1962 Fifa World Cup (qualification) Article Index for
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1962 Fifa World Cup (qualification)




As with previous World Cups, the rules of the qualification rounds were quite confusing. Moreover, the winners of the three weakest continental zones, North, Central America and Caribbean ( CONCACAF ), 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 CONCACAF); 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 ( CONCACAF ): ''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.


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 would play against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would qualify.

  • Group 7 had 5 teams. The teams would play in a knockout tournament, with matches on a home-and-away basis. The group winner would qualify.

  • Group 9 had 2 teams. The teams would play 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 would play against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winner would advance to the UEFA / AFC Intercontinental Play-off.



UEFA Group 1

October 19 , 1960 , Stockholm , Sweden - 2 - 0

November 20 , 1960 , Brussels , Belgium - 2 - 4

May 20 , 1961 , Lausanne , Switzerland - 2 - 1

May 28 , 1961 , Stockholm , Sweden - 4 - 0

October 4 , 1961 , Brussels , Belgium - 0 - 2

October 29 , 1961 , Berne , Switzerland - 3 - 2

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

November 12 , 1961 , Berlin , West Germany - 2 - 1

Switzerland qualified.


UEFA Group 2

September 25 , 1960 , Helsinki , Finland - 1 - 2

December 11 , 1960 , Paris , France - 3 - 0

June 16 , 1961 , Helsinki , Finland - 0 - 2

September 28 , 1961 , Paris , France - 5 - 1

October 29 , 1961 , Sofia , Bulgaria - 3 - 1

November 12 , 1961 , Sofia , Bulgaria - 1 - 0

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

December 16 , 1961 , Milan , Italy - 1 - 0

Bulgaria qualified.


UEFA Group 3

October 26 , 1960 , Belfast , Northern Ireland - 3 - 4

November 20 , 1960 , Athens , Greece - 0 - 3

May 3 , 1961 , Athens , Greece - 2 - 1

May 10 , 1961 , Berlin , West Germany - 2 - 1

October 17 , 1961 , Belfast , Northern Ireland - 2 - 0

October 22 , 1961 , Hamburg , West Germany - 2 - 1

West Germany qualified.


UEFA Group 4

April 16 , 1961 , Budapest , Hungary - 2 - 0

April 30 , 1961 , Rotterdam , Netherlands - 0 - 3

May 14 , 1961 , Leipzig , East Germany - 1 - 1

September 10 , 1961 , Berlin , East Germany - 2 - 3

October 22 , 1961 , Budapest , Hungary - 3 - 3

Netherlands vs East Germany (scheduled October 1 , 1961 ) was not played since the East German players were refused visas. Neither team could qualify with a win anyway.

Hungary qualified.


UEFA Group 5

June 1 , 1961 , Oslo , Norway - 0 - 1

June 18 , 1961 , Moscow , USSR - 1 - 0

July 1 , 1961 , Moscow , USSR - 5 - 2

August 23 , 1961 , Oslo , Norway - 0 - 3

October 29 , 1961 , Ankara , Turkey - 2 - 1

November 12 , 1961 , Istanbul , Turkey - 1 - 2

USSR qualified.


UEFA Group 6

October 19 , 1960 , Luxembourg , Luxembourg - 0 - 9

March 19 , 1961 , Lisbon , Portugal - 6 - 0

May 21 , 1961 , Lisbon , Portugal - 1 - 1

September 28 , 1961 , London , England - 4 - 1

October 8 , 1961 , Luxembourg , Luxembourg - 4 - 2

October 25 , 1961 , London , England - 2 - 0

England qualified.


UEFA Group 7


First round

November 13 , 1960 , Nicosia , Cyprus - 1 - 1

November 27 , 1960 , Ramat Gan , Israel - 6 - 1

''Israel'' advanced to the Second Round.


Second round

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

March 14 , 1961 , Ramat Gan , Israel - 1 - 0

March 19 , 1961 , Ramat Gan , Israel - 2 - 3
: This match was played in Israel instead of in Ethiopia.

''Israel'' advanced to the Final Round.


Final Round

October 15 , 1961 , Ramat Gan , Israel - 2 - 4

November 4 , 1961 , Turin , Italy - 6 - 0

Italy qualified.


UEFA Group 8

May 3 , 1961 , Glasgow , Scotland - 4 - 1

May 7 , 1961 , Dublin , Ireland - 0 - 3

May 14 , 1961 , Bratislava , Czechoslovakia - 4 - 0

September 26 , 1961 , Glasgow , Scotland - 3 - 2

October 8 , 1961 , Dublin , Ireland - 1 - 3

October 29 , 1961 , Prague , Czechoslovakia - 7 - 1

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

November 29 , 1961 , Brussels , Belgium - 4 - 2 ( Aet )

Czechoslovakia qualified.


