Football at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Men's qualification
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The 1968 Summer Olympics football qualification was the qualifying process which decide the 14 teams that would join hosts Mexico and holders Hungary, who received an automatic spot, at the 1968 Summer Olympics football tournament.
Dates22 March 1967 – 30 June 1968
Teams69 (from 5 confederations)
Matchesplayed110
Goals scored359 (3.26 per match)
Qualified teams
| Team | Method of qualification |
Date of qualification |
Total times qualified |
Last time qualified |
Current consecutive appearances |
Previous best performance[a] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Mexico | Hosts | 18 October 1963 | 2 | 1964 | 2 | First round (1928, 1948, 1964) |
 Hungary | Holders | 23 October 1964 | 2 | 1964 | 3 | Gold medal (1952, 1964) |
 Japan | Asia Group 1 winners | 10 October 1967 | 3 | 1964 | 2 | Quarter-finals (1964) |
 Thailand | Asia Group 2 winners | 22 January 1968 | 2 | 1956 | 1 | First round (1956) |
 Israel | Asia Group 3 winners | 22 March 1968 | 1 | — | 1 | — |
 Spain | Europe Group 4 winners | 1 April 1968 | 1 | — | 1 | — |
 Brazil | CONMEBOL final group winners | 9 April 1968 | 3 | 1964 | 3 | Quarter-finals (1952) |
 Colombia | CONMEBOL final group runners-up | 9 April 1968 | 1 | — | 1 | — |
 Bulgaria | Europe Group 2 winners | 24 April 1968 | 3 | 1960 | 1 | Bronze medal (1956) |
 Nigeria | Africa Group 2 winners | 4 May 1968 | 1 | — | 1 | — |
 France | Europe Group 3 winners | 12 May 1968 | 2 | 1960 | 1 | Silver medal (1900) |
 El Salvador | CONCACAF final round winner | 26 May 1968 | 1 | — | 1 | — |
 Czechoslovakia | Europe Group 1 winners | 1 June 1968 | 2 | 1964 | 2 | Silver medal (1964) |
 Guatemala | CONCACAF final round winner | 2 June 1968 | 1 | — | 1 | — |
 Guinea | Africa Group 1 winners | 30 June 1968 | 1 | — | 1 | — |
 Morocco | Africa Group 3 winners | 30 June 1968 | 2 | 1964 | 1 | First round (1964) |
Notes:
Qualification process
- Africa: 3
- Asia: 3
- Europe: 4
- North America: 2
- South America: 2
- Hosts: 1
- Holders: 1
Summary of qualification
| Region | Available slots in finals | Teams started | Teams eliminated | Teams qualified | Qualifying start date | Qualifying end date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Africa | 3 | 17 | 14 | 3 | 27 September 1967 | 22 March 1968 |
| Asia | 3 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 9 April 1967 | 30 June 1968 |
| Europe | 4 or 5 | 20 | 16 | 5 | 22 March 1967 | 1 June 1968 |
| North America | 2 or 3 | 13 | 11 | 3 | 21 May 1967 | 2 June 1968 |
| South America | 2 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 19 March 1968 | 9 April 1968 |
| Total | 16 | 69 | 55 | 16 | 22 March 1967 | 30 June 1968 |
Europe
Four groups of five teams with group winners qualifying for the Summer Olympics finals.
Group 1
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round | ||||
Soviet Union  |
w/o |  Albania |
— | — |
| Second round | ||||
Poland  |
1–3 | Soviet Union |
0–1 | 1–2 |
| Czechoslovakia |
w/o |  Yugoslavia |
— | — |
| Final round | ||||
| Soviet Union |
3–5 | Czechoslovakia |
3–2 | 0–3 |
Group 2
Group 3
Group 4
South America
- Group stage: Two groups of four teams played single round-robin matches, the top two teams of each group advanced to the final group.
- Final group: Four teams played single round-robin matches, the top two teams qualified for the Summer Olympics.
Final positions (final group)
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brazil |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 4 | Qualification for 1968 Summer Olympics |
| 2 | Colombia |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 4 | |
| 3 |  Uruguay |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 3 | |
| 4 |  Paraguay |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 9 | −4 | 1 |
Source: RSSSF
North and Central America
- First round: 10 teams played home-and-away over two legs. The five winners advanced to the second round.
- Second round: 8 teams played home-and-away over two legs (5 which advanced from the first round, 3 automatically entered). The four winners advanced to the second round.
- Final round: 4 teams played home-and-away over two legs. The two winners qualified for the 1968 Summer Olympics.
Final round
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Salvador |
4–1 |  Trinidad and Tobago |
2–0 | 2–1 |
| Guatemala |
3–3 (l) |  Costa Rica |
1–0 | 2–3 |
Africa
Three groups of five to six teams with group winners qualifying for the Summer Olympics finals.
Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
Asia
Three groups of six teams played single round-robin matches. The winner of each group qualified for the 1968 Summer Olympics.
Final positions
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