1954 FIFA World Cup qualification
International football competition
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A total of 39 (not counted Iceland, Bolivia, Cuba, Costa Rica, State of Vietnam and India) 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.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 9 May 1953 – 4 April 1954 |
| Teams | 39 (played at least 1 game) (from 4 confederations) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 57 |
| Goals scored | 208 (3.65 per match) |
| Top scorer |  Max Morlock (6 goals) |
← 1950 1958 → | |
The remaining 37 teams were divided into 13 groups, based on geographical considerations, as follows:
- Groups 1 to 10 – Europe and the Near East: 11 places contested by 27 teams (including Egypt and Israel).
- Groups 11 and 12 – The Americas: 2 places contested by 7 teams.
- Group 13 – Asia: 1 place contested by 3 teams.
Rejected: Iceland, Bolivia, Cuba, Costa Rica, State of Vietnam and India
Withdrawals: Poland, Republic of China, Peru
From the remaining 34 teams, 1 qualified without playing any qualifying match: Hungary
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, 7, 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 5, 6 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, either home or away. 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 each other twice. The group winner would qualify.
Group 1
| Pos. | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Germany |
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 3 | +9 | 7 |
| 2 |  Saar |
4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 3 |
| 3 |  Norway |
4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 9 | −5 | 2 |
| Norway | 1–1 | West Germany |
|---|---|---|
Hennum  41' |
Report | F. Walter 44' |
| West Germany | 3–0 | Saar |
|---|---|---|
| Morlock 13', 50' Schade 70' |
Report |
West Germany qualified.
Group 2
Sweden  | 2–3 |  Belgium |
|---|---|---|
| Bengtsson 20' Selmosson 26' |
Report | Anoul 28' Straetmans 37'Lemberechts 40' |
Belgium qualified. This was 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 |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 4 | +7 | 6 |
| 2 |  Scotland |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 |  Northern Ireland |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 2 |
| 4 |  Wales |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 9 | −4 | 1 |
| Wales | 1–2 | Northern Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Charles 80' |
Report | McParland 1', 52' |
England and Scotland qualified.
Group 4
| Pos. | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  France |
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 4 | +16 | 8 |
| 2 |  Republic of Ireland |
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 4 |
| 3 |  Luxembourg |
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 19 | −18 | 0 |
| Republic of Ireland | 4–0 | Luxembourg |
|---|---|---|
| Fitzsimons 14', 83' Ryan 48' (pen.)Eglington 59' |
Report |
| France | 1–0 | Republic of Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Piantoni 73' |
Report |
| France | 8–0 | Luxembourg |
|---|---|---|
| Desgranges 2', 88' Vincent 6', 10'Fontaine 21', 75', 80'Foix 57' |
Report |
| Luxembourg | 0–1 | Republic of Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Cummins 67' |
France qualified.
Group 5
Austria qualified.
Group 6
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][3][4] Therefore, Turkey qualified. This was the first time Spain failed to qualify for the final tournament.
Group 7
Since FIFA rejected the entry of 
Iceland and 
Poland withdrew, the Group was scratched and 
Hungary qualified automatically. This was the last time any country qualified for the World Cup automatically since FIFA subsequently introduced regulations to stipulate that no country other than the hosts (and until 2002, the defending champions) could qualify without playing at least one game.
Group 8
| Pos. | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Czechoslovakia |
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 7 |
| 2 |  Romania |
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 |  Bulgaria |
4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 1 |
| Czechoslovakia | 2–0 | Romania |
|---|---|---|
| Pažický 54' Vlk 63' |
Report |
| Romania | 0–1 | Czechoslovakia |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Šafránek 38' (pen.) |
Czechoslovakia qualified. This was the first time Romania failed to qualify.
Group 9
Egypt  | 1–2 |  Italy |
|---|---|---|
| Ad-Diba 33' |
Frignani 62' Muccinelli 79' |
| Italy | 5–1 | Egypt |
|---|---|---|
| Pandolfini 1' Frignani 62'Boniperti 65', 86'Ricagni 84' |
El-Hamouly 32' |
Italy qualified.
Group 10
| Pos. | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Yugoslavia |
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 8 |
| 2 |  Greece |
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4 |
| 3 |  Israel |
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | −5 | 0 |
| Yugoslavia | 1–0 | Greece |
|---|---|---|
| Matošić 71' |
Report |
| Yugoslavia | 1–0 | Israel |
|---|---|---|
| Milutinović 3' |
Report |
| Israel | 0–2 | Greece |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Kokkinakis 61' Kamaras 83' |
| Israel | 0–1 | Yugoslavia |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Zebec 80' |
| Greece | 0–1 | Yugoslavia |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Veselinović 50' |
Yugoslavia qualified.
Group 11
FIFA rejected the entry of 
Bolivia.
Paraguay  | 4–0 |  Chile |
|---|---|---|
| Lugo 30' J. Parodi 52'Hermosilla 70'S. Parodi 79' |
Brazil qualified. This was the first time they had to play qualifying matches.
Group 12
FIFA rejected the entries of 
Costa Rica and 
Cuba. The United States played all their games away from home.[5]
| Pos. | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Mexico |
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 1 | +18 | 8 |
| 2 |  United States |
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 9 | −2 | 4 |
| 3 |  Haiti |
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 18 | −16 | 0 |
| Mexico | 3–1 | United States |
|---|---|---|
| A. Torres 60', 89' Lamadrid 82' |
Looby 6' |
| Haiti | 0–3 | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Looby 22', 65' Mendoza 31' |
Mexico qualified.
