1958 FIFA World Cup qualification
Tournament details | |
---|---|
Teams | 55 (from 6 confederations) |
Tournament statistics | |
Matches played | 89 |
Goals scored | 341 (3.83 per match) |
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 qualified. The Soviet Union and Iceland took part for the first time.
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 27' Gavin 45' (pen.) |
Report | Aa. Jensen 85' | Stadium: Dalymount Park Referee: Bond (England) |
5 December 1956 | England | 5 – 2 | Denmark | Wolverhampton, England |
---|---|---|---|---|
Taylor 2', 22', 53' Edwards 66', 77' |
Report | O. Nielsen 27', 32' | Referee: Guigue (France) |
8 May 1957 | England | 5 – 1 | Republic of Ireland | London, England |
---|---|---|---|---|
Taylor 10' 19' 40' Atyeo 38' 90' |
Report | Curtis 56' | Referee: Phillips (Scotland) |
15 May 1957 | Denmark | 1 – 4 | England | Copenhagen, Denmark |
---|---|---|---|---|
J. Jensen 27' | Report | Haynes 28' Taylor 71', 86' Atyeo 75' |
Referee: Dusch (West Germany) |
19 May 1957 | Republic of Ireland | 1 – 1 | England | Dublin, Republic of Ireland |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ringstead 3' | Report | Atyeo 90' | Referee: Philips (Scotland) |
2 October 1957 | Denmark | 0 – 2 | Republic of Ireland | Copenhagen, Denmark |
---|---|---|---|---|
Report | Cummins 53' Curtis 61' |
Referee: Schulz (East Germany) |
England qualified.
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 13', 15', 44', 72', 88' Vincent 18' |
Report | Houf 16' Willems 61', 67' |
Referee: Clough (England) |
2 June 1957 | France | 8 – 0 | Iceland | Nantes, France |
---|---|---|---|---|
C. Oliver 6', 11' Vincent 29', 83' Dereuddre 36' Piantoni 45', 81' Brahimi 49' |
Report | Referee: Ellis (England) |
5 June 1957 | Belgium | 8 – 3 | Iceland | Brussels, Belgium |
---|---|---|---|---|
Orlans 4' 57' Piters 11' Vandenberg 12' Mees 22' 26' Coppens 42' 44' (pen.) |
Report | Thordarson 33', 77' R. Jónsson 81' |
Referee: Blitgen (Luxembourg) |
1 September 1957 | Iceland | 1 – 5 | France | Reykjavík, Iceland |
---|---|---|---|---|
Þ. Jónsson 64' | Report | Cisowski 29', 32' Ujlaki 48', 66' Wisnieski 53' |
Referee: Davidson (Scotland) |
4 September 1957 | Iceland | 2 – 5 | Belgium | Reykjavík, Iceland |
---|---|---|---|---|
R. Jónsson 1' Jónsson 65' |
Report | Van Herpe 9' Willems 40' Vandenberg 64' 81' 89' |
Referee: Davidson (Scotland) |
France qualified.
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 47' | Report | G. Dimitrov 38' 75' | Stadium: Ullevaal Attendance: 27,542 Referee: Lindberg (Sweden) |
12 June 1957 | Norway | 2 – 1 | Hungary | Oslo, Norway |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hennum 10' K. Kristiansen 78' |
Report | Tichy 43' | Referee: Helge (Denmark) |
23 June 1957 | Hungary | 4 – 1 | Bulgaria | Budapest, Hungary |
---|---|---|---|---|
Machos 5' 14' 30' Bozsik 52' |
Report | Kolev 69' | Stadium: Nepstadion Attendance: 60,000 Referee: Guigue (France) |
15 September 1957 | Bulgaria | 1 – 2 | Hungary | Sofia, Bulgaria |
---|---|---|---|---|
Diev 43' | Report | Hidegkuti 2' 34' | Stadium: Vasil Levski Attendance: 50,000 Referee: Bernardi (Italy) |
3 November 1957 | Bulgaria | 7 – 0 | Norway | Sofia, Bulgaria |
---|---|---|---|---|
Iliev 6' 60' 74' Panayotov 29' 32' Yanev 59' Debarski 77' |
Report | Stadium: Vasil Levski Attendance: 22,120 Referee: Macko (Czechoslovakia) |
10 November 1957 | Hungary | 5 – 0 | Norway | Budapest, Hungary |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sándor 12' Csordás 20' 71' Machos 69' Falch 74' (o.g.) |
Report | Referee: Dusch (West Germany) |
Hungary qualified.
