt with the crowd.[2]

Northern Ireland qualified.

This was the only time that Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup until their failure to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

UEFA Group 9[]

Main article: 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA – Group 9)
Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GAv
1  Scotland 6 4 3 0 1 10 9 1.11
2  Spain 5 4 2 1 1 12 8 1.50
3   Switzerland 1 4 0 1 3 6 11 0.55
10 March 1957 Spain  2–2   Switzerland Madrid, Spain
Suárez Goal 30'
Goal 48'		 Report Hügi Goal 6', 67' Referee: Erich (West Germany)
8 May 1957 Scotland  4–2  Spain Glasgow, Scotland
Mudie Goal 22', 70', 79'
Hewie Goal 41' (pen.)		 Report Suárez Goal 19'
Kubala Goal 28'		 Referee: Dusch (West Germany)
19 May 1957 Switzerland   1–2  Scotland Basel, Switzerland
R. Vonlanthen Goal 13' Report Mudie Goal 33'
Ring Goal 71'		 Referee: Seipelt (Austria)
26 May 1957 Spain  4–1  Scotland Madrid, Spain
Mateos Goal 11'
Kubala Goal 33'
Basora Goal 60', 87'		 Report Smith Goal 79' Referee: Leafe (England)
6 November 1957 Scotland  3–2   Switzerland Glasgow, Scotland
Robertson Goal 29'
Mudie Goal 52'
Scott Goal 70'		 Report Riva Goal 35'
R. Vonlanthen Goal 79'		 Referee: Leafe (England)
24 November 1957 Switzerland   1–4  Spain Lausanne, Switzerland
Ballaman Goal 61' Report Kubala Goal 19', 72'
Di Stéfano Goal 24', 55'		 Referee: Alsteen (Belgium)

Scotland qualified.

South America[]

The 9 teams were divided into 3 groups of 3 teams each. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would qualify.

CONMEBOL Group 1[]

Main article: 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL - Group 1)
Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA
1  Brazil 3 2 1 1 0 2 1
2  Peru 1 2 0 1 1 1 2
—  Venezuela withdrew
13 April 1957 Peru  1–1  Brazil Lima, Peru
Terry Goal 38' Índio Goal 47' Referee: Rodriguez (Uruguay)
21 April 1957 Brazil  1–0  Peru Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Didi Goal 11' Referee: Marino (Uruguay)

Brazil qualified.

CONMEBOL Group 2[]

Main article: 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL - Group 2)
Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA
1  Argentina 6 4 3 0 1 10 2
2  Bolivia 4 4 2 0 2 6 6
3  Chile 2 4 1 0 3 2 10
22 September 1957 Chile  2–1  Bolivia Santiago, Chile
Díaz Goal 62'
Ramírez Goal 68'		 Goal 36' Referee: Wyssling (Switzerland)
29 September 1957 Bolivia  3–0  Chile La Paz, Bolivia
García Goal 30'
Alcócer Goal 70', 86'		 Referee: Wyssling (Switzerland)
6 October 1957 Bolivia  2–0  Argentina La Paz, Bolivia
Alcócer Goal 13'
García Goal 75'		 Referee: Wyssling (Switzerland)
13 October 1957 Chile  0–2  Argentina Santiago, Chile
Menéndez Goal 40'
Conde Goal 61'		 Referee: Wyssling (Switzerland)
20 October 1957 Argentina  4–0  Chile Buenos Aires, Argentina
Corbatta Goal 1', 41'
Menéndez Goal 13'
Zárate Goal 45'		 Referee: Wyssling (Switzerland)
27 October 1957 Argentina  4–0  Bolivia Buenos Aires, Argentina
Zárate Goal 8'
Corbatta Goal 62'
Prado Goal 63'
Menéndez Goal 64'		 Referee: Wyssling (Switzerland)

Argentina qualified.

