1962 FIFA World Cup qualification

1962 FIFA World Cup qualification

Tournament details
Dates	21 August 1960 – 16 December 1961
Teams	56 (from 6 confederations)
Tournament statistics
Matches played	92
Goals scored	325 (3.53 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Andrej Kvašňák (7 goals)
← 1958 1966 →

A total of 56 teams entered the 1962 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, competing for a total of 16 spots in the final tournament. Chile, as the hosts, and Brazil, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 14 spots open for competition.

As with previous World Cups, the rules of the qualification rounds were quite confusing. Moreover, the winners of the four weakest continental zones: North America (NAFC), Central America and Caribbean (CCCF), Africa (CAF) and Asia (AFC), were not guaranteed direct spots in the final tournament. Instead, each of them had to enter a play-off against a team from either Europe (UEFA) or South America (CONMEBOL), with the winners of the three play-offs qualifying.

The 16 spots available in the 1962 World Cup would be distributed among the continental zones as follows:

• Europe (UEFA): 8 direct places + 2 spots in the Intercontinental Play-offs (against teams from CAF and AFC), contested by 30 teams (including Israel and Ethiopia).
• South America (CONMEBOL): 5 direct places + 1 spot in the Intercontinental Play-offs (against a team from CCCF/NAFC); 2 direct places went to automatic qualifiers Chile and Brazil, while the other 3.5 places were contested by 7 teams.
• North, Central America and Caribbean (CCCF/NAFC): 1 spot in the Intercontinental Play-offs (against a team from CONMEBOL), contested by 8 teams.
• Africa (CAF): 1 spot in the Intercontinental Play-offs (against a team from UEFA), contested by 6 teams.
• Asia (AFC): 1 spot in the Intercontinental Play-offs (against a team from UEFA), contested by 3 teams.

A total of 49 teams played at least one qualifying match. A total of 92 qualifying matches were played, and 325 goals were scored (an average of 3.53 per match).

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

Europe[]

The 30 teams were divided into 10 groups. The groups had different rules, as follows:

• Groups 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8 had 3 teams each. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would qualify.
• Group 7 had 5 teams. The teams played in a knockout tournament, with matches on a home-and-away basis. The group winner would qualify.
• Group 9 had 2 teams. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winner would advance to the UEFA / CAF Intercontinental Play-off.
• Group 10 had 2 teams. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winner would advance to the UEFA / AFC Intercontinental Play-off.

UEFA Group 1[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Switzerland	4	3	0	1	9	9	0	6
2	Sweden	4	3	0	1	10	3	+7	6
3	Belgium	4	0	0	4	3	10	−7	0

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

Switzerland qualified

UEFA Group 2[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Bulgaria	4	3	0	1	6	4	+2	6
2	France	4	3	0	1	10	3	+7	6
3	Finland	4	0	0	4	3	12	−9	0

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

Bulgaria qualified

UEFA Group 3[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	West Germany	4	4	0	0	11	5	+6	8
2	Northern Ireland	4	1	0	3	7	8	−1	2
3	Greece	4	1	0	3	3	8	−5	2

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West Germany qualified

UEFA Group 4[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Hungary	4	3	1	0	11	5	+6	7
2	Netherlands	3	0	2	1	4	7	−3	2
3	East Germany	3	0	1	2	3	6	−3	1

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Hungary qualified

UEFA Group 5[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Soviet Union	4	4	0	0	11	3	+8	8
2	Turkey	4	2	0	2	4	4	0	4
3	Norway	4	0	0	4	3	11	−8	0

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Soviet Union qualified

UEFA Group 6[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	England	4	3	1	0	16	2	+14	7
2	Portugal	4	1	1	2	9	7	+2	3
3	Luxembourg	4	1	0	3	5	21	−16	2

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England qualified

UEFA Group 7[]

First round[]

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Israel advanced to the Second Round.

Second round[]

Romania withdrew, so Italy advanced to the Final Round automatically.

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Israel advanced to the Final Round.

Final round[]

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Italy qualified

UEFA Group 8[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Czechoslovakia	4	3	0	1	16	5	+11	6
2	Scotland	4	3	0	1	10	7	+3	6
3	Republic of Ireland	4	0	0	4	3	17	−14	0

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

Czechoslovakia qualified

UEFA Group 9[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Spain	2	1	1	0	3	2	+1	3
2	Wales	2	0	1	1	2	3	−1	1

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Spain advanced to the UEFA / CAF Intercontinental Play-off.

UEFA Group 10[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Yugoslavia	2	1	1	0	3	2	+1	3
2	Poland	2	0	1	1	2	3	−1	1

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Yugoslavia advanced to the UEFA / AFC Intercontinental Play-off.

South America[]

Among the 7 teams, Paraguay were drawn to play in the CONMEBOL / CCCF / NAFC Intercontinental Play-off. The remaining 6 teams were divided into 3 groups of 2 teams each. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would qualify.

CONMEBOL Group 1[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Argentina	2	2	0	0	11	3	+8	4
2	Ecuador	2	0	0	2	3	11	−8	0

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Argentina qualified

CONMEBOL Group 2[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Uruguay	2	1	1	0	3	2	+1	3
2	Bolivia	2	0	1	1	2	3	−1	1

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Uruguay qualified

CONMEBOL Group 3[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Colombia	2	1	1	0	2	1	+1	3
2	Peru	2	0	1	1	1	2	−1	1

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Colombia qualified

North, Central America and Caribbean[]

There would be two rounds of play:

• First Round: The remaining 7 teams (Canada withdrew before the matches began) were divided into 3 groups of 2 or 3 teams each (Group 1 with teams from Northern America and Mexico, Group 2 with teams from Central America and Group 3 with teams from Caribbean). The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would advance to the Final Round.
• Final Round: The 3 teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winner would advance to the CONMEBOL/CCCF/NAFC Intercontinental Play-off.