Group 13
FIFA rejected the entries of 
India and the 
State of Vietnam. Both games were played in Japan.
| Pos. | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  South Korea |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 3 |
| 2 |  Japan |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 1 |
 Taiwan |
Withdrew | ||||||||
| Japan | 1–5 | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Naganuma 16' |
Chung Nam-sik 22', 83' Choi Kwang-suk 34'Choi Chung-min 68', 87' |
| South Korea | 2–2 | Japan |
|---|---|---|
| Chung Nam-sik 20' Choi Chung-min 43' |
Iwatani 17', 61' |
South Korea qualified.
Qualified teams
| Team | Date of qualification | Finals appearance | Streak | Last appearance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Austria |
29 November 1953 | 3rd | 1 | 1938 |
| Belgium |
8 October 1953 | 4th | 1 | 1938 |
 Brazil |
21 March 1954 | 5th | 5 | 1950 |
| Czechoslovakia |
25 October 1953 | 3rd | 1 | 1938 |
| England |
11 November 1953 | 2nd | 2 | 1950 |
| France |
25 November 1953 | 4th | 1 | 1938 |
| Hungary (w) |
3rd | 1 | 1938 | |
| Italy |
24 January 1954 | 4th | 4 | 1950 |
| South Korea |
14 March 1954 | 1st | 1 | — |
| Mexico |
14 January 1954 | 3rd | 2 | 1950 |
| Scotland |
31 March 1954 | 1st | 1 | — |
 Switzerland (h) |
22 July 1946 | 4th | 4 | 1950 |
 Turkey |
17 March 1954 | 1st | 1 | — |
 Uruguay (c) |
16 July 1950 | 3rd | 2 | 1950 |
| West Germany |
28 March 1954 | 3rd | 1 | 1938 |
| Yugoslavia |
28 March 1954 | 3rd | 2 | 1950 |
(h) – qualified automatically as hosts
(c) – qualified automatically as defending champions
(w) – qualified automatically because Poland withdrew
Goalscorers
- 6 goals
- 5 goals
- 4 goals
- 3 goals
František Vlk
Nat Lofthouse
Kalevi Lehtovirta
Just Fontaine
Pedro Arnauda
Manuel Lugo
Choi Chung-min- Chung Nam-sik
John Charles
- 2 goals
Léopold Anoul- Mathieu Bollen
Júlio Botelho- Harold Hassall
- Dennis Wilshaw
- Olavi Lahtinen
- Jean Desgranges
- Pierre Flamion
- Léon Glovacki
- Roger Piantoni
- Joseph Ujlaki
- Jean Vincent
Gerard Ellie
Arthur Fitzsimons- Reg Ryan
Giampiero Boniperti- Amleto Frignani
Toshio Iwatani- Alfredo Torres
Peter McParland- José Parodi
József Pecsovszky
Allan Brown- Charlie Fleming
Burhan Sargın- Ivor Allchurch
Fritz Walter
- 1 goal
Robert Dienst- Ernst Happel
- Ernst Ocwirk
- Theodor Wagner
- Victor Lemberechts
- Victor Mees
- Jean-Louis Straetmans
- Maurinho
Stefan Bozhkov- Ivan Kolev
- Dobromir Tashkov
Ted Robledo- Emil Pažický
- František Šafránek
Ad-Diba- Alaa El-Hamouly
- Ronnie Allen
- Ivor Broadis
- Jimmy Mullen
- Johnny Nicholls
- Nils Rikberg
- Jorma Vaihela
- Raymond Cicci
- Jacques Foix
- Édouard Kargu
- Raymond Kopa
- Armand Penverne
Thanasis Bembis- Georgios Kamaras
- Dimitris Kokkinakis
- George Cummins
- Tommy Eglington
- Frank O'Farrell
- Davy Walsh
- Ermes Muccinelli
- Egisto Pandolfini
- Eduardo Ricagni
- Ken Naganuma
Antoine Kohn- Rafael Ávalos
- Gregorio Gómez
- José Naranjo
- Nicolás Tellez
- Norman Lockhart
- Eddie McMorran
Knut Dahlen- Harald Hennum
- Hans Nordahl
- Gunnar Thoresen
- Ireneo Hermosilla
- Eulogio Martínez
- Silvio Parodi
José Águas- Valeriu Călinoiu
- Alexandru Ene
- Gavril Serfözö
Herbert Binkert- Herbert Martin
- Werner Otto
- Gerhard Siedl
- Jackie Henderson
- Bobby Johnstone
- Willie Ormond
- Lawrence Reilly
- Choi Kwang-suk
Rafael Alsua- José Artetxe
- Adrián Escudero
- Agustín Gaínza
- Miguel González
- Venancio García
Bengt Berndtsson- Hans Persson
- Gösta Sandberg
- Herbert Sandin
- Arne Selmosson
- Recep Adanır
- Suat Mamat
Cornelius Casey- Efrain Chacurian
- Ruben Mendoza
- Helmut Rahn
- Horst Schade
- Hans Schäfer
- Ottmar Walter
Frane Matošić- Miloš Milutinović
- Todor Veselinović
- Branko Zebec
- 1 own goal
- William Scheppel (playing against Mexico)
Notes
- Turkey qualified via the drawing of lots, after they and Spain finished level on points in Group 6 and a drawn play-off match in Rome.
- For the first time, qualification matches were actually played in South America; in the four previous World Cups, the South American teams qualified automatically through withdrawals (in the case of 1934) or through the South American Football Championship (for the 1938 and 1950 tournaments), while there was no qualifying process in 1930. Argentina did not take part in the qualification process.
- As the French-occupied Saarland protectorate did not become part of Germany until 1957, the Saarland national team 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 because they were submitted after the official deadline had passed.[6]
- After being banned from the 1950 tournament following the Second World War, Germany and Japan were both allowed to play again. West Germany qualified and became champions after defeating Hungary with a score of 3–2 in the final that became known as the Miracle of Bern.