UEFA Group 9

April 19 , 1961 , Cardiff , Wales - 1 - 2

May 18 , 1961 , Madrid , Spain - 1 - 1

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


UEFA Group 10

June 4 , 1961 , Belgrade , Yugoslavia - 2 - 1

June 25 , 1961 , Chorzow , Poland - 1 - 1

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


SOUTH AMERICA

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


CONMEBOL Group 1

December 4 , 1960 , Guayaquil , Ecuador - 3 - 6

December 18 , 1960 , Buenos Aires , Argentina - 5 - 0

Argentina qualified.


CONMEBOL Group 2

July 16 , 1960 , La Paz , Bolivia - 1 - 1

July 30 , 1960 , Montevideo , Uruguay - 2 - 1

Uruguay qualified.


CONMEBOL Group 3

April 30 , 1961 , Bogotá , Colombia - 1 - 0

May 7 , 1961 , Lima , Peru - 1 - 1

Colombia qualified.


NORTH, CENTRAL AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN

Canada withdrew before the matches began. There would be two rounds of play:
  • First Round: The remaining 7 teams were divided into 3 groups of 2 or 3 teams each (Group 1 with teams from North America, Group 2 with teams from Central America and Group 3 with teams from Caribbean). The teams would play against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would advance to the Final Round.

  • Final Round: The 3 teams would play against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winner would advance to the CONMEBOL / CONCACAF Intercontinental Play-off.



CONCACAF First Round


Group 1

November 6 , 1960 , Los Angeles , USA - 3 - 3

November 13 , 1960 , Mexico City , Mexico - 3 - 0

''Mexico'' advanced to the Final Round.


Group 2

August 21 , 1960 , San José , Costa Rica - 3 - 2

August 28 , 1960 , Guatemala City , Guatemala - 4 - 4

September 4 , 1960 , Tegucigalpa , Honduras - 2 - 1

September 11 , 1960 , San José , Costa Rica - 5 - 0

September 25 , 1960 , Tegucigalpa , Honduras - 1 - 1

October 2 , 1960 , Guatemala City , Guatemala - 0 - 2
: FIFA awarded Honduras a 2-0 win because Guatemala forfeited.

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.

January 14 , 1961 , Guatemala City , Guatemala - 1 - 0

''Costa Rica'' advanced to the Final Round.


Group 3

October 2 , 1960 , Paramaribo , Dutch Guyana - 1 - 2

November 27 , 1960 , Willemstad , Netherlands Antilles - 0 - 0

''Netherlands Antilles'' advanced to the Final Round.


CONCACAF Final Round

March 22 , 1961 , San José , Costa Rica - 1 - 0

March 29 , 1961 , San José , Costa Rica - 6 - 0

April 5 , 1961 , Mexico City , Mexico - 7 - 0

April 12 , 1961 , Mexico City , Mexico - 4 - 1

April 23 , 1961 , Willemstad , Netherlands Antilles - 2 - 0

May 21 , 1961 , Willemstad , Netherlands Antilles - 0 - 0

''Mexico'' advanced to the CONMEBOL / CONCACAF 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 would play against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would advance to the Final Round.

  • Final Round: The 3 teams would play 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

Egypt and Sudan both withdrew.


Group 2

October 30 , 1960 , Casablanca , Morocco - 2 - 1

November 13 , 1960 , Tunis , Tunisia - 2 - 1

With one win for either team, a play-off on neutral ground was played to decide who would advance to the Final Round.

January 22 , 1961 , Palermo , Italy - 1 - 1 ( Aet )

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


Group 3

August 28 , 1960 , Accra , Ghana - 4 - 1

September 10 , 1960 , Lagos , Nigeria - 2 - 2

''Ghana'' advanced to the Final Round.


CAF Final Round

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

April 2 , 1961 , Accra , Ghana - 0 - 0

May 28 , 1961 , Casablanca , Morocco - 1 - 0

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


ASIA

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


AFC Final Round

Indonesia withdrew.

November 6 , 1960 , Seoul , South Korea - 2 - 1

June 11 , 1961 , Tokyo , Japan - 0 - 2

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


INTERCONTINENTAL PLAY-OFFS

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


UEFA / CAF Intercontinental Play-off

November 12 , 1961 , Casablanca , Morocco - 0 - 1

November 23 , 1961 , Madrid , Spain - 3 - 2

Spain qualified.


UEFA / AFC Intercontinental Play-off

October 8 , 1961 , Belgrade , Yugoslavia - 5 - 1

November 26 , 1961 , Seoul , South Korea - 1 - 3

Yugoslavia qualified.


CONMEBOL / CONCACAF Intercontinental Play-off

October 29 , 1961 , Mexico City , Mexico - 1 - 0

November 5 , 1961 , Asunción , Paraguay - 0 - 0

Mexico qualified.


QUALIFIED TEAMS


(h) - qualified automatically as hosts

(c) - qualified automatically as defending champions

1 Includes appearances by pre-division Germany. This is their 3rd appearance as West Germany.



NOTES

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



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