1950 FIFA World Cup qualification

1950 FIFA World Cup Qualification
Tournament details
Teams 34 (from 3 confederations)
Tournament statistics
Matches played 26
Goals scored 121 (4.65 per match)
Top scorer(s) England Jack Rowley
Mexico Horacio Casarín
Mexico Luis de la Fuente
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Željko Čajkovski
(4 goals each)

A total of 34 teams entered the qualification rounds of the 1950 FIFA World Cup, competing for a total of 16 spots in the final tournament. Brazil, as the hosts, and Italy, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 14 spots open for competition.

The remaining 32 teams were divided into 10 groups, based on geographical considerations, as follows:

  • Groups 1 to 6 – Europe: 7 places, contested by 18 teams (including Israel and Syria).
  • Groups 7 to 9 – The Americas: 6 places, contested by 10 teams.
  • Group 10 – Asia: 1 place, contested by 4 teams.

However, due to the withdrawals of India, Scotland and Turkey after qualifying, only 13 teams actually competed in the final tournament.

A total of 19 teams played at least one qualifying match. A total of 26 qualifying matches were played, and 121 goals were scored (an average of 4.65 per match).

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

Groups

The 10 groups had different rules, as follows:

  • Group 1 had 4 teams. The teams played against each other once. The group winner and runner-up would qualify.
  • Groups 2, 3 and 4 had 3 teams each. The strongest team of each group was seeded. There would be two rounds of play:
    • Final Round: The seeded team played against the winner of the First Round on a home-and-away basis. The winner would qualify.
  • Group 5 had 3 teams. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winner would qualify.
  • Group 6 had 2 teams. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winner would qualify.
  • Group 7 had 3 teams. The group winner and runner-up would qualify.
  • Group 8 had 4 teams. The group winner and runner-up would qualify.
  • Group 9 had 3 teams. The teams played against each other twice. The group winner and runner-up would qualify.
  • Group 10 had 4 teams. The group winner would qualify.

Group 1

Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1  England 3300143+116
2  Scotland 3201103+74
3=  Wales 301216−51
3=  Ireland (IFA) 3012417−131

England qualified. Scotland also qualified, but declined to travel.

Group 2

First round

Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1  Turkey 110070+72
2  Syria 100107−70

Syria withdrew, and remaining match was not played.

Turkey advanced to the Final Round.

Final round

Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
—  Turkey qualified, later withdrew
—  Austria withdrew

Austria withdrew, so Turkey qualified automatically. But Turkey later also withdrew, and FIFA offered the place to Portugal, the runner-up of Group 6, but they declined. FIFA decided not to allow anyone else to qualify, leaving the World Cup two teams short.

Group 3

First round

Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1  Yugoslavia 2200112+94
2  Israel 2002211−90

Yugoslavia advanced to the Final Round.

Final round

Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1  France 20202202
 Yugoslavia 20202202

France 2–2 Yugoslavia on aggregate, and a play-off on neutral ground was played to decide who would qualify.

Yugoslavia qualified while France were also offered a place by FIFA. France initially accepted, but later declined.

Group 4

First round

Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1   Switzerland 220084+44
2  Luxembourg 200248−40

Switzerland advanced to the Final Round.

Final round

Belgium withdrew, so Switzerland qualified automatically.

Group 5

Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1  Sweden 220062+44
2  Ireland (FAI) 411267−13
3  Finland 201114−31

Sweden qualified. Finland withdrew before the group was completed. Ireland (FAI) were subsequently invited to enter competition but declined the opportunity because of traveling costs.[1]

Sweden beat Finland 8–1 on 2 October 1949 in Malmö.[2] However, FIFA's website does not include this match in the list of matches or in the group standings.[3] RSSSF's website lists the match with the note "Sweden played B-team", and does not provide group standings.[4]

Group 6

Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1  Spain 211073+43
2  Portugal 201137−41

Spain qualified. Portugal were also invited to take part but they declined.

