Football World Cup 1962 / qualification

Overview

Participant in the qualification for the 1962 World Cup

A total of 56 teams had registered for the 1962 World Cup in Chile , including

• 29 teams from Europe , with Cyprus still counting among Asia
• 9 teams from South America
• 7 teams from North and Central America
• 7 teams from Africa
• 4 teams from Asia (2 from the Middle East and 2 from the Far East)

Again no team reported from Oceania . The number of registrations of 56 teams meant a new record of participants. Since defending champions Brazil and organizer Chile were directly qualified and the World Cup tournament was played with 16 teams, 14 free final round places were available for the remaining 54 teams. In the run-up to the qualifying games, five teams withdrew their reports, so that a total of 49 teams took part in the qualifying games.

The starting places for the World Cup finals were distributed as follows:

10 to Europe	Switzerland	Bulgaria	BR Germany	Hungary
	Soviet Union	England	Czechoslovakia
	Italy	Spain	Yugoslavia
5 to South America	Argentina	Uruguay	Colombia
	Brazil (defending champion)		Chile (hosts)
1 to North and Central America	Mexico

No team from Asia and Africa could qualify for the World Cup finals.

Europe ( UEFA )

21 of the 27 European national teams competed for seven direct qualification places. Another six teams, one of which withdrew before the start of qualification, played to get three more free World Cup places in a duel with three African and Asian teams. In the best case scenario, which ultimately occurred, Europe could therefore send a maximum of ten teams to the World Cup.

The 21 teams that qualified directly for the finals were divided into seven groups of three teams each. The respective group winners were qualified for the World Cup. If there was a tie on first rank, the goals weren't decisive, but a deciding game on neutral ground.

The six remaining teams played in three groups of two teams each. The respective winner then met an Asian or African team.

Notable: With France and Sweden , the two best European teams in the last World Cup could not qualify for the final round.

Group 1

Closing table
Pl.	country	Gates	Pt.
1	Switzerland	09: 09	6: 2
2	Sweden	10: 03	6: 2
3	Belgium	03:10	0: 8

Game results:

October 19, 1960	Stockholm	Sweden	-	Belgium	2: 0 (0: 0)
11/20/1960	Brussels	Belgium	-	Switzerland	2: 4 (1: 2)
05/20/1961	Lausanne	Switzerland	-	Belgium	2: 1 (2: 0)
05/28/1961	Stockholm	Sweden	-	Switzerland	4: 0 (2: 0)
04.10.1961	Brussels	Belgium	-	Sweden	0: 2 (0: 0)
October 29, 1961	Bern	Switzerland	-	Sweden	3: 2 (1: 1)
Playoff:
11/12/1961	Berlin	Switzerland	-	Sweden	2: 1 (0: 1)

Group 2

Closing table
Pl.	country	Gates	Pt.
1	Bulgaria	06: 04	6: 2
2	France	10: 03	6: 2
3	Finland	03:12	0: 8

Game results:

09/25/1960	Helsinki	Finland	-	France	1: 2 (1: 0)
12/11/1960	Colombes	France	-	Bulgaria	3: 0 (0: 0)
06/16/1961	Helsinki	Finland	-	Bulgaria	0: 2 (0: 1)
09/28/1961	Paris	France	-	Finland	5: 1 (3: 1)
October 29, 1961	Sofia	Bulgaria	-	Finland	3: 1 (2: 1)
11/12/1961	Sofia	Bulgaria	-	France	1: 0 (0: 0)
Playoff:
December 16, 1961	Milan	Bulgaria	-	France	1: 0 (0: 0)

Group 3

Closing table
Pl.	country	Gates	Pt.
1	BR Germany	11: 5	8-0
2	Northern Ireland	07: 8	2: 6
3	Greece	03: 8	2: 6

Game results:

10/26/1960	Belfast	Northern Ireland	-	BR Germany	3: 4 (1: 1)
11/20/1960	Athens	Greece	-	BR Germany	0: 3 (0: 3)
05/03/1961	Athens	Greece	-	Northern Ireland	2: 1 (1: 0)
05/10/1961	Berlin	BR Germany	-	Northern Ireland	2: 1 (1: 0)
10/17/1961	Belfast	Northern Ireland	-	Greece	2: 0 (1: 0)
10/22/1961	augsburg	BR Germany	-	Greece	2: 1 (2: 0)

Group 4

The game Netherlands - GDR was canceled because the Dutch government did not give the GDR footballers an entry permit. Since it was meaningless for the outcome of the qualification, it was not made up.

