1974 FIFA World Cup qualification

A total of 99 teams entered the 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, competing for a total of 16 spots in the final tournament. West Germany, as the hosts, and Brazil, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 14 spots open for competition.

The 16 spots available in the 1974 World Cup would be distributed among the continental zones as follows:

• Europe (UEFA): 9.5 places, 1 of them went to automatic qualifier West Germany, while the other 8.5 places were contested by 32 teams. The winner of the 0.5 place would advance to the Intercontinental Play-offs (against a team from CONMEBOL).
• South America (CONMEBOL): 3.5 places, 1 of them went to automatic qualifier Brazil, while the other 2.5 places were contested by 9 teams. The winner of the 0.5 place would advance to the Intercontinental Play-offs (against a team from UEFA).
• North, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF): 1 place, contested by 14 teams.
• Africa (CAF): 1 place, contested by 24 teams.
• Asia (AFC) and Oceania (OFC): 1 place, contested by 18 teams.

A total of 90 teams played at least one qualifying match. A total of 226 qualifying matches were played, and 620 goals were scored (an average of 2.74 per match).

Continental Zones

To see the dates and results of the qualification rounds for each continental zone, click on the following articles:

• Europe (UEFA)

Group 1 - Sweden qualified.

Group 2 - Italy qualified.

Group 3 - Netherlands qualified.

Group 4 - East Germany qualified.

Group 5 - Poland qualified.

Group 6 - Bulgaria qualified.

Group 7 - Yugoslavia qualified.

Group 8 - Scotland qualified.

Group 9 - Soviet Union advanced to the UEFA / CONMEBOL Intercontinental Play-off.

• South America (CONMEBOL)

Group 1 - Uruguay qualified.

Group 2 - Argentina qualified.

Group 3 - Chile advanced to the UEFA / CONMEBOL Intercontinental Play-off.

• North America (CONCACAF)

Haiti qualified.

• Africa (CAF)

Zaire qualified.

• Asia (AFC) and Oceania (OFC)

Australia qualified.

Intercontinental Play-offs

Main article: Chile versus the Soviet Union 1973

The teams would play against each other on a home-and-away basis. The winner would qualify.

UEFA – CONMEBOL Intercontinental Play-off

26 September 1973	Soviet Union	0 – 0	Chile	Moscow, Soviet Union
				Referee: Marques (Brazil)

21 November 1973	Chile	w/o	Soviet Union	Santiago, Chile

The second leg was scratched and Chile qualified automatically after the Soviet Union refused to play the return leg due to the recent Chilean coup d'état and left-wing prisoners being executed in the Santiago stadium. The match did 'go ahead', with eleven Chilean players facing zero Soviet players. The match started before thousands of bemused spectators,^[1] with half a dozen Chilean players slowly passing the ball to each other in mock play until the captain walked the ball into the net.^[2]

Qualified teams

Final qualification status

  Country qualified for World Cup

  Country failed to qualify

  Country did not enter World Cup

  Country not a FIFA member

The following 16 teams qualified for the 1974 FIFA World Cup:

Team	Finals Appearance	Streak	Last Appearance
Argentina	6th	1	1966
Australia	1st	1	–
Brazil (c)	10th	10	1970
Bulgaria	4th	4	1970
Chile	5th	1	1966
East Germany	1st	1	–
Haiti	1st	1	–
Italy	8th	4	1970
Netherlands	3rd	1	1938
Poland	2nd	1	1938
Scotland	3rd	1	1958
Sweden	6th	2	1970
Uruguay	7th	4	1970
West Germany (h)	8th	6	1970
Yugoslavia	6th	1	1962
Zaire	1st	1	–

(h) - qualified automatically as hosts

(c) - qualified automatically as defending champions

Notes

• For the first time in the qualifiers, goal difference was used as a tie-breaker for teams finishing level on points. Aggregate score was also used to determine the winners of two-legged ties.
• Australia was the first team from OFC to qualify for a World Cup.

References

External links

• FIFA World Cup Official Site - 1974 World Cup Qualification
• RSSSF - 1974 World Cup Qualification