1950 FIFA World Cup qualification

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, 8 and 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:
  • First Round: The seeded team received a bye and advanced to the Final Round directly. The unseeded teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The winner would advance to the Final Round.
  • 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	3	3	0	0	14	3	+11	6
2	Scotland	3	2	0	1	10	3	+7	4
3=	Wales	3	0	1	2	1	6	−5	1
3=	Ireland (IFA)	3	0	1	2	4	17	−13	1

1 October 1949	Ireland (IFA)	2 – 8	Scotland	Belfast, Northern Ireland
	Smyth  50', 59'	Report	Morris  2', 70', 88' Waddell  5', 31' (pen.) Steel  23' Reilly  24' Mason  80'	Stadium: Windsor Park Attendance: 50,000 Referee: Reginald Mortimer (England)

15 October 1949	Wales	1 – 4	England	Cardiff, Wales
	Griffiths  80'	Report	Mortensen  22' Milburn  29', 34', 66'	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 61,079 Referee: Jack Mowatt (Scotland)

9 November 1949	Scotland	2 – 0	Wales	Glasgow, Scotland
	McPhail  25' Linwood  78'	Report		Stadium: Hampden Park Attendance: 73,782 Referee: S.K. Law (England)

16 November 1949	England	9 – 2	Ireland (IFA)	Manchester, England
	Rowley  6', 47', 56', 58' Froggatt  25' Mortensen  35', 50' Pearson  33', 68'	Report	Smyth  55' Brennan  75'	Stadium: Maine Road Attendance: 69,742 Referee: Mervyn Griffiths (Wales)

8 March 1950	Wales	0 – 0	Ireland (IFA)	Wrexham, Wales
		Report		Stadium: Racecourse Ground Attendance: 30,000 Referee: Reginald Leafe (England)

25 May 1950	Scotland	0 – 1	England	Glasgow, Scotland
		Report	Bentley  64'	Stadium: Hampden Park Attendance: 133,300 Referee: Reginald Leafe (England)

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	1	1	0	0	7	0	+7	2
2	Syria	1	0	0	1	0	7	−7	0

20 November 1949	Turkey	7 – 0	Syria	Ankara, Turkey
	Cansever  12', 16', 87' Eken  44' Kücükandonyadis  66' Keskin  67' Kilic  72'			Stadium: 19 Mayıs Stadium Referee: Antonio Gamba (Italy)

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	2	2	0	0	11	2	+9	4
2	Israel	2	0	0	2	2	11	−9	0

21 August 1949	Yugoslavia	6 – 0	Israel	Belgrade, Yugoslavia
	Pajević  12', 19', 26' Senčar  44' Ž. Čajkovski  63' Bobek  83' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: JNA Stadion Attendance: 35,000 Referee: Geovanni Galeati (Italy)

18 September 1949	Israel	2 – 5	Yugoslavia	Tel-Aviv, Israel
	Glazer  46', 78'	Report	Valok  15', 37' Bobek  26' Z. Čajkovski  61', 75'	Stadium: Maccabiah Stadium Attendance: 20,000 Referee: Yosef Kinstlich (Cyprus)

Yugoslavia advanced to the Final Round.

Final round

Rank	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1=	France	2	0	2	0	2	2	0	2
1=	Yugoslavia	2	0	2	0	2	2	0	2

9 October 1949	Yugoslavia	1 – 1	France	Belgrade, Yugoslavia
	Ž. Čajkovski  36'	Report	Baillot  55'	Stadium: JNA Stadion Attendance: 50,000 Referee: Karel van der Meer (Netherlands)

30 October 1949	France	1 – 1	Yugoslavia	Paris, France
	Baillot  8'	Report	Bobek  44'	Stadium: Stade Olympique de Colombes Attendance: 53,569 Referee: Giovanni Galeati (Italy)

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

11 December 1949	Yugoslavia	3 – 2 (a.e.t.)	France	Florence, Italy
	Mihajlović  12', 84' (pen.) Ž. Čajkovski  114'	Report	Walter  13' Luciano  83'	Stadium: Stadio Giovanni Berta Attendance: 25,000 Referee: Giovanni Galeati (Italy)

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

Group 4

First round

Rank	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Switzerland	2	2	0	0	8	4	+4	4
2	Luxembourg	2	0	0	2	4	8	−4	0

26 June 1949	Switzerland	5 – 2	Luxembourg	Zurich, Switzerland
	Maillard  20' Fatton  30'  41' Ballaman  48' Antenen  59'	Report	Wagner  3' Reuter  88'	Stadium: Hardturm Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Charles Delasalle (France)

18 September 1949	Luxembourg	2 – 3	Switzerland	Luxembourg, Luxembourg
	Muller  3' Kremer  38'	Report	Maillard  1' Friedländer  59' Fatton  75'	Stadium: Stade Municipal Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Pierre Theunen (Belgium)

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	2	2	0	0	6	2	+4	4
2	Ireland (FAI)	4	1	1	2	6	7	−1	3
3	Finland	2	0	1	1	1	4	−3	1