Closing table
Pl.	country	Gates	Pt.
1	Hungary	11: 5	7: 1
2	Netherlands	04: 7	2: 4
3	GDR	03: 6	1: 5

Game results:

04/16/1961	Budapest	Hungary	-	GDR	2: 0 (1: 0)
04/30/1961	Rotterdam	Netherlands	-	Hungary	0: 3 (0: 3)
05/14/1961	Leipzig	GDR	-	Netherlands	1: 1 (0: 0)
09/10/1961	Berlin	GDR	-	Hungary	2: 3 (0: 1)
10/01/1961		Netherlands	-	GDR	n / A
10/22/1961	Budapest	Hungary	-	Netherlands	3: 3 (2: 2)

Group 5

Closing table
Pl.	country	Gates	Pt.
1	Soviet Union	11: 03	8-0
2	Turkey	04: 04	4: 4
3	Norway	03:11	0: 8

Game results:

06/01/1961	Oslo	Norway	-	Turkey	0: 1 (0: 1)
06/18/1961	Moscow	USSR	-	Turkey	1: 0 (1: 0)
07/01/1961	Moscow	USSR	-	Norway	5: 2 (3: 0)
08/23/1961	Oslo	Norway	-	USSR	0: 3 (0: 0)
October 29, 1961	Istanbul	Turkey	-	Norway	2: 1 (0: 0)
11/12/1961	Istanbul	Turkey	-	USSR	1: 2 (1: 2)

Group 6

Closing table
Pl.	country	Gates	Pt.
1	England	16: 02	7: 1
2	Portugal	09: 07	3: 5
3	Luxembourg	05:21	2: 6

Game results:

October 19, 1960	Luxembourg	Luxembourg	-	England	0: 9 (0: 4)
03/19/1961	Lisbon	Portugal	-	Luxembourg	6: 0 (1: 0)
05/21/1961	Lisbon	Portugal	-	England	1: 1 (0: 0)
09/28/1961	London	England	-	Luxembourg	4: 1 (3: 0)
10/08/1961	Luxembourg	Luxembourg	-	Portugal	4: 2 (1: 0)
25.10.1961	London	England	-	Portugal	2: 0 (2: 0)

Group 7

After Romania's cancellation, Italy had to compete against the winner of the Middle East group (Israel) in the fight for participation in the finals.

Italy

-

Romania

Romania renounced

Group 8

Closing table
Pl.	country	Gates	Pt.
1	Czechoslovakia	16: 05	6: 2
2	Scotland	10: 07	6: 2
3	Ireland	03:17	0: 8

Game results:

05/03/1961	Glasgow	Scotland	-	Ireland	4: 1 (2: 0)
05/07/1961	Dublin	Ireland	-	Scotland	0: 3 (0: 2)
05/14/1961	Bratislava	Czechoslovakia	-	Scotland	4: 0 (3: 0)
09/26/1961	Glasgow	Scotland	-	Czechoslovakia	3: 2 (1: 1)
10/08/1961	Dublin	Ireland	-	Czechoslovakia	1: 3 (1: 1)
October 29, 1961	Prague	Czechoslovakia	-	Ireland	7: 1 (4: 0)
Playoff:
11/29/1961	Brussels	Czechoslovakia	-	Scotland	4: 2 n.V. (2: 2, 0: 1)

Group 9

Austria withdrew before qualification began. Spain were able to hold their own against Wales and had to face the winner of the Africa group (Morocco) in the fight for the finals.

Game results:

04/18/1961	Cardiff	Wales	-	Spain	1: 2 (1: 1)
05/18/1961	Madrid	Spain	-	Wales	1: 1 (0: 0)
		Austria		renounced

Group 10

Iceland withdrew before qualifying began. Yugoslavia was able to assert itself against Poland and had to compete against the winner of the Asian group (South Korea) in the fight for the final round.

