1970 FIFA World Cup qualification

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1970 FIFA World Cup Qualification
Tournament details
Teams 75 (from 6 confederations)
Tournament statistics
Matches played 172
Goals scored 542 (3.15 per match)
1966
1974

A total of 75 teams entered the 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, competing for a total of 16 spots in the final tournament. Hosts Mexico and defending champions England qualified automatically, leaving 14 spots open for competition.

For the first time, the winners of both the African zone and the Asian and Oceanian zone were guaranteed a direct place in the final tournament. The 16 spots available in the 1970 World Cup would be distributed among the continental zones as follows:

  • Europe (UEFA): 9 places, 1 of them went to automatic qualifier England, while the other 8 places were contested by 29 teams.
  • South America (CONMEBOL): 3 places, contested by 10 teams.
  • North, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF): 2 places, 1 of them went to automatic qualifier Mexico, while the other 1 place was contested by 13 teams.
  • Africa (CAF): 1 place, contested by 13 teams. (13 teams applied, but FIFA rejected the entries of Guinea and Zaire, leaving 11 teams. A 14th team from Africa, Rhodesia, entered through a non-CAF qualifying system.)
  • Asia and Oceania (AFC/OFC): 1 place, contested by 7 teams (including Rhodesia).

A total of 68 teams played in at least one qualifying match. A total of 172 qualifying matches were played, and 542 goals were scored (an average of 3.15 per match).

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

Key:

  • Teams highlighted in green qualified for the finals.
  • Teams highlighted in red in the same table finished level on points and advanced to a play-off on neutral ground.

Qualified teams

File:Qualification for the 1970 FIFA World Cup.png
FIFA World Cup qualification 1970
Team Qualified as Qualification date Appearance
in finals
Consecutive
Streak
Previous best performance
 Mexico Host 008 October 1964 7th 6 Group Stage (1930, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966)
 England Holders 0130 July 1966 6th 6 Winners (1966)
 Belgium UEFA Group 6 Winners 0230 April 1969 5th 1 (Last: 1954) Group Stage (1930, 1934, 1938, 1954)
 Uruguay CONMEBOL Group 3 Winners 0310 August 1969 6th 3 Winners (1930, 1950)
23x15px Brazil CONMEBOL Group 2 Winners 0424 August 1969 9th 9 Winners (1958, 1962)
 Peru CONMEBOL Group 1 Winners 0531 August 1969 2nd 1 (Last: 1930) Group Stage (1930)
 El Salvador CONCACAF Winners 068 October 1969 1st 1
 Sweden UEFA Group 5 Winners 0715 October 1969 5th 1 (Last: 1958) Runners-Up (1958)
 West Germany UEFA Group 7 Winners 0822 October 1969 7th 5 Winners (1954)
 Morocco CAF Winners 0926 October 1969 1st 1
 Soviet Union UEFA Group 4 Winners 104 November 1969 4th 4 Fourth Place (1966)
 Romania UEFA Group 1 Winners 1116 November 1969 4th 1 (Last: 1938) Group Stage (1930, 1934, 1938)
 Italy UEFA Group 3 Winners 1222 November 1969 7th 3 Winners (1934, 1938)
 Czechoslovakia UEFA Group 2 Winners 133 December 1969 6th 1 (Last: 1962) Runners-Up (1962)
 Bulgaria UEFA Group 8 Winners 147 December 1969 3rd 3 Group Stage (1962, 1966)
 Israel AFC/OFC Winners 1514 December 1969 1st 1

Europe (UEFA)

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(30 teams competing for 8 berths)

FIFA rejected the entry of Albania and both Iceland and Malta withdrew before draw. The remaining 29 teams were divided into 8 groups of 3 or 4 teams each (three groups with 3 teams and five groups with 4 teams). The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would qualify.