CONMEBOL Group 3[]

Main article: 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL - Group 3)
Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA
1  Paraguay 6 4 3 0 1 11 4
2  Uruguay 5 4 2 1 1 4 6
3  Colombia 1 4 0 1 3 3 8
16 June 1957 Colombia  1–1  Uruguay Bogotá, Colombia
Arango Goal 15' Ambrois Goal 46' Referee: Husband (England)
20 June 1957 Colombia  2–3  Paraguay Bogotá, Colombia
Goal 10'
Goal 89'		 A. Jara Goal 34'
Agüero Goal 68'
Aguilera Goal 88'		 Referee: Husband (England)
30 June 1957 Uruguay  1–0  Colombia Montevideo, Uruguay
Míguez Goal 89' (pen.) Referee: Husband (England)
7 July 1957 Paraguay  3–0  Colombia Asunción, Paraguay
E. Jara Goal 11', 77'
Agüero Goal 27'		 Referee: Husband (England)
14 July 1957 Paraguay  5–0  Uruguay Asunción, Paraguay
Amarilla Goal 5', 48', 57'
A. Jara Goal 88'
Agüero Goal 90'		 Referee: Husband (England)
28 July 1957 Uruguay  2–0  Paraguay Montevideo, Uruguay
Benítez Goal 8'
Martínez Goal 88'		 Referee: Husband (England)

Paraguay qualified.

North, Central America and Caribbean[]

There were two rounds of play:

  • First Round: The 6 teams were divided into 2 groups with 3 teams each (Group 1 with teams from North America and Group 2 with teams from Central America and Caribbean). The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners advanced to the Final Round.
  • Final Round: The 2 teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The winner qualified.

CCCF / NAFC First Round[]

Group 1[]

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA
1  Mexico 8 4 4 0 0 18 2
2  Canada 4 4 2 0 2 8 8
3  United States 0 4 0 0 4 5 21
7 April 1957 Mexico  6–0  United States Mexico City, Mexico
C. Gutiérrez Goal 14', 26'
Reyes Goal 33', 69', 76'
H. Hernández Goal 63'		 Attendance: 60,000
Referee: Van Rosberg (Netherlands Antilles)
28 April 1957 United States  2–7  Mexico Long Beach, United States
E. Murphy Goal 5', 45' A. Hernández Goal 22', 36', 82'
C. Gutiérrez Goal 38'
H. Hernández Goal 65', 87'
Sesma Goal 79'		 Attendance: 12,500
Referee: Morgan (Canada)
22 June 1957 Canada  5–1  United States Varsity Stadium Toronto, Canada
McLeod Goal 32'
Philley Goal 35'
Hughes Goal 55', 80'
Stewart Goal 57'		 Keough Goal 35' (pen.) Attendance: 5,167
Referee: Sadler (Canada)
30 June 1957 Mexico  3–0  Canada Mexico City, Mexico
C. González Goal 5', 72'
C. Gutiérrez Goal 46'		 Referee: Van Rosberg (Netherlands Antilles)
3 July 1957 Mexico  2–0  Canada Mexico City, Mexico
C. Gutiérrez Goal 8'
Sesma Goal 28'		 Referee: Van Rosberg (Netherlands Antilles)
6 July 1957 United States [3] 2–3  Canada St. Louis, United States
Mendoza Goal 42'
J. Murphy Goal 80'		 Philley Goal 9'
Steckiw Goal 14'
Stewart Goal 25'		 Attendance: 1,500
Referee: Lutostanski (United States)

Mexico advanced to the Final Round.