2 June 1949	Sweden	3 – 1	Ireland (FAI)	Stockholm, Sweden
	Anderson  17' (pen.) Jeppson  37' Liedholm  69'	Report	Walsh  9'	Stadium: Råsunda Stadion Attendance: 38,000 Referee: Louis Baert (Belgium)

8 September 1949	Ireland (FAI)	3 – 0	Finland	Dublin, Ireland
	Gavin  35' Martin  44' (pen.), 68'	Report		Stadium: Dalymount Park Attendance: 22,479 Referee: W.H.E. Evan (England)

9 October 1949	Ireland (FAI)	1 – 1	Finland	Helsinki, Finland
	Farrell  65'	Report	Vaihela  89'	Stadium: Olympiastadion Attendance: 13,000 Referee: Johan Bronkhorst (Netherlands)

13 November 1949	Ireland (FAI)	1 – 3	Sweden	Dublin, Ireland
	Martin  61' (pen.)	Report	Palmér  4', 40', 68'	Stadium: Dalymount Park Attendance: 41,031 Referee: William Ling (England)

Sweden qualified. Finland withdrew before the group was completed. Ireland were subsequently invited to enter competition but declined the opportunity.^[1]

Group 6

Rank	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Spain	2	1	1	0	7	3	+4	3
2	Portugal	2	0	1	1	3	7	−4	1

2 April 1950	Spain	5 – 1	Portugal	Madrid, Spain
	Zarra  11', 58' Basora  13' Panizo  15' Molowny  65'	Report	Sabrita  36'	Stadium: Estadio Nuevo Chamartín Attendance: 80,000 Referee: Reg Leafe (England)

9 April 1950	Portugal	2 – 2	Spain	Lisbon, Portugal
	Travassos  51' Correia  53'	Report	Zarra  24' Gaínza  82'	Stadium: Jamor Attendance: 30,000 Referee: Jack Mowat (Scotland)

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

Group 7

Argentina withdrew, so Bolivia and Chile qualified automatically.

Group 8

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

Group 9

Rank	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Mexico	4	4	0	0	17	2	+15	8
2	United States	4	1	1	2	8	15	−7	3
3	Cuba	4	0	1	3	3	11	−8	1

4 September 1949	United States	0 – 6	Mexico	Mexico City, Mexico
			Flores  20' Luna  30' de la Fuente  37', 55', 58' Septien  85'	Stadium: Estadio de los Deportes Attendance: 60,000 Referee: José Tapia (Cuba)

11 September 1949	Mexico	2 – 0	Cuba	Mexico City, Mexico
	Luna  26' Casarín  57'			Stadium: Estadio de los Deportes Referee: Prudencio García (United States)

14 September 1949	Cuba	1 – 1	United States	Mexico City, Mexico
	Gómez  28'		Wallace  23'	Stadium: Estadio de los Deportes Attendance: 8,000

18 September 1949	Mexico	6 – 2	United States	Mexico City, Mexico
	Ortiz  14' Casarín  23', 41', 76' de la Fuente  47' Ochoa  89'		Souza  52' Wattman  90'	Stadium: Estadio de los Deportes Attendance: 54,500 Referee: José Tapia (Cuba)

21 September 1949	United States	5 – 2	Cuba	Mexico City, Mexico
	Bahr  16' Souza  23' Matevich  30', 35' Wallace  48'		Barquin  42' Veiga  50'	Stadium: Estadio de los Deportes Attendance: 60,000 Referee: José Tapia (Cuba)

25 September 1949	Mexico	3 – 0	Cuba	Mexico City, Mexico
	Naranjo  44', 88' Flores  58'			Stadium: Estadio de los Deportes Referee: Prudencio García (United States)

Mexico and the United States qualified.

Group 10

Burma, the Philippines and Indonesia all withdrew, so India qualified automatically. But India later also withdrew "because of the expense of travelling such a long way to play"^[2] (or, according to some reports, after a FIFA ruling that players were not allowed to play barefoot^[3]), and FIFA decided not to invite anyone else, leaving the World Cup three teams short.

Qualified teams

Participating countries after 3 of the 16 qualifying countries withdrew.

Team	Finals Appearance	Streak	Last Appearance
Bolivia	2nd	1	1930
Brazil (h)	4th	4	1938
Chile	2nd	1	1930
England	1st	1	–
India	1st	1	–
Italy (c)	3rd	3	1938
Mexico	2nd	1	1930
Paraguay	2nd	1	1930
Spain	2nd	1	1934
Scotland	1st	1	–
Sweden	3rd	3	1938
Switzerland	3rd	3	1938
United States	3rd	1	1934
Uruguay	2nd	1	1930
Yugoslavia	2nd	1	1930

• (h) - qualified automatically as hosts
• (c) - qualified automatically as defending champions

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, 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 following a FIFA ruling that players were not allowed to play barefoot. 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

External links

• FIFA World Cup Official Site - 1938 World Cup Qualification
• RSSSF - 1950 World Cup Qualification