Group 1
Team Pld Pts
 Romania 6 8
 Greece 6 7
  Switzerland 6 5
 Portugal 6 4
Group 2
Team Pld Pts
 Czechoslovakia 6 9
 Hungary 6 9
 Denmark 6 5
 Republic of Ireland 6 1
Group 3
Team Pld Pts
 Italy 4 7
 East Germany 4 5
 Wales 4 0
Group 4
Team Pld Pts
 Soviet Union 4 7
 Northern Ireland 4 5
 Turkey 4 0
Group 5
Team Pld Pts
 Sweden 4 6
 France 4 4
 Norway 4 2
Group 6
Team Pld Pts
 Belgium 6 9
 Yugoslavia 6 7
23x15px Spain 6 6
 Finland 6 2
Group 7
Team Pld Pts
 West Germany 6 11
 Scotland 6 7
 Austria 6 6
 Cyprus 6 0
Group 8
Team Pld Pts
 Bulgaria 6 9
 Poland 6 8
 Netherlands 6 7
 Luxembourg 6 0

South America (CONMEBOL)

The 10 teams were divided into 3 groups; two groups with 3 teams and one group with 4 teams. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would qualify.

Group 1

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
1  Peru 5 4 2 1 1 7 4 +3
2  Bolivia 4 4 2 0 2 5 6 −1
3  Argentina 3 4 1 1 2 4 6 −2





Peru qualified.

This has been to date, the only time that Argentina failed to qualify.

Group 2

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
1 23x15px Brazil 12 6 6 0 0 23 2 +21
2  Paraguay 8 6 4 0 2 6 5 +1
3  Colombia 3 6 1 1 4 7 12 −5
4  Venezuela 1 6 0 1 5 1 18 −17











Brazil qualified.

Group 3

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
1  Uruguay 7 4 3 1 0 5 0 +5
2  Chile 4 4 1 2 1 5 4 +1
3  Ecuador 1 4 0 1 3 2 8 −6





Uruguay qualified.

North, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF)

FIFA rejected the entry of Cuba. There would be three rounds of play:

  • First Round: The remaining 12 teams were divided into 4 groups of 3 teams each. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would advance to the Semifinal Round.
  • Semifinal Round: The 4 teams were paired up to play knockout matches on a home-and-away basis. The 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.

First Round

Group 1

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
1  United States 6 4 3 0 1 11 6 +5
2  Canada 5 4 2 1 1 8 3 +5
3  Bermuda 1 4 0 1 3 2 12 −10





United States advanced to the Semifinal Round.

Group 2

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
1  Haiti 5 4 2 1 1 9 5 +4
2  Guatemala 4 4 1 2 1 5 3 +2
3  Trinidad and Tobago 3 4 1 1 2 4 10 −6





Haiti advanced to the Semifinal Round.

Group 3

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
1  Honduras 7 4 3 1 0 7 2 +5
2  Costa Rica 5 4 2 1 1 7 3 +4
3  Jamaica 0 4 0 0 4 2 11 −9





Honduras advanced to the Semifinal Round.

Group 4

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
1  El Salvador 6 4 3 0 1 10 5 +5
2  Dutch Guyana 4 4 2 0 2 10 9 +1
3  Netherlands Antilles 2 4 1 0 3 3 9 −6





El Salvador advanced to the Semifinal Round.

Semifinal Round

Group 1

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
1  Haiti 4 2 2 0 0 3 0 +3
2  United States 0 2 0 0 2 0 3 −3

Haiti advanced to the Final Round.

Group 2

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
1=  El Salvador 2 2 1 0 1 3 1 +2
1=  Honduras 2 2 1 0 1 1 3 −2

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

El Salvador advanced to the Final Round. Additionally, these matches featured prominently in the Football War.

Final Round

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
1=  Haiti 2 2 1 0 1 4 2 +2
1=  El Salvador 2 2 1 0 1 2 4 −2

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

El Salvador qualified.

Africa (CAF)

FIFA rejected the entries of Guinea and Democratic Republic of the Congo. There would be three rounds of play:

  • First Round: Ghana received a bye and advanced to the Second Round directly. The remaining 10 teams were paired up to play knockout matches on a home-and-away basis. The winners (determined by aggregate score) would advance to the Second Round.
  • Second Round: The 6 teams were paired up to play knockout matches on a home-and-away basis. The 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 qualify.