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 75' | Report | Referee: Bronkhorst (Netherlands) |
19 May 1957 | East Germany | 2 – 1 | Wales | Leipzig, East Germany |
---|---|---|---|---|
Wirth 21' Tröger 61' |
Report | M. Charles 6' | Referee: Latyshev (Soviet Union) |
26 May 1957 | Czechoslovakia | 2 – 0 | Wales | Prague, Czechoslovakia |
---|---|---|---|---|
Daniel 21' (o.g.) Kraus 65' |
Report | Referee: Wyssling () |
16 June 1957 | Czechoslovakia | 3 – 1 | East Germany | Brno, Czechoslovakia |
---|---|---|---|---|
Kraus 60' Bubník 81' Molnár 89' |
Report | Wirth 18' | Referee: Jörgensen (Denmark) |
25 September 1957 | Wales | 4 – 1 | East Germany | Cardiff, Wales |
---|---|---|---|---|
Palmer 38', 44', 73' Jones 42' |
Report | Kaiser 57' | Referee: Leafe (England) |
27 October 1957 | East Germany | 1 – 4 | Czechoslovakia | Leipzig, East Germany |
---|---|---|---|---|
H. Müller 35' | Report | Kraus 4', 88' Moravčík 23' Novák 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
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 18' 25' Walzhofer 51' Wagner 62' 77' Kozlicek 71' Haummer 79' |
Report | Referee: Liverani (Italy) |
20 March 1957 | Netherlands | 4 – 1 | Luxembourg | Rotterdam, Netherlands |
---|---|---|---|---|
Van der Gijp 27' 30' Dillen 72' Brusselers 80' |
Report | Halsdorf 34' | Referee: Treichel (West Germany) |
26 May 1957 | Austria | 3 – 2 | Netherlands | Vienna, Austria |
---|---|---|---|---|
Koller 47' Buzek 80' Stotz 89' (pen.) |
Report | Van Melis 30' 32' | Referee: Schmetzer (West Germany) |
11 September 1957 | Netherlands | 5 – 2 | Luxembourg | Rotterdam, Netherlands |
---|---|---|---|---|
Lenstra 15' 28' Wilkes 26' Van Melis 35' Rijvers 54' |
Report | Fiedler 5' Letsch 58' |
Referee: Murdoch (England) |
25 September 1957 | Netherlands | 1 – 1 | Austria | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
---|---|---|---|---|
Lenstra 63' | Report | Hanappi 29' | Referee: Ellis (England) |
29 September 1957 | Luxembourg | 0 – 3 | Austria | Luxembourg, Luxembourg |
---|---|---|---|---|
Report | Dienst 19' Buzek 47' Senekowitsch 66' |
Referee: Versyp (Belgium) |
Austria qualified.
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 9' Simonyan 55' Ilyin 77' |
Report | Stadium: Lenin Central Stadium Attendance: 102,000 Referee: Clough (England) |
5 July 1957 | Finland | 1 – 3 | Poland | Helsinki, Finland |
---|---|---|---|---|
Vanhanen 72' | Report | Jankowski 19', 56', 65' | Referee: Nilsen (Norway) |
27 July 1957 | Soviet Union | 2 – 1 | Finland | Moscow, Soviet Union |
---|---|---|---|---|
Voinov 23' Netto 62' |
Report | Lahtinen 42' | Stadium: Dynamo Stadium Attendance: 50,000 Referee: Mayer (Austria) |
15 August 1957 | Finland | 0 – 10 | Soviet Union | Helsinki, Finland |
---|---|---|---|---|
Report | Netto 6' Simonyan 9', 13', 31' Isayev 12', 20' Streltsov 29', 49' Ilyin 60', 87' |
Referee: A. Asmussen (Denmark) |
20 October 1957 | Poland | 2 – 1 | Soviet Union | Chorzów, Poland |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cieślik 43', 50' | Report | Ivanov 80' | Referee: Clough (England) |
3 November 1957 | Poland | 4 – 0 | Finland | Warsaw, Poland |
---|---|---|---|---|
Gawlik 2' Brychczy 4', 48' Jankowski 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 31' Fedosov 75' |
Report | Referee: Clough (England) |
USSR qualified.
