1958 FIFA World Cup qualification
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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, CONCACAF of North, 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 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 (CONCACAF): 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.
Contents
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[edit] 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.
[edit] UEFA Group 1
[edit] Table
| Rank | Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  England |
7 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 5 |
| 2 |  Republic of Ireland |
5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 7 |
| 3 |  Denmark |
0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 13 |
[edit] Results
October 3, 1956, Dublin, Ireland - Republic of Ireland 2 - 1 Denmark
December 5, 1956, Wolverhampton, England - England 5 - 2 Denmark
May 8, 1957, London, England - England 5 - 1 Republic of Ireland
May 15, 1957, Copenhagen, Denmark - Denmark 1 - 4 England
May 19, 1957, Dublin, Ireland - Republic of Ireland 1 - 1 England
October 2, 1957, Copenhagen, Denmark - Denmark 0 - 2 Republic of Ireland
[edit] UEFA Group 2
[edit] Table
| Rank | Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  France |
7 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 4 |
| 2 | .svg/22px-Flag_of_Belgium_(civil).svg.png){kind=small} Belgium |
5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 11 |
| 3 |  Iceland |
0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 26 |
[edit] Results
November 11, 1956, Paris, France - France 6 - 3 Belgium
June 2, 1957, Nantes, France - France 8 - 0 Iceland
June 5, 1957, Brussels, Belgium - Belgium 8 - 3 Iceland
September 1, 1957, Reykjavík, Iceland - Iceland 1 - 5 France
September 4, 1957, Reykjavík, Iceland - Iceland 2 - 5 Belgium
October 27, 1957, Brussels, Belgium - Belgium 0 - 0 France
[edit] UEFA Group 3
[edit] Table
| Rank | Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | .png/22px-Flag_of_Hungary_(1957-1989).png){kind=small} Hungary |
6 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 4 |
| 2 | .svg/22px-Flag_of_Bulgaria_(1946-1967).svg.png){kind=small} Bulgaria |
4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 7 |
| 3 |  Norway |
2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 15 |
[edit] Results
May 22, 1957, Oslo, Norway - Norway 1 - 2 Bulgaria
June 12, 1957, Oslo, Norway - Norway 2 - 1 Hungary
June 23, 1957, Budapest, Hungary - Hungary 4 - 1 Bulgaria
September 15, 1957, Sofia, Bulgaria - Bulgaria 1 - 2 Hungary
November 3, 1957, Sofia, Bulgaria - Bulgaria 7 - 0 Norway
November 10, 1957, Budapest, Hungary - Hungary 5 - 0 Norway
[edit] UEFA Group 4
[edit] Table
| Rank | Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Czechoslovakia |
6 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 3 |
| 2 |  Wales |
4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 5 |
| 3 |  East Germany |
2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 12 |
Wales got another chance to qualify after being drawn to play against Israel in a special play-off; see CAF / AFC Final Round and Play-off.
[edit] Results
May 1, 1957, Cardiff, Wales - Wales 1 - 0 Czechoslovakia
May 19, 1957, Leipzig, Germany - East Germany 2 - 1 Wales
May 26, 1957, Prague, Czechoslovakia - Czechoslovakia 2 - 0 Wales
June 16, 1957, Brno, Czechoslovakia - Czechoslovakia 3 - 1 East Germany
September 25, 1957, Cardiff, Wales - Wales 4 - 1 East Germany
October 27, 1957, Leipzig, Germany - East Germany 1 - 4 Czechoslovakia
[edit] UEFA Group 5
[edit] Table
| Rank | Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Austria |
7 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 3 |
| 2 |  Netherlands |
5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 7 |
| 3 |  Luxembourg |
0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 19 |
[edit] Results
September 30, 1956, Vienna, Austria - Austria 7 - 0 Luxembourg
March 20, 1957, Rotterdam, Netherlands - Netherlands 4 - 1 Luxembourg
May 26, 1957, Vienna, Austria - Austria 3 - 2 Netherlands
September 11, 1957, Rotterdam, Netherlands - Luxembourg 2 - 5 Netherlands
September 25, 1957, Rotterdam, Netherlands - Netherlands 1 - 1 Austria
September 29, 1957, Luxembourg, Luxembourg - Luxembourg 0 - 3 Austria
[edit] UEFA Group 6
[edit] Table
| Rank | Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1= |  Poland |
6 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 5 |
| 1= |  USSR |
6 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 3 |
| 3 |  Finland |
0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 19 |
Poland and USSR finished level on points, a play-off on neutral ground was played to decide who would qualify.