Group 7

Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
1  Bolivia
 Chile
3  Argentina Withdrew


Argentina withdrew, so Bolivia and Chile qualified automatically.

Group 8

Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
1  Uruguay
 Paraguay
3  Ecuador Withdrew
 Peru

Ecuador and Peru withdrew, so Uruguay and Paraguay qualified automatically.

Group 9

Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1  Mexico 4400172+158
2  United States 4112815−73
3  Cuba 4013311−81

Mexico and the United States qualified.

Group 10

Burma, Indonesia and the Philippines all withdrew before the draw, so India qualified automatically. But India later also withdrew "because of the expense of traveling such a long way to play,"[5] and the AIFF wanted to concentrate on the 1952 Olympics.[6] Although according to some reports, it was caused by a FIFA ruling that players were not allowed to play barefoot.[7] FIFA decided not to invite anyone else, leaving the World Cup three teams short.

Qualified teams

FIFA World Cup qualification 1950
Participating countries after 3 of the 16 qualifying countries withdrew.
Team Finals appearance Streak Last appearance
 Bolivia 2nd11930
 Brazil (H) 4th41938
 Chile 2nd11930
 England 1st1–
 India 1st1–
 Italy (c) 3rd31938
 Mexico 2nd11930
 Paraguay 2nd11930
 Spain 2nd11934
 Scotland 1st1–
 Sweden 3rd31938
  Switzerland 3rd31938
 Turkey 1st1–
 United States 3rd11934
 Uruguay 2nd11930
 Yugoslavia 2nd11930
  •  India,  Scotland and  Turkey withdrew after qualifying.
  • (H) – qualified automatically as hosts
  • (c) – qualified automatically as defending champions

6 of the 13 teams subsequently failed to qualify for the 1954 finals: Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Spain, Sweden and United States.

Goalscorers

4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal

Notes

  • At the start of 1950 there were, in effect, two Ireland teams, chosen by two rival associations. Both associations, the Northern Ireland-based IFA and the Republic of Ireland-based FAI claimed jurisdiction over the whole of Ireland and selected players from the whole island. As a result, several notable Irish players from this era played for both teams. Four players – Tom Aherne, Reg Ryan, Davy Walsh and Con Martin – actually played for both the FAI XI and the IFA XI in these qualifying rounds. FIFA intervened, after complaints from the FAI,[8] and subsequently restricted players' eligibility based on the political border. In 1953 FIFA ruled neither team could be referred to as Ireland, decreeing that the FAI team be officially designated as the Republic of Ireland, while the IFA team was to become Northern Ireland.
  • For the third qualifying tournament in a row, the South American teams qualified automatically after withdrawals. In Group 7, Bolivia and Chile did play two matches between them, but they were not classified as official World Cup qualifiers by FIFA.
  • Burma, the Philippines and Indonesia all withdrew, so India qualified automatically. However, India withdrew later because of "disagreements over team selection and insufficient practice time.". India had never been able to qualify for the World Cup before and have never been able to do since then, which means they are the only team to have qualified for the World Cup and that never played a World Cup match.

References

  1. ↑ Invitation to World Cup turned down www.independent.ie, February 22, 2004
  2. ↑ "WORLD CUP 1950". allworldcup.narod.ru. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  3. ↑ "1950 FIFA World Cup Brazil ™ - Groups". FIFA.com. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  4. ↑ "World Cup 1950 Qualifying". RSSSF.com. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  5. ↑ "World Cup: US v England match recalls 1950 upset". BBC. 2 June 2010.
  6. ↑ Cronin, Brian (19 July 2011). "Did India withdraw from the 1950 World Cup because they were not allowed to play barefoot?". Los Angeles Times.
  7. ↑
  8. ↑ Ryan, Sean (1997). The Boys in Green: the FAI international story. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 1-85158-939-2. pp. 50.
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