CCCF/NAFC First Round[]

Group 1[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Mexico	2	1	1	0	6	3	+3	3
2	United States	2	0	1	1	3	6	−3	1
—	Canada (W)	0	-	-	-	-	-	—	0

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Mexico advanced to the Final Round.

Group 2[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1=	Costa Rica	4	2	1	1	13	8	+5	5
1=	Honduras	4	2	1	1	5	7	−2	5
3	Guatemala	4	0	2	2	7	10	−3	2

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Costa Rica and Honduras finished level on points, and a play-off on neutral ground was played to decide who would advance to the Final Round.

Costa Rica advanced to the Final Round.

Group 3[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Netherlands Antilles	2	1	1	0	2	1	+1	3
2	Suriname	2	0	1	1	1	2	−1	1

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Netherlands Antilles advanced to the Final Round.

CCCF/NAFC Final Round[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Mexico	4	2	1	1	11	2	+9	5
2	Costa Rica	4	2	0	2	8	6	+2	4
3	Netherlands Antilles	4	1	1	2	2	13	−11	3

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Mexico advanced to the CONMEBOL/CCCF/NAFC Intercontinental Play-off.

Africa[]

There would be two rounds of play:

• First Round: The 6 teams were divided into 3 groups of 2 teams each. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would advance to the Final Round.
• Final Round: The 3 teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winner would advance to the UEFA/CAF Intercontinental Play-off.

CAF First Round[]

Group 1[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
—	United Arab Republic (W)	0	-	-	-	-	-	—	0
—	Sudan (W)	0	-	-	-	-	-	—	0

United Arab Republic and Sudan both withdrew as FIFA refused to allow them to rearrange their games to avoid the monsoon season.[1]^{[dead link]}

Group 2[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1=	Morocco	2	1	0	1	3	3	0	2
1=	Tunisia	2	1	0	1	3	3	0	2

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Morocco and Tunisia finished level on points, and a play-off on neutral ground was played to decide who would advance to the Final Round.

Morocco advanced to the Final Round by winning a coin toss.

Group 3[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Ghana	2	1	1	0	6	3	+3	3
2	Nigeria	2	0	1	1	3	6	−3	1

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Ghana advanced to the Final Round.

CAF Final Round[]

Only 2 teams competed due to the withdrawals of both teams in Group 1.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Morocco	2	1	1	0	1	0	+1	3
2	Ghana	2	0	1	1	0	1	−1	1

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Morocco advanced to the UEFA/CAF Intercontinental Play-off.

Asia[]

AFC Asian Qualifiers
FIFA World Cup 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
AFC Asian Cup 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
v t

There would be only one round of play. The 3 teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winner would advance to the UEFA/AFC Intercontinental Play-off.

AFC Final Round[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	South Korea	2	2	0	0	4	1	+3	4
2	Japan	2	0	0	2	1	4	−3	0
—	Indonesia (W)	0	-	-	-	-	-	—	0

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Korea Republic advanced to the UEFA/AFC Intercontinental Play-off.

Inter-confederation play-offs[]

In each play-off, the teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The winners would qualify.

CAF v UEFA[]

Pos	Team v t	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Spain	2	2	0	0	4	2	+2	4	Qualification to 1962 FIFA World Cup		—	3–2
2	Morocco	2	0	0	2	2	4	−2	0			0–1	—

UEFA v AFC[]

Pos	Team v t	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Yugoslavia	2	2	0	0	8	2	+6	4	Qualification to 1962 FIFA World Cup		—	5–1
2	South Korea	2	0	0	2	2	8	−6	0			1–3	—

CCCF/NAFC v CONMEBOL[]

Pos	Team v t	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Mexico	2	1	1	0	1	0	+1	3	Qualification to 1962 FIFA World Cup		—	1–0
2	Paraguay	2	0	1	1	0	1	−1	1			0–0	—

Qualified teams[]

Team	Date of qualification	Finals appearance	Streak	Last appearance
Argentina	17 December 1960	4th	2	1958
Brazil (Defending Champions)	29 June 1958	7th	7	1958
Bulgaria	16 December 1961	1st	1	–
Chile (Hosts)	11 June 1956	3rd	1	1950
Colombia	7 May 1961	1st	1	–
Czechoslovakia	29 November 1961	5th	3	1958
England	25 October 1961	4th	4	1958
Hungary	10 September 1961	5th	3	1958
Italy	4 November 1961	5th	1	1954
Mexico	5 November 1961	5th	4	1958
Spain	23 November 1961	3rd	1	1950
Switzerland	12 November 1961	5th	1	1954
Uruguay	30 July 1961	4th	1	1954
Soviet Union	12 November 1961	2nd	2	1958
West Germany	22 October 1961	5th	3	1958
Yugoslavia	26 November 1961	5th	4	1958

Goalscorers[]

7 goals

6 goals

5 goals

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Notes[]

• For the second World Cup in a row, no teams from Africa or Asia qualified.

References[]

External links[]

• FIFA World Cup Official Site – 1962 World Cup Qualification
• RSSSF – 1962 World Cup Qualification