Group 2[]

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA
1  Costa Rica 8 4 4 0 0 15 4
2 Netherlands Territory of Curaçao 2 3 1 0 2 4 7
3  Guatemala 0 3 0 0 3 4 12
10 February 1957 Guatemala  2–6  Costa Rica Guatemala City, Guatemala
Goal 19'
Goal 87'		 Hernán Goal 11', 28', 38'
Goal 17'
Goal 48'
Murillo Goal 78'		 Referee: Sundheim (Colombia)
17 February 1957 Costa Rica  3–1
(66')[4]		  Guatemala San José, Costa Rica
Goal 12'
Cordero Goal 28'
Goal 65'		 López Goal 61' Referee: Orrego (Colombia)
3 March 1957 Costa Rica  4–0 Netherlands Territory of Curaçao San José, Costa Rica
Goal 16', 63'
Murillo Goal 35', 67'		 Referee: McKenna (England)
14 March 1957 Guatemala  1–3 Netherlands Territory of Curaçao Guatemala City, Guatemala
López Goal 51' Goal 23', 31'
Goal 65'		 Referee: Sundheim (Colombia)
4 August 1957 Territory of Curaçao Netherlands 1–2  Costa Rica Willemstad, Territory of Curaçao
Goal 21' Cordero Goal 53'
Goal 60'		 Referee: Orlandini (Italy)

Costa Rica advanced to the Final Round. Territory of Curaçao v Guatemala was not played because the Guatemalan players were not permitted to travel to the Netherlands Antilles (the Netherlands Antilles were still using the nation's former "Curaçao" name).[5] However, neither team would have been able to advance with a win regardless.

CCCF / NAFC Final Round[]

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA
1  Mexico 3 2 1 1 0 3 1
2  Costa Rica 1 2 0 1 1 1 3
20 October 1957 Mexico  2–0  Costa Rica Mexico City, Mexico
Belmonte Goal 77'
López Goal 86'		 Referee: Husband (England)
27 October 1957 Costa Rica  1–1  Mexico San José, Costa Rica
Goal 32' López Goal 27' Referee: Husband (England)

Mexico qualified.

Africa and Asia[]

AFC Asian Qualifiers
FIFA World Cup
AFC Asian Cup
  • v
  • t

FIFA rejected the entries of Ethiopia and South Korea.[2] The remaining 10 teams played in a knockout tournament, with matches on a home-and-away basis. The tournament winner would qualify.

CAF / AFC Preliminary Round[]

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA
1=  Indonesia advanced
1=  China PR advanced
—  Republic of China withdrew

Republic of China withdrew, so China PR and Indonesia advanced to the First Round automatically.

CAF / AFC First Round[]

Group 1[]

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA Ave
1=  Indonesia 2 2 1 0 1 5 4 1.25
1=  China PR 2 2 1 0 1 4 5 0.8
Indonesia 2–0 China PR
Ramang Goal 47', 80'
Ikada Stadium, Jakarta
Referee: Jonni (Italy)
China PR 4–3 Indonesia
Zhang Honggen Goal 1'
Nian Weisi Goal 9'
Sun Fucheng Goal 47'
Wang Lu Goal 75'		 Ramang Goal 25', 55'
Witarsa Goal 70'
Referee: Chakravarti (India)

China PR and Indonesia finished level on points, and a play-off on neutral ground was played to decide who would advance to the Second Round.

Indonesia 0–0
(a.e.t.)		 China PR
Aung San Stadium, Rangoon, Burma
Referee: U Ba Thaung (Burma)

Indonesia advanced to the Second Round by having a better goal average. (Penalty shootouts had not been invented.)

Group 2[]

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA
1  Israel advanced
—  Turkey withdrew

Turkey refused to compete in the Asian group, so Israel advanced to the Second Round automatically.

Group 3[]

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA
1  Egypt advanced
—  Cyprus withdrew

Cyprus withdrew, so Egypt advanced to the Second Round automatically.

Group 4[]

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA
1  Sudan 3 2 1 1 0 2 1
2  Syria 1 2 0 1 1 1 2
8 March 1957 Sudan  1–0  Syria Khartoum, Sudan
Manzul Goal 78' (pen.) Stadium: Khartoum Stadium
Referee: Riccardo Pieri (Italy)
24 May 1957 Syria  1–1  Sudan Damascus, Syria
Goal 70' Goal 38' Stadium: Abbasiyyin Stadium
Referee: Konstantinos Ioannidis (Greece)

Sudan advanced.