Game results:

06/04/1961	Belgrade	Yugoslavia	-	Poland	2: 1 (1: 0)
06/25/1961	Chorzów	Poland	-	Yugoslavia	1: 1 (1: 1)
		Iceland		renounced

Asia ( AFC )

Only four Asian teams, two from the Middle East and two from the Far East, had registered for this World Cup qualification. In order to prevent politically motivated boycotts and for reasons of distance, a separate Middle East qualification was set up for the national teams from Israel and Cyprus (which were not hostile to Israel). The two remaining Far East participants, South Korea and Japan, competed against each other in the return leg. South Korea clearly prevailed with two wins, but lost the subsequent duel against Yugoslavia (winner of Europe Group 10).

Preliminary round

Game results:

11/06/1960	Seoul	South Korea	-	Japan	2: 1 (2: 1)
06/11/1961	Tokyo	Japan	-	South Korea	0: 2 (0: 1)

Play-off - Europe / East Asia

Game results:

10/08/1961	Belgrade	Yugoslavia	-	South Korea	5: 1 (1: 0)
11/26/1961	Seoul	South Korea	-	Yugoslavia	1: 3 (0: 2)

middle East

There was no direct final place for this group in this elimination, as the winner still had to prevail against a European representative. For political reasons (to avoid boycotts because of the Middle East conflict ) and partly also because of the regional proximity, two Asian and one African teams were combined for Middle East qualification in Israel, Cyprus and Ethiopia. The three teams played their qualifications in the knockout system . First, the two Asian representatives, Cyprus and Israel, met. Israel was able to prevail, as well as against the next opponent from Ethiopia. In the fight for the only starting place at the World Cup finals, however, the Israeli team had to admit defeat against Italy as the winners of Europe Group 7.

Preliminary round / Middle East final

Game results:

Preliminary round

11/13/1960	Nicosia	Cyprus	-	Israel	1: 1 (1: 1)
11/27/1960	Tel Aviv	Israel	-	Cyprus	6: 1 (1: 0)

final

03/14/1961	Tel Aviv	Israel	-	Ethiopia	1: 0 (0: 0)
03/19/1961	Tel Aviv	Ethiopia	-	Israel	2: 3 (1: 1)

Play-off - Europe / Middle East

Game results:

10/15/1961	Tel Aviv	Israel	-	Italy	2: 4 (2: 0)
04/11/1961	Turin	Italy	-	Israel	6: 0 (1: 0)

Africa ( CAF )

As in the Middle East group, there was also no direct place in the finals, as the first place had to compete against the winner of Europe group 9. A total of seven African national teams had registered for the World Cup, with Ethiopia assigned to the Middle East group. Both teams in sub-group 1 (United Arab Republic, Sudan) withdrew their entries before the start of qualification, so that the winner of the Africa group was determined from the first two places in sub-groups 2 and 3. It was the league mode, in which a decider was played on neutral ground if there was a tie after the return leg. Morocco was finally able to prevail against the team from Ghana, but had to admit defeat to the European representative Spain in the fight for the final ticket.

Preliminary round / Africa final

Game results:

Subgroup 1

United Arab Republic

Sudan

waived

Subgroup 2

10/30/1960	Casablanca	Morocco	-	Tunisia	2: 1 (0: 0)
11/13/1960	Tunis	Tunisia	-	Morocco	2: 1 (0: 0)
Playoff:
01/22/1961	Palermo	Morocco *	-	Tunisia	1: 1 n.V. (1: 1, 1: 0)

* Morocco declared the winner by drawing lots

Subgroup 3

08/28/1960	Accra	Ghana	-	Nigeria	4: 1 (2: 0)
09/10/1960	Lagos	Nigeria	-	Ghana	2: 2 (1: 2)

final

04/02/1961	Accra	Ghana	-	Morocco	0: 0 (0: 0)
05/28/1961	Casablanca	Morocco	-	Ghana	1: 0 (1: 0)

Play-off - Europe / Africa

Game results:

11/12/1961	Casablanca	Morocco	-	Spain	0: 1 (0: 0)
11/23/1961	Madrid	Spain	-	Morocco	3: 2 (2: 1)

South America ( CONMEBOL )

Since Brazil as defending champions and Chile as hosts were already qualified, the remaining seven South American teams fought for the starting places at the World Cup finals. Six national teams played in three groups of two for three direct finals, while Paraguay, the seventh representative of South America, had to face the winner of the "North and Central America" ​​elimination.