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 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Panakis 29' | Report | A. Ene 15' Ozon 78' |
Referee: Harzic (France) |
29 September 1957 | Romania | 1 – 1 | Yugoslavia | Bucharest, Romania |
---|---|---|---|---|
A. Ene 78' | Report | Mujić 79' | Referee: Grill (Austria) |
3 November 1957 | Romania | 3 – 0 | Greece | Bucharest, Romania |
---|---|---|---|---|
Petschovsky 51' (pen.) Tătaru 64' Cacoveanu 67' |
Report | Referee: Schwinte (France) |
10 November 1957 | Yugoslavia | 4 – 1 | Greece | Belgrade, Yugoslavia |
---|---|---|---|---|
Mujić 6' 61' Krstić 9' Petaković 67' |
Report | Nestoridis 28' | Referee: Jonni (Italy) |
17 November 1957 | Yugoslavia | 2 – 0 | Romania | Belgrade, Yugoslavia |
---|---|---|---|---|
Milutinović 52' 58' | Report | Referee: Seipelt (Austria) |
Yugoslavia qualified.
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 24' | Report | Bingham 6' | Referee: Lequesne (France) |
1 May 1957 | Northern Ireland | 3 – 0 | Portugal | Belfast, Northern Ireland |
---|---|---|---|---|
Casey 22' Simpson 60' McIlroy 70' (pen.) |
Report | Referee: Phillips (Scotland) |
26 May 1957 | Portugal | 3 – 0 | Italy | Lisbon, Portugal |
---|---|---|---|---|
Vasques 41' Teixeira 81' Matateu 87' |
Report | Referee: Treichel (West Germany) |
22 December 1957 | Italy | 3 – 0 | Portugal | Milan, Italy |
---|---|---|---|---|
Gratton 36', 72' Pivatelli 84' |
Report | Referee: Damiani (Yugoslavia) |
15 January 1958 | Northern Ireland | 2 – 1 | Italy | Belfast, Northern Ireland |
---|---|---|---|---|
McIlroy 13' Cush 28' |
Report | Da Costa 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 (Istvan Zolt, 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.
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 30' Miguel 48' |
Report | Hügi 6' 67' | Referee: Erich (West Germany) |
8 May 1957 | Scotland | 4 – 2 | Spain | Glasgow, Scotland |
---|---|---|---|---|
Mudie 22' 70' 79' Hewie 41' (pen.) |
Report | Suárez 19' Kubala 28' |
Referee: Dusch (West Germany) |
19 May 1957 | Switzerland | 1 – 2 | Scotland | Basel, Switzerland |
---|---|---|---|---|
R. Vonlanthen 13' | Report | Mudie 33' Ring 71' |
Referee: Seipelt (Austria) |
26 May 1957 | Spain | 4 – 1 | Scotland | Madrid, Spain |
---|---|---|---|---|
Matoes 11' Kubala 33' Basora 60' 87' |
Report | Smith 79' | Referee: Leafe (England) |
6 November 1957 | Scotland | 3 – 2 | Switzerland | Glasgow, Scotland |
---|---|---|---|---|
Robertson 29' Mudie 52' Scott 70' |
Report | Riva 35' R. Vonlanthen 79' |
Referee: Leafe (England) |
24 November 1957 | Switzerland | 1 – 4 | Spain | Lausanne, Switzerland |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ballaman 61' | Report | Kubala 19' 72' Di Stéfano 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
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 |
21 April 1957 | Brazil | 1 – 0 | Peru | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
---|---|---|---|---|
Didi 11' | Referee: Marino (Uruguay) |
Brazil qualified.