November 24, 1957, Leipzig, East Germany - USSR 2 - 0 Poland
USSR qualified.
[edit] Results
June 23, 1957, Moscow, USSR - USSR 3 - 0 Poland
July 5, 1957, Helsinki, Finland - Finland 1 - 3 Poland
July 27, 1957, Moscow, USSR - USSR 2 - 1 Finland
August 15, 1957, Helsinki, Finland - Finland 0 - 10 USSR
October 20, 1957, Chorzow, Poland - Poland 2 - 1 USSR
November 3, 1957, Warsaw, Poland - Poland 4 - 0 Finland
[edit] UEFA Group 7
[edit] Table
| Rank | Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Yugoslavia |
6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 2 |
| 2 | .svg/22px-Flag_of_Romania_(1952-1965).svg.png){kind=small} Romania |
5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 |
| 3 | .svg/22px-Flag_of_Greece_(1828-1978).svg.png){kind=small} Greece |
1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 9 |
[edit] Results
May 5, 1957, Athens, Greece - Greece 0 - 0 Yugoslavia
June 16, 1957, Athens, Greece - Greece 1 - 2 Romania
September 29, 1957, Bucharest, Romania - Romania 1 - 1 Yugoslavia
November 3, 1957, Bucharest, Romania - Romania 3 - 0 Greece
November 10, 1957, Belgrade, Yugoslavia - Yugoslavia 4 - 1 Greece
November 17, 1957, Belgrade, Yugoslavia - Yugoslavia 2 - 0 Romania
[edit] UEFA Group 8
[edit] Table
| Rank | Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Northern Ireland |
5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 |
| 2 |  Italy |
4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 |
| 3 |  Portugal |
3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 |
[edit] Results
January 16, 1957, Lisbon, Portugal - Portugal 1 - 1 Northern Ireland
April 25, 1957, Rome, Italy - Italy 1 - 0 Northern Ireland
May 1, 1957, Belfast, Northern Ireland - Northern Ireland 3 - 0 Portugal
May 26, 1957, Lisbon, Portugal - Portugal 3 - 0 Italy
December 22, 1957, Milan, Italy - Italy 3 - 0 Portugal
January 15, 1958, Belfast, Northern Ireland - Northern Ireland 2 - 1 Italy [1]
[edit] UEFA Group 9
[edit] Table
| Rank | Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Scotland |
6 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 9 |
| 2 |  Spain |
5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 8 |
| 3 |  Switzerland |
1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 11 |
[edit] Results
March 10, 1957, Madrid, Spain - Spain 2 - 2 Switzerland
May 8, 1957, Glasgow, Scotland - Scotland 4 - 2 Spain
May 19, 1957, Basel, Switzerland - Switzerland 1 - 2 Scotland
May 26, 1957, Madrid, Spain - Spain 4 - 1 Scotland
November 6, 1957, Glasgow, Scotland - Scotland 3 - 2 Switzerland
November 24, 1957, Lausanne, Switzerland - Switzerland 1 - 4 Spain
[edit] 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.
[edit] CONMEBOL Group 1
Venezuela withdrew.
| Rank | Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | .svg/22px-Flag_of_Brazil_(1889-1960).svg.png){kind=small} Brazil |
3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 2 |  Peru |
1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
April 13, 1957, Lima, Peru - Peru 1 - 1 Brazil
April 21, 1957, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Brazil 1 - 0 Peru
[edit] CONMEBOL Group 2
| Rank | Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | .svg/22px-Flag_of_Argentina_(alternative).svg.png){kind=small} 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 |
September 23, 1957, Santiago, Chile - Chile 2 - 1 Bolivia
September 29, 1957, La Paz, Bolivia - Bolivia 3 - 0 Chile
October 6, 1957, La Paz, Bolivia - Bolivia 2 - 0 Argentina
October 13, 1957, Santiago, Chile - Chile 0 - 2 Argentina
October 20, 1957, Buenos Aires, Argentina - Argentina 4 - 0 Chile
October 27, 1957, Buenos Aires, Argentina - Argentina 4 - 0 Bolivia
[edit] 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 |
June 16, 1957, Bogotá, Colombia - Colombia 1 - 1 Uruguay
June 20, 1957, Bogotá, Colombia - Colombia 2 - 3 Paraguay
June 30, 1957, Montevideo, Uruguay - Uruguay 1 - 0 Colombia
July 7, 1957, Asunción, Paraguay - Paraguay 3 - 0 Colombia
July 14, 1957, Asunción, Paraguay - Paraguay 5 - 0 Uruguay
July 28, 1957, Montevideo, Uruguay - Uruguay 2 - 0 Paraguay
[edit] 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.