Group 1

Game results:

December 04, 1960	Guayaquil	Ecuador	-	Argentina	3: 6 (0: 4)
December 17, 1960	Buenos Aires	Argentina	-	Ecuador	5: 0 (1: 0)

Group 2

Game results:

07/15/1961	La Paz	Bolivia	-	Uruguay	1: 1 (0: 1)
07/30/1961	Montevideo	Uruguay	-	Bolivia	2: 1 (2: 0)

Group 3

Game results:

04/30/1961	Bogotá	Colombia	-	Peru	1: 0 (1: 0)
05/07/1961	Lima	Peru	-	Colombia	1: 1 (1: 0)

Group 4

Paraguay

-

Winner CONCACAF

North and Central America ( CONCACAF )

Seven North and Central American teams fought to participate in the World Cup. However, the North and Central America representative could not qualify directly for the World Cup finals, but had to compete against the winner of South America Group 4. The seven participants initially played in three preliminary round groups, including two groups with two teams each and one group with three teams. The three group winners then played out the winner of the qualification in a final round. In this elimination, Paraguay met as South America representative and Mexico as winner of the North and Central America qualification. Mexico retained the upper hand against the South American representative and qualified for the World Cup finals.

Preliminary round

Game results:

Group 1

11/06/1960	los Angeles	United States	-	Mexico	3: 3 (1: 3)
11/13/1960	Mexico city	Mexico	-	United States	3: 0 (3: 0)

Group 2

Closing table
Pl.	country	Gates	Pt.
1	Costa Rica	15: 06	5: 3
2	Honduras	05: 07	5: 3
3	Guatemala	05:12	2: 6

08/21/1960	San Jose	Costa Rica	-	Guatemala	3: 2 (2: 1)
08/28/1960	Guatemala City	Guatemala	-	Costa Rica	4: 4 (2: 2)
09/04/1960	Tegucigalpa	Honduras	-	Costa Rica	2: 1 (1: 0)
09/11/1960	San Jose	Costa Rica	-	Honduras	5: 0 (3: 0)
09/25/1960	Guatemala City	Honduras	-	Guatemala	1: 1 (0: 0)
10/02/1960	Tegucigalpa	Guatemala	-	Honduras	0: 2 (0: 0) *
Playoff:
01/14/1961	Guatemala City	Costa Rica	-	Honduras	1: 0 (0: 0)

Group 3

10/02/1960	Paramaribo	Suriname	-	Netherlands Antilles	1: 2 (1: 2)
11/27/1960	Willemstad	Netherlands Antilles	-	Suriname	0-0

Final round

Game results:

Closing table
Pl.	country	Gates	Pt.
1	Mexico	11: 02	5: 3
2	Costa Rica	08: 06	4: 4
3	Netherlands Antilles	02:13	3: 5

March 22, 1961	San Jose	Costa Rica	-	Mexico	1: 0 (1: 0)
03/29/1961	San Jose	Costa Rica	-	Netherlands Antilles	6: 0 (3: 0)
04/05/1961	Mexico city	Mexico	-	Netherlands Antilles	7: 0 (2: 0)
04/12/1961	Mexico city	Mexico	-	Costa Rica	4: 1 (2: 0)
04/23/1961	Willemstad	Netherlands Antilles	-	Costa Rica	2: 0 (0: 0)
05/21/1961	Willemstad	Netherlands Antilles	-	Mexico	0-0

Play-off - South America / North and Central America

Game results:

October 29, 1961	Mexico city	Mexico	-	Paraguay	1: 0 (0: 0)
05/11/1961	Asunción	Paraguay	-	Mexico	0-0

Web links

• RSSSF - Qualification for the Football World Cup 1962

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Dutch government under pressure - GDR national soccer team was not allowed to enter the country / FIFA threatens to expel Holland. In: New Germany. ZEFYS, Archives of the Berlin State Library , September 8, 1961, p. 8 , accessed on April 24, 2014 .