1954 FIFA World Cup qualification

1954 FIFA World Cup Qualification
Tournament details
Teams 37 (from 3 confederations)
Tournament statistics
Matches played 57
Goals scored 208 (3.65 per match)
Top scorer(s) West Germany Max Morlock (6 goals)

A total of 37 teams entered the 1954 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, competing for a total of 16 spots in the final tournament. Switzerland, as the hosts, and Uruguay, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 14 spots open for competition.

37 teams were divided into 13 groups, based on geographical considerations, as follows:

  • Groups 1 to 10 – Europe: 11 places, contested by 27 teams (including Egypt and Israel).
  • Group 11 and 12 – The Americas: 2 places, contested by 7 teams.
  • Group 13 – Asia: 1 place, contested by 3 teams.

A total of 33 teams played at least one qualifying match. A total of 57 qualifying matches were played, and 208 goals were scored (an average of 3.65 per match).

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

Groups

The 13 groups had different rules, as follows:

  • Groups 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 10 had 3 teams each. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would qualify.
  • Groups 7 and 9 had 2 teams each. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would qualify.
  • Group 3 had 4 teams. The teams played against each other once. The group winner and runner-up would qualify.
  • Group 11 had 4 teams. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winner would qualify.
  • Group 12 had 3 teams. The teams played against each other twice. The group winner would qualify.
  • Group 13 had 3 teams. After Republic Of China withdrew before the matches began, the remaining 2 teams played against each other twice. The group winner would qualify.

Group 1

Pos. Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 West Germany 4310123+97
2 Saar 411248−43
3 Norway 402249−52

Group 2

Pos. Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Belgium 4310116+57
2 Sweden 411298+13
3 Finland 4022713−62

This is the first time Sweden failed to qualify.

Group 3

This group was also the 1953–54 British Home Championship.

Pos. Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 England 3300114+76
2 Scotland 31118803
3 Northern Ireland 310247−32
4 Wales 301259−41

Group 4

Pos. Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 France 4400204+168
2 Republic of Ireland 420286+24
3 Luxembourg 4004119−180

Group 5

Pos. Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Austria 211091+83
2 Portugal 201119−81
— Denmark Withdrew

Group 6

Pos. Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Spain 210142+22
 Turkey 210124−22
— Netherlands Withdrew

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

Luigi Franco Gemma, a 14-year-old Italian boy whose father worked at the stadium, picked Turkey's name from the lots with his eyes blindfolded.[1][2] Since the 1970 FIFA World Cup finals, goal difference has been used as a tiebreaker for future qualifying rounds. Had those rules been in place, Spain would have qualified, and Turkey would have been eliminated. This is the first time Spain failed to qualify.

Group 7

Pos. Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Hungary Qualified
— Poland Withdrew

Group 8

Pos. Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Czechoslovakia 431051+47
2 Romania 42025504
3 Bulgaria 401337−41

Group 9

Pos. Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Italy 220072+54
2 Egypt 200227−50

Group 10

Pos. Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Yugoslavia 440040+48
2 Greece 420232+14
3 Israel 400405−50

Group 11

Pos. Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Brazil 440081+78
2 Paraguay 420286+24
3 Chile 4004110−90
— Peru Withdrew

Group 12

Pos. Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Mexico 4400191+188
2 United States 420279−24
3 Haiti 4004218−160

Group 13

Pos. Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 South Korea 211073+43
2 Japan 201137−41
— Republic of China Withdrew

Qualified teams

FIFA World Cup qualification 1954
Qualifying countries
Team Finals appearance Streak Last appearance
 Austria 3rd11938
 Belgium 4th11938
 Brazil 5th51950
 Czechoslovakia 3rd11938
 England 2nd21950
 France 4th11938
 Hungary 3rd11938
 Italy 4th41950
 South Korea 1st1—
 Mexico 3rd21950
 Scotland 1st1—
  Switzerland (h) 4th41950
 Turkey 1st1—
 Uruguay (c) 3rd21950
 West Germany 1st1—
 Yugoslavia 3rd21950

(h) – qualified automatically as hosts

(c) – qualified automatically as defending champions

6 of the 16 teams subsequently failed to qualify for the 1958 finals: Belgium, Italy, South Korea, Switzerland, Turkey and Uruguay.

Goalscorers

6 goals
5 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
1 own goal

Notes

  • Turkey gained a place in the World Cup through drawing lots, over Spain after failing to decide which team was the winner of Group 6 after three matches. However, it was not the only one. Morocco eliminated Tunisia during qualification for the 1962 FIFA World Cup by drawing lots, and eliminated Tunisia again on a coin toss during 1970 World Cup qualification. They also eliminated Tunisia during qualification for the 1968 Olympics either by drawing lots or a coin toss. In 1978, Tunisia defeated Morocco during World Cup qualification on penalties, in the first time penalties were ever used during World Cup qualification.
  • For the first time, qualification matches were actually played in South America, since in all previous World Cups, the South American teams all qualified automatically due to withdrawals (in the case of 1934) or through the South American Football Championship (for the 1938 and 1950 tournaments). Argentina did not take part to the qualification process.
  • As the French-occupied Saarland protectorate became part of the Federal Republic of Germany only in 1957, the Saarland entered their only World Cup competition and actually had to play Germany in the qualifiers.
  • The entries of Bolivia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Iceland, India, and South Vietnam were rejected by FIFA.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Play-off history provides no clues for Spain". FIFA. 20 Oct 2005.
  2. ↑ Rogers, Iain (27 March 2009). "Don't mention the draw!". Reuters.
  3. ↑ "History of the FIFA World Cup Preliminary Competition (by year)" (PDF). FIFA. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
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