CAF / AFC Second Round[]

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA
1=  Israel advanced
1=  Sudan advanced
—  Egypt withdrew
—  Indonesia withdrew

Indonesia withdrew after FIFA rejected their request to play against Israel on neutral ground. Israel advanced to the Final Round automatically. Egypt withdrew, so Sudan advanced to the Final Round automatically.

CAF / AFC Final Round[]

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA
1  Israel advanced
—  Sudan withdrew

Sudan refused to play against Israel because of the Arab League boycott of Israel, so Israel would technically qualify automatically, but before the qualification rounds began, FIFA had ruled that no team would qualify without playing at least one match (except for the defending champions and the hosts), and Israel had yet to play any.

Inter-confederation play-offs: CAF/AFC v UEFA[]

Main article: 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF/AFC–UEFA play-off)

A special play-off was created between Israel and the runner-up of one of the UEFA/CONMEBOL/CCCF/NAFC Groups, where the teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis, with the winner qualifying. Both two-time champions Uruguay and Italy withdrew, so Ireland, Belgium, Bulgaria, Wales, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain, Peru, Bolivia and Costa Rica were had to draw. After Belgium refused, Wales, the runner-up of UEFA Group 4, was the team drawn from the UEFA group runners-up.[6]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Wales Israel
1  Wales 2 2 0 0 4 0 +4 4 Qualification to 1958 FIFA World Cup — 2–0
2  Israel 2 0 0 2 0 4 −4 0 0–2 —
Source: FIFA

Qualified teams[]

FIFA World Cup qualification 1958
Qualifying countries
Team Finals Appearance Streak Last Appearance
 Argentina 3rd 1 1934
 Austria 3rd 2 1954
 Brazil 6th 6 1954
 Czechoslovakia 4th 2 1954
 England 3rd 3 1954
 France 5th 2 1954
 Hungary 4th 2 1954
 Mexico 4th 3 1954
 Northern Ireland 1st 1 —
 Paraguay 3rd 1 1950
 Scotland 2nd 2 1954
 Sweden[7] 4th 1 1950
 Soviet Union 1st 1 —
 Wales 1st 1 —
 West Germany[8] 4th 2 1954
 Yugoslavia 4th 3 1954

7 of the 16 teams subsequently failed to qualify for the 1962 finals: Austria, France, Northern Ireland, Paraguay, Scotland, Sweden and Wales.

Goalscorers[]

8 goals
7 goals
5 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
1 own goal

See also[]

Notes[]

  • Wales is the only team to ever qualify after having been eliminated and then reinstated. Their qualification meant that all four Home Nations qualified, and that no team from the separate African and Asian zone qualified. This remains Wales' only appearance in the finals; they have never qualified through the European zone.
  • Italy were eliminated in qualifying for the first time. They would not fail again until 2018.
  • Two-time former champions Uruguay, who in their three previous appearances had always benefited from direct qualifications or withdrawals, now failed in what was the first time they actually had to play qualifying games.

Footnotes[]

  1. ^ "Down Memory Lane: Battle of Belfast was far from a golden moment – International, Football". Belfasttelegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-06-11.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "FIFA Fact Sheet: History of the FIFA World Cup (TM) Preliminary Competition" (PDF). FIFA. 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 June 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-09.
  3. ^ Entire US squad pulled from St. Louis Kutis[1] Archived 2014-08-29 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Match interrupted in the 66th minute by Guatemala abandoning the pitch; the result was later affirmed.
  5. ^ "History of the FIFA World Cup Preliminary Competition (by year)" (pdf). FIFA.com. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  6. ^ Doyle, Paul. "The Joy of Six: international football play-offs". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  7. ^ Qualified automatically as hosts
  8. ^ Qualified automatically as defending champions

External links[]

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