1954 FIFA World Cup qualification
Encyclopedia
A total of 45 teams entered the 1954 FIFA World Cup
qualification
rounds, competing for a total of 16 spots in the final tournament. , as the hosts, and , 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:
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.
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West Germany qualified.
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Belgium qualified.
British Home Championship
.
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England and Scotland qualified.
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France qualified.
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Austria qualified.
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Spain and Turkey finished level on points, and a play-off on neutral ground was played to decide who would qualify.
Turkey qualified after drawing lots. A 14 year old local (i.e. Roman) boy whose father worked at the stadium, Luigi Franco Gemma, picked Turkey's name from the lots with his eyes blindfolded.
Poland withdrew, so Hungary qualified automatically.
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Czechoslovakia qualified.
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Italy qualified.
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Yugoslavia qualified.
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Brazil qualified.
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Mexico qualified.
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Korea Republic qualified.
(h) - qualified automatically as hosts
(c) - qualified automatically as defending champions
1954 FIFA World Cup
The 1954 FIFA World Cup, the fifth staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. Switzerland was chosen as hosts in July 1946. The tournament set a number of all-time records for goal-scoring, including the highest average goals scored per game...
qualification
FIFA World Cup qualification
The FIFA World Cup qualification is the process that a national association football team goes through to qualify for the FIFA World Cup Finals. The FIFA World Cup is a global event, so qualification is required to reduce the large field of participants from about 200 to 32.Qualifying tournaments...
rounds, competing for a total of 16 spots in the final tournament. , as the hosts, and , 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 - EuropeEuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
: 11 places, contested by 27 teams (including and ). - Group 11 and 12 - The Americas: 2 places, contested by 7 teams.
- Group 13 - AsiaAsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
: 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, 8 and 10 had 3 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.
- Groups 5, 6, 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 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 Taiwan withdrew before the matches began, the remaining 2 teams played against each other twice. The group winner would qualify.
Group 1
| Rank | Team | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 3 | ||
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | −4 | |
| 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 9 | −5 |
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West Germany qualified.
Group 2
| Rank | Team | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 6 | ||
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 8 | ||
| 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 13 | −6 |
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Belgium qualified.
Group 3
This group was also the 1953-19541954 British Home Championship
The 1954 British Home Championship was an international football tournament played between the British Home Nations during the 1953–54 season which also provided the home nations qualifying tournament for the 1954 FIFA World Cup. Both England and Scotland qualified as first and second placed...
British Home Championship
British Home Championship
The British Home Championship was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from the 1883–84 season until the 1983–84...
.
| Rank | Team | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 4 | ||
| 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 0 | |
| 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | −3 | |
| 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 9 | −4 |
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England and Scotland qualified.
Group 4
| Rank | Team | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 4 | ||
| 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 6 | ||
| 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 19 | −18 |
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France qualified.
Group 5
| Rank | Team | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 | ||
| 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | −8 |
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Austria qualified.
Group 6
| Rank | Team | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1= | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 1= | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −2 |
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Spain and Turkey finished level on points, and a play-off on neutral ground was played to decide who would qualify.
Turkey qualified after drawing lots. A 14 year old local (i.e. Roman) boy whose father worked at the stadium, Luigi Franco Gemma, picked Turkey's name from the lots with his eyes blindfolded.
Group 7
| Rank | Team | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | qualified | ||||||||
| — | withdrew | ||||||||
Poland withdrew, so Hungary qualified automatically.
Group 8
| Rank | Team | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | ||
| 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | |
| 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 | −4 |
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Czechoslovakia qualified.
Group 9
| Rank | Team | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | ||
| 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | −5 |
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Italy qualified.
Group 10
| Rank | Team | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | −5 |
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Yugoslavia qualified.
Group 11
| Rank | Team | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | ||
| 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 6 | ||
| 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 10 | −9 | |
| — | withdrew | ||||||||
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Brazil qualified.
Group 12
| Rank | Team | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 1 | ||
| 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 9 | −2 | |
| 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 18 | −16 |
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Mexico qualified.
Group 13
| Rank | Team | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | ||
| 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | −4 | |
| — | withdrew | ||||||||
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Korea Republic qualified.
Qualified teams
| Team | Finals Appearance | Streak | Last Appearance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd | 1 | 1934 1934 FIFA World Cup The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the second FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in Italy from 27 May to 10 June 1934.... |
|
| 4th | 1 | 1938 1938 FIFA World Cup The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third staging of the World Cup, and was held in France from 4 June to 19 June. Italy retained the championship, beating Hungary 4–2 in the final.-Host selection:... |
|
| 5th | 5 | 1950 1950 FIFA World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup, held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July, was the fourth FIFA World Cup. It was the first World Cup since 1938, the planned 1942 and 1946 competitions having been canceled owing to World War II... |
|
| 3rd | 1 | 1938 1938 FIFA World Cup The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third staging of the World Cup, and was held in France from 4 June to 19 June. Italy retained the championship, beating Hungary 4–2 in the final.-Host selection:... |
|
| 2nd | 2 | 1950 1950 FIFA World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup, held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July, was the fourth FIFA World Cup. It was the first World Cup since 1938, the planned 1942 and 1946 competitions having been canceled owing to World War II... |
|
| 4th | 1 | 1938 1938 FIFA World Cup The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third staging of the World Cup, and was held in France from 4 June to 19 June. Italy retained the championship, beating Hungary 4–2 in the final.-Host selection:... |
|
| 3rd | 1 | 1938 1938 FIFA World Cup The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third staging of the World Cup, and was held in France from 4 June to 19 June. Italy retained the championship, beating Hungary 4–2 in the final.-Host selection:... |
|
| 4th | 4 | 1950 1950 FIFA World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup, held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July, was the fourth FIFA World Cup. It was the first World Cup since 1938, the planned 1942 and 1946 competitions having been canceled owing to World War II... |
|
| 1st | 1 | – | |
| 3rd | 2 | 1950 1950 FIFA World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup, held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July, was the fourth FIFA World Cup. It was the first World Cup since 1938, the planned 1942 and 1946 competitions having been canceled owing to World War II... |
|
| 1st | 1 | – | |
| (h) | 4th | 4 | 1950 1950 FIFA World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup, held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July, was the fourth FIFA World Cup. It was the first World Cup since 1938, the planned 1942 and 1946 competitions having been canceled owing to World War II... |
| 1st | 1 | – | |
| (c) | 3rd | 2 | 1950 1950 FIFA World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup, held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July, was the fourth FIFA World Cup. It was the first World Cup since 1938, the planned 1942 and 1946 competitions having been canceled owing to World War II... |
| 3rd | 1 | 1938 1938 FIFA World Cup The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third staging of the World Cup, and was held in France from 4 June to 19 June. Italy retained the championship, beating Hungary 4–2 in the final.-Host selection:... |
|
| 3rd | 2 | 1950 1950 FIFA World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup, held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July, was the fourth FIFA World Cup. It was the first World Cup since 1938, the planned 1942 and 1946 competitions having been canceled owing to World War II... |
(h) - qualified automatically as hosts
(c) - qualified automatically as defending champions