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 62' Ramírez 68' |
Alcón 36' | Referee: Wyssling (Switzerland) |
29 September 1957 | Bolivia | 3 – 0 | Chile | La Paz, Bolivia |
---|---|---|---|---|
García 30' Alcócer 70' 86' | Referee: Wyssling (Switzerland) |
6 October 1957 | Bolivia | 2 – 0 | Argentina | La Paz, Bolivia |
---|---|---|---|---|
Alcócer 13' Ramírez 75' |
Referee: Wyssling (Switzerland) |
13 October 1957 | Chile | 0 – 2 | Argentina | Santiago, Chile |
---|---|---|---|---|
Menéndez 40' Conde 61' |
Referee: Wyssling (Switzerland) |
20 October 1957 | Argentina | 4 – 0 | Chile | Buenos Aires, Argentina |
---|---|---|---|---|
Corbatta 1' 41' Menéndez 13' Zárate 45' |
Referee: Wyssling (Switzerland) |
27 October 1957 | Argentina | 4 – 0 | Bolivia | Buenos Aires, Argentina |
---|---|---|---|---|
Zárate 8' Corbatta 62' Prado 63' Menéndez 64' |
Referee: Wyssling (Switzerland) |
Argentina qualified.
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 15' | Ambrois 46' | Referee: Husband (England) |
20 June 1957 | Colombia | 2 – 3 | Paraguay | Bogotá, Colombia |
---|---|---|---|---|
Gutiérrez 10' Díaz 89' |
A. Jara 34' Agüero 68' Aguilera 88' |
Referee: Husband (England) |
30 June 1957 | Uruguay | 1 – 0 | Colombia | Montevideo, Uruguay |
---|---|---|---|---|
Míguez 89' (pen.) | Referee: Husband (England) |
7 July 1957 | Paraguay | 3 – 0 | Colombia | Asunción, Paraguay |
---|---|---|---|---|
E. Jara 11' 77' Agüero 27' |
Referee: Husband (England) |
14 July 1957 | Paraguay | 5 – 0 | Uruguay | Asunción, Paraguay |
---|---|---|---|---|
Amarilla 5', 48', 57' A. Jara 88' Agüero 90' |
Referee: Husband (England) |
28 July 1957 | Uruguay | 2 – 0 | Paraguay | Montevideo, Uruguay |
---|---|---|---|---|
Benítez 8' Martínez 88' |
Referee: Husband (England) |
Paraguay qualified.
North, Central America and Caribbean
There would be 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 would advance to the Final Round.
- Final Round: The 2 teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The winner would qualify.
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. Gutierrez 14', 26' Reyes 33', 69', 76' A. Hernandez 63' |
Attendance: 60,000 Referee: Van Rosberg (Netherlands Antilles) |
28 April 1957 | United States | 2 – 7 | Mexico | Long Beach United States |
---|---|---|---|---|
Murphy 5', 45' | Keough 20' (o.g.) A. Hernandez 31', 83' C. Gutierrez 35' H. Hernandez 65', 88' |
Attendance: 12,500 Referee: Morgan (Canada) |
22 June 1957 | Canada | 5 – 1 | United States | Varsity Stadium Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
---|---|---|---|---|
McLeod 32' Philley 35' Hughes 55' 80' Stewart 57' |
Keough 35' (pen.) | Attendance: 5,167 Referee: Sadler (Canada) |
30 June 1957 | Mexico | 3 – 0 | Canada | Mexico City, Mexico |
---|---|---|---|---|
C. González 5', 72' C. Gutierrez 46' |
Referee: Van Rosberg (Netherlands Antilles) |
3 July 1957 | Mexico | 2 – 0 | Canada | Mexico City, Mexico |
---|---|---|---|---|
C. Gutierrez 8' Sesma 28' |
Referee: Van Rosberg (Netherlands Antilles) |
6 July 1957 | United States [4] | 2 – 3 | Canada | St. Louis, United States |
---|---|---|---|---|
Mendoza 42' Murphy 80' |
Philley 9' Steckiw 14' Stewart 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 | 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 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Vickers 19' Espinoza 87' |
Monge 11' 28' 38' Jimenez 17' Montero 48' Murillo 78' |
Referee: Sundheim (Colombia) |
17 February 1957 | Costa Rica | 3 – 1 (66')[5] |
Guatemala | San José, Costa Rica |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ruben Rodríguez 12' Mario Brenes 28' Rodolfo González 65' |
Contreras 61' | Referee: Orrego (Colombia) |
3 March 1957 | Costa Rica | 4 – 0 | Territory of Curaçao | San José, Costa Rica |
---|---|---|---|---|
Rodolfo González 16' 63' Álvaro Rojas 35' 67' |
Referee: McKenna (England) |
14 March 1957 | Guatemala | 1 – 3 | Territory of Curaçao | Guatemala City, Guatemala |
---|---|---|---|---|
Contreras 51' | de Lanoy 23' 31' Meulens 65' |
Referee: Sundheim (Colombia) |
4 August 1957 | Territory of Curaçao | 1 – 2 | Costa Rica | Willemstad, Territory of Curaçao |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sambo 21' | Mário Brenes 53' Danilo Campos 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).[6] 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 77' López 86' |
Referee: Husband (England) |
27 October 1957 | Costa Rica | 1 – 1 | Mexico | San José, Costa Rica |
---|---|---|---|---|
Soto 32' | López 27' | Referee: Husband (England) |
Mexico qualified.
Africa and Asia
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 | ||||||
— | Republic of China | withdrew |
Republic of China withdrew, so 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 |
— | Australia | withdrew |
2 June 1957 |
China PR | 4 – 3 | Indonesia |
---|---|---|
Zhang Honggen 1' Nian Weisi 9' Sun Fucheng 47' Wang Lu 75' |
Ramang 25', 55' Witarsa 70' |
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 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 |
24 May 1957 | Syria | 1 – 1 | Sudan | Damascus, Syria |
---|---|---|---|---|
Jabra 70' | El Din Osman 38' | Referee: loannidis (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 for political reasons, so Israel would technically qualify automatically, but before the qualification rounds began, FIFA 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.
UEFA / AFC Play-off
A special play-off was created between Israel and the runner-up of one of the UEFA Groups, where the teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis, with the winner qualifying. After Belgium refused, Wales, the runner-up of UEFA Group 4, was the team drawn from the UEFA group runners-up.[7]
Rank | Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Wales | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
2 | Israel | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
15 January 1958 | Israel | 0 – 2 | Wales | Tel-Aviv, Israel |
---|---|---|---|---|
Report | I. Allchurch 38' Bowen 65' |
Stadium: Ramat Gan Stadium Referee: Maurice Guigue (France) |
5 February 1958 | Wales | 2 – 0 | Israel | Cardiff, Wales |
---|---|---|---|---|
I. Allchurch 76' Jones 80' |
Report | Stadium: Ninian Park Referee: Klas Schipper (Netherlands) |
Wales qualified.
Qualified teams
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[8] | 4th | 1 | 1950 |
Soviet Union | 1st | 1 | – |
Wales | 1st | 1 | – |
West Germany[9] | 4th | 2 | 1954 |
Yugoslavia | 4th | 3 | 1954 |
See also
Notes
- For the first time (and, as of 2014, the only one), all four UK teams (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) qualified.
- Wales was the only team to qualify after having been eliminated but then reinstated. This was Wales' only qualification for a World Cup; they have never qualified through the European rounds of World Cup Qualifying.
- This was the first and, to date, only time that Italy failed to qualify for a FIFA World Cup.
Footnotes
- ↑ "Down Memory Lane: Battle of Belfast was far from a golden moment - International, Football". Belfasttelegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-06-11.
- 1 2 "FIFA Fact Sheet: History of the FIFA World Cup (TM) Preliminary Competition" (PDF). FIFA. 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 June 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-09.
- ↑ Entire US squad pulled from St. Louis Kutis
- ↑ Entire US squad pulled from St. Louis Kutis
- ↑ Match interrupted in the 66th minute by Guatemala abandoning the pitch; the result was later affirmed.
- ↑ "History of the FIFA World Cup Preliminary Competition (by year)" (pdf). FIFA.com. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
- ↑ Doyle, Paul. "The Joy of Six: international football play-offs". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
- ↑ Qualified automatically as hosts
- ↑ Qualified automatically as defending champions