First Round

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg 3rd leg
Zambia  6–6  Sudan 4–2 2–4 (aet)
Morocco  4–2  Senegal 1–0 1–2 2–0
Algeria  1–2  Tunisia 1–2 0–0
Nigeria  4–3  Cameroon 1–1 3–2
Libya  3–5  Ethiopia 2–0 1–5

The aggregate score was tied 6–6, but Sudan advanced to the Second Round as they scored more goals in the second match.


The aggregate score was tied 2–2, and since extra time was not played in the second match, a play-off on neutral ground was played to decide who would advance to the Second Round.

Morocco advanced to the Second Round, via the play-off.


Tunisia advanced to the Second Round.


Nigeria advanced to the Second Round.


Ethiopia advanced to the Second Round.

Second Round

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg 3rd leg
Tunisia  2–2  Morocco 0–0 0–0 (aet) 2–2 (aet)
Ethiopia  2–4  Sudan 1–1 1–3
Nigeria  3–2  Ghana 2–1 1–1

The aggregate score was tied 0–0, 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.


Sudan advanced to the Final Round.


Nigeria advanced to the Final Round.

Final Round

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
1  Morocco 5 4 2 1 1 5 3 +2
2  Nigeria 4 4 1 2 1 8 7 +1
3  Sudan 3 4 0 3 1 5 8 −3





Morocco qualified.

Asia and Oceania (AFC/OFC)

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North Korea withdrew before the matches were played as they refused to play Israel. There would be three rounds of play:

  • First Round: Israel, New Zealand and Rhodesia received byes and advanced to the Second Round directly. The remaining 3 teams, Australia, Japan and South Korea, played against each other twice in South Korea. The group winner would advance to the Second Round.
  • Second Round: The 4 teams were divided into 2 groups of 2 teams each. The teams played against each other twice. 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.

First Round

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
1  Australia 6 4 2 2 0 7 4 +3
2  South Korea 4 4 1 2 1 6 5 +1
3  Japan 2 4 0 2 2 4 8 −4





Australia advanced to the Second Round.

Second Round

Group 1

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
1=  Australia 2 2 0 2 0 1 1 0
1=  Rhodesia 2 2 0 2 0 1 1 0

Australia and Rhodesia finished level on points, and a play-off was played to decide who would advance to the Final Round.

Australia advanced to the Final Round.

Group 2

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
1  Israel 4 2 2 0 0 6 0 +6
2  New Zealand 0 2 0 0 2 0 6 −6
 North Korea withdrew

Israel advanced to the Final Round. North Korea, despite their good performance in the previous tournament staged in England in 1966, refused to play in Israel.[7]

Final Round

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
1  Israel 3 2 1 1 0 2 1 +1
2  Australia 1 2 0 1 1 1 2 −1

Israel qualified.

Notes

  • In the African zone, aggregate score was used to determine the winners of two-legged ties. However, different tie-breakers were used in the matches when the aggregate score was tied.
  • Morocco was the first African team to qualify since Egypt in the 1934 World Cup.
  • As a result of the hostile relationship between El Salvador and Honduras, and rioting during the qualification matches between them, the short-lived Football War broke out between the two countries.
  • Israel qualified for their only World Cup to date as an Asian team. However, soon after this, they were expelled from the Asian Football Confederation, and nowadays compete in the European zone as they are now a member of UEFA.
  • This was the first and, to date, only time that Argentina failed to qualify for a FIFA World Cup.

References

  1. http://www.allworldcup.narod.ru/1970/PROTOCOL/QUALIF/CONMEBOL/G2/BRAVSCOL.HTM
  2. 2.0 2.1 Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and New Zealand played all of their matches away. Rhodesia and Australia played their matches at a neutral venue.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Jamaica played all of its matches away.
  4. Netherlands Antilles played its "home" game away in El Salvador.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 All matches were played on neutral ground due to the boycott of Rhodesia.
  6. 6.0 6.1 Both matches were played in Israel.
  7. Fifa.com: preliminaries 1970

External links