[edit] CONCACAF First Round
[edit] Group 1
April 7, 1957, Mexico City, Mexico - .png/22px-Flag_of_Mexico_(1934-1968).png){kind=small}
Mexico 6 - 0 
USA
April 28, 1957, Los Angeles, USA - USA 2 - 7 Mexico
June 22, 1957, Toronto, Canada - 
Canada 5 - 1 USA
June 30, 1957, Mexico City, Mexico - Mexico 3 - 0 Canada
July 3, 1957, Toronto, Canada - Canada 0 - 2 Mexico
July 6, 1957, Saint Louis, USA - USA 2 - 3 Canada
| 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 | USA |
0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 21 |
Mexico advanced to the Final Round.
[edit] Group 2
February 10, 1957, Guatemala City, Guatemala - 
Guatemala 2 - 6 
Costa Rica
February 17, 1957, San José, Costa Rica - Costa Rica 3 - 1 Guatemala
March 3, 1957, San José, Costa Rica - Costa Rica 4 - 0 .svg/22px-Flag_of_the_Netherlands_Antilles_(1959-1986).svg.png){kind=small}
Netherlands Antilles
March 14, 1957, Guatemala City, Guatemala - Guatemala 1 - 3 Netherlands Antilles
August 4, 1957, Willemstad, Netherlands Antilles - Netherlands Antilles 1 - 2 Costa Rica
Netherlands Antilles vs Guatemala was not played because the Guatemalan players were not permitted to travel to the Netherlands Antilles. Neither team could advance with a win anyway.
| Rank | Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Costa Rica |
8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 4 |
| 2 | Netherlands Antilles |
2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 |
| 3 | Guatemala |
0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 12 |
Costa Rica advanced to the Final Round.
[edit] CONCACAF Final Round
October 20, 1957, Mexico City, Mexico - Mexico 2 - 0 Costa Rica
October 27, 1957, San José, Costa Rica - Costa Rica 1 - 1 Mexico
| 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 |
Mexico qualified.
[edit] Africa and Asia
FIFA rejected the entries of Ethiopia and Korea Republic. The remaining 9 teams played in a knockout tournament, with matches on a home-and-away basis. The tournament winner would qualify.
[edit] CAF / AFC Preliminary Round
Republic of China withdrew, so Indonesia advanced to the First Round automatically.
[edit] CAF / AFC First Round
[edit] Group 1
Hong Kong withdraw.
| 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 |
May 12, 1957, Jakarta, Indonesia - Indonesia 2 - 0 China PR
June 2, 1957, Beijing, People's Republic of China - China PR 4 - 3 Indonesia
The People's Republic of China and Indonesia finished level on points, and a play-off on neutral ground was played to decide who would advance to the Second Round.
June 23, 1957, Rangoon, Burma - Indonesia 0 - 0 (aet) China PR
Indonesia advanced to the Second Round by having a better goal average. (Penalty shootouts had not been invented.)
[edit] Group 2
Turkey refused to play against Israel, so 
Israel advanced to the Second Round automatically.
[edit] Group 3
Cyprus withdrew, so 
Egypt advanced to the Second Round automatically.
[edit] Group 4
| Rank | Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | .svg/22px-Flag_of_Sudan_(1956-1970).svg.png){kind=small} Sudan |
3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 2 |  Syria |
1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
March 8, 1957, Khartoum, Sudan - Sudan 1 - 0 Syria
May 24, 1957, Damascus, Syria - Syria 1 - 1 Sudan
[edit] CAF / AFC Second Round
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.
[edit] CAF / AFC Final Round and Play-off
Sudan refused to play against Israel, 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.
So 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.
| 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 |
January 15, 1958, Ramat Gan, Israel - Israel 0 - 2 Wales
February 5, 1958, Cardiff, Wales - Wales 2 - 0 Israel
[edit] 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 [2] |
4th | 1 | 1950 |
| USSR |
1st | 1 | - |
| Wales |
1st | 1 | - |
 West Germany[3] |
4th | 2 | 1954 |
| Yugoslavia |
4th | 3 | 1954 |
[edit] Notes
- For the first (and as of 2008, only) time, all four UK teams (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) qualified.
- Wales is the only team to qualify after having been eliminated but then reinstated.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Originally scheduled for December 4, 1957: the World Cup qualifier was postponed but a friendly match was played instead, which finished 2–2.
- ^ Qualified automatically as hosts
- ^ Qualified automatically